Syros – The Soul of The Cyclades

If you are planning a Greek Island Hopping Trip you need to add Syros to your itinerary…….

I’m almost ready to round up my Greek adventures for the year with just one remaining visit to my happy place in October.

Along with some of the core islands I wanted to add as many new ones to my list of places to travel in 2022 so along with my old favourites (Milos, Naxos, Paros & Santorini) I visited 5 new islands this year.

We’ll get to the others later but for now, I wanted to share with you my short and sweet stay on an island that had been at the top of my Wishlist for years, Syros.

The island exceeded all my expectations! After 20+ trips to Greece I was worried I would be complacent on another trip but visiting Syros reminded me just how unique each and every island realy is. Syros is like no other Greek island in my opinion. The main town, Ermoupoli feels more like a Venetian city or Austrian village. In contrast to the usual white washed buildings and occasional blue domes you are used to seeing on the smaller Greek islands, the architecture in Syros is far more European with pastel colours and extravagant designs. Though it’s lined with shops and restaurants and full of life like an inner city it’s still surrounded by the most mesmerising waters of the Aegean. I fell in love after taking just a few steps off the ferry! 

Getting There

Let’s tackle how to get there first. Syros is the capital of The Cyclades, it does have a small airport but if you are travelling from the UK then your best option is by Plane & Ferry.

I am the biggest advocate of the Greek ferry system and it’s so easy to navigate times and routes using websites like ferryscanner.com. You can fly internationally to Athens or Santorini or Mykonos from the UK and then get the ferry from there, combing your trip to Syros with one of these other islands is ideal as well because as stunning as it was, Syros is a 2/3 day trip max in my opinion! 

I personally found it worked best within this particular trip to travel to Syros by flying into Santorini and getting the ferry from there as I was also travelling to Folegandros. Otherwise the shortest ferry is from Mykonos.

Syros Soul Suites

We stayed in the heart of Ermoupoli for two nights at Syros Soul Suites and it was perfect. I loved the idea of staying within the action but didn’t want to compromise on luxury, having only packed hand luggage for a 10 day trip I needed to know I was sorted when it came to the amenities!

The room had the most spectacular view of the central square and was a classic and clean design with amazing high ceilings and an abundance of light with a wrap around balcony.

The Swimming Platforms at Asteria

The most iconic images captured in Syros are without a doubt the ones taken from the very famous swimming platform in Ermoupoli. Lucky for us this was just a five minute walk from our hotel.

Arriving to a place that you’ve see so many magical pictures of online can sometimes be a it underwhelming but in the case of Asteria photos don’t do even half the justice. This spectacular swimming scene is like no other in the world!

The walk down towards the platforms offers the most stunning view of the sparkling water and when you arrive the place so chilled and casual, alomost Zen-like which is so unexpected for what is essential the city’s public swimming pool! Nothing needs to be pre-booked, it’s natural and open so you literally just lay your towel out somewhere and jump in. The view from when you are in the water is mirage-like, words couldn’t begin to describe.

We visited a few times and never found it to be too busy but if you want to use one of the free umbrellas then I might suggest to go early. We did as the locals do, wandered down from our hotel for a swim and then headed back up as soon as we’d dried off.

If you did want to make a day of it there’s a day club further down the coast with more of a proper set-up of loungers, beds and towels etc, there you can enjoy the view with food and drinks etc. It’s called Ciel and looks super pretty!

Syros Travel Guide – Things to do in Syros – Syros Blog

ONO Concept – Syros Beach Bar

There are many organized beaches in Syros as it’s a favourite holiday destination for mainland locals. It’s a relatively large island so if you did want to stay longer you would have lots of beaches to chose from, one that I wanted to checkout however was ONO Syros.

Having seen multiple Instagram tags here it looked like a great place to spend the day and it didn’t disappoint. You are able to book two beds and an umbrella for a sliding scale of prices depending on how close they are to the beach. The ones right by the water were 40euros (for the set). The water is beautiful, I mean it’s in The Cyclades – that’s a given, but the sandy beach is shallow for a while so it’s great for a frolick 😉

You can order food and drinks to your loungers or there’s also a restaurant if you would prefer to sit at a table and dine.

Where to eat

Greek food is one of my all time favourite cuisines so it’s quite easy to keep me happy when it comes to evening dining, that being said there are so many restaurants in Syros it’s quite overwhelming! 

Walking along the marina you’ll find a mix but mainly western focused eateries, there’s also some fabulous bars and shisha places – it’s the only island in Greece that I’d consider packing heels for kind if vibe 😉 

I do highly recommend however Seminario Restaurant. It’s based within ‘traditional alley’ where all the best local food is served. The food here was some of the best I’ve ever had in Greece and the portions were ginormous. It’s nothing fancy, wooden chairs and tables with paper clothes but the food does all the talking and it’s super affordable. Every single table had food they simply couldn’t managed to finish, whatever you do don’t over-order if you don’t intend on taking a goodie bag home! 

There’s more to be seen but what I loved about Syros is the fact that even though I adored it so much, I feel like in just two nights I have DONE it. There are so many places in the world I’ve traveled to where I am desperate to retrun as I didn’t get enough done in the short space of time but I felt as though the 3 day trip was perfect for Syros.

It’s the perfect addition to a Greek Island Hopping trip as there really is no other place in the world quite like it and yet at the same time, once you’ve experienced the Soul of The Cyclades you feel overwhelmingy content.