How to Get There
Psara has ferry connections with Piraeus twice a week. Usually the route starts in Piraeus and stops at Psara, Oinousses, Chios, and Mytilene. The trip from Piraeus takes about 6 hours and 40 minutes. There is a harbor in the main town (Chora, or Psara). Ferry tickets cost 38.50 euros per person and 81.50 euros for a car.
There are daily connections between Psara and Chios with a local coastal line that runs the Psara Glory ship. Every day, the ship goes to the harbor of Chios (duration 3 hours and 45 minutes); on weekends it heads to Limnia in Chios (near Volissos), across from Psara (1 hour and 30 minutes). During the summer (June 20 to September 9), there are two daily routes to Chios on weekends. Ticket prices are 11.20 euros per person and 22 euros for cars less than 4.25 meters long, or 33 euros for cars over 4.25 meters.
For more timetable and booking information, see www.digitickets.gr and Psara Travel
** NOTE **: Boat schedules for each season are usually finalized in the period just before Easter and in May.
Useful Information
1. If you want to get to know the beauties of Psara, plan ahead, because the island has few accommodations.
2. In Psara, there is only one gas station; it is in Chora (the main town), shortly after the heliport. The island is small, but be sure to fill the gas tank, because the gas station is not open 24 hours a day.
3. The main road network is in good condition. Heading from south to north for 9.5 kilometers, the main axis starts in Chora and ends at the monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. Heading west and east for 5.5 kilometers, the second road axis starts in Chora and ends at Fanari (the beach or the lighthouse). The dirt roads are in moderate condition, with some of them rather bad (such as those leading to the top of Prophet Elias and to the church of the Virgin Mary the Spiliousena).
4. There is no pharmacy on the island, but only a rural health clinic.
5. The Archaeological Site of Archontiki is open Wednesday to Friday from 07:00 to 14:00 and on Saturdays from 11:00 to 14:00. However, if you do not manage to visit it then, and you want to visit another day, you can call the phone number shown below to arrange an appointment with the site manager.
6. There are no marked paths for walkers. However, because the vegetation is low and sparse and wild goats have created many openings, we can proceed carefully without any particular difficulties.
7. It is remarkable that in Psara (as in Astypalaia) we do not find snakes. There are folk legends that relate this fact to a miracle of the Virgin Mary of Matrona or Kioura, who is said to have made the snakes disappear from the island. (A small church honoring the Virgin Mary of Matrona was built in 1735; it is 1,400 meters east of the church of the Virgin Mary the Spiliousena in an area called ‘fidolakos,’ which seems to have once had abundant snakes). Indeed, some people take dirt from this area to scatter around their homes (in other parts of Greece) to drive away the snakes.
Useful Telephone Numbers
Police Department +30 2274061222
Port Police +30 2274061336
Health Clinic +30 2274061277
Town Hall +30 2274061101 & +30 2274350110
Citizens’ Service Center +30 2274350116
Psara Travel +30 2274061351
ELTA Post Office +30 2274061097
Archaeological Site +30 2274061077 & +30 6934014495
