Samos car hire – Greece holidays by car

Apart from the beautiful surroundings, crystal clear beaches and rich cultural heritage, the Greek island of Samos offers a unique opportunity for a truly relaxing holiday.

Not many other locations in Greece have managed to retain so much of its original character, maintaining a good balance between answering the demands of mass tourism and preserving the tradition the unspoilt Greek tradition.

Many visitors to the Greek island of Samos have already found out that the many of the islands’ charms are best to be discovered by car.

Samos driving experience
Driving in Greece is frequently considered to be challenging and a bit of an adventure: the Greek do not have the fame of the best drivers and in busy tourist places traffic is usually very congested.

On Samos, however, even driving is a pleasurable and relaxing experience. Outside of busier city centres there is very little traffic which allows to enjoy fully the many beautiful scenic roads of Samos.

The considerable size of the island, plentiful and diverse sites, good quality of the roads and very low intensity of traffic, makes Samos car hire a perfect, and frequently very affordable solution for discovering the island.

See map of Samos Island.

Find below a few tips on Samos car hire and places no to miss on during you stay on the island.

Why hire a car in Samos – Samos Island facts and figures
With the approximate area of 480 square kilometres, Samos can be classified as one of the larger Greek islands, the 9th largest, to be exact. However, it only takes up to an hour and a half to travel between the most distant cities of Samos.

Unlike on many other islands in Greece where the roads develop mostly along the coast, while the rocky central parts are difficult to reach and not particularly attractive, In Samos the network of good quality roads covers most of the island, with the exception of Oros Karvouni and Oros Kerki mountain ranges.

The inland scenarios of Samos are just as pleasant to the eye as the landscapes available from the scenic roads along the coast. Samos has a long tradition of wine-making and the Samian wine known in Antiquity is still one of the most sought after products by both visitors and local people. The tourist on self-drive holiday in Samos will surely enjoy the refreshing greenery of the vineyards valleys spreading in the inland parts of the island – a nice complement to the mesmerizing landscapes of the Aegean Sea.

See Samos on the map of Greece.

Samos car hire is widely available in all of the tourist places from major internationally known car rental suppliers, such as Hertz, Sixt, Europcar, as well as from the local Greek car hire companies, for example Auto Union, Aramis Rent a Car or John’s Rentals.

Most Samos car hire deals offer good value for the money, however, in order to avoid overpaying for the Greek car hire, especially in the summer season, it is always advisable to book well in advance and compare rates for car hire from several Samos car rental providers.

Compare prices for car hire at Samos Airport

Weather in Samos – cheap car hire outside of high season
Samos enjoys a pleasant Mediterranean climate with dry warm summers and mild, though a bit rainy, winters.

During the peak season, in July and August, Samos is a favourite destination for beach holidays and the daytime temperatures here can be as high as 35 or more degrees Celsius.

See Samos weather chart.

Samos road trips in the sun
Given the diversity of Samos attractions, beautiful, varied landscapes and good roads, the island is also an interesting destination for off-season holidays. In April and May the weather already allows for pleasant Samos road trips, especially in the countryside where the blossoming flowers and exuberant greenery of the hillsides is, for many visitors, just as attractive as the coastline.

The steady 20 and above degrees Celsius in the Samos spring renting a convertible or an open top 4x4 which in the summer might be less practical, with the heat pouring down from the sky.

The cheapest rental cars in Samos in the spring, outside of the high season can be frequently found with prices staring from approximately £100 for a week of Samos car hire of a small city car, such as a Peugeot 107, or similar. More comfortable hire cars of the economy class – Peugeot 207, Ford Fiest or similar – are only a little more expensive to rent in Samos.

Samos – daytrip destination
Samos, situated in the eastern Aegean Sea, just off the coast of Turkey in Asia Minor and close to Icaria, Chios and Patmos islands is a mandatory stop for many cruises and ‘island hopping’ tours in Greece.

For the tourists who like to see beyond the coastline, beach and the port but have to keep up with the tight schedules of the tour, a car rented in the harbour for a day or even for several hours might be the most convenient way of getting to all the places of interest on Samos. 

Read more about Samos ferry port car hire.

Due to the proximity of Samos to the Turkish coast, the island is also a popular destination of day-trips from the Turkish resort of Kusadasi. The ferries from Kudsadasi arrive to the main port of Samos, in Vathy, where car hire options are plentiful.

Find cheap car hire in Samos Vathy Port

Samos tourist attractions - what to see on a Samos road trip
Samos offers a wide range of attractions to its visitors, both historic sites and places of unique natural beauty, easily accessible with a rental car.

SamosTown (Vathy)
As the capital of the island, Samos Town, also known as Vathy, is a mandatory stop for every tourist on the island. The top attractions of Samos Town include the Archaeological Museum and the historic church of Agios Spirydion.

Pythagoreion
The island of Samos was a major intellectual centre of the antiquity and home for many men of science, philosophers, mathematicians being the most important of them Epicurus and Pythagoras. The village of Pythagoreion, on the southern coast of Samos, named in honour of the famous mathematician, boasts some of the prime historical attractions of Samos.

Heraion of Samos
Samos is known as the legendary birthplace of Hera, the wife of Zeus. The Heraion of Samos is the most famous of all the Greek sanctuaries dedicated to Hera. The ruins of the temple located around 4 miles southwest of Pythagoreion are, together with the old quarter of Pythagoreion, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and can be comfortably visited together in one day.

Read more about Heraion and Pythagoreion UNESCO.

The nearby village of Ireo is a convenient stop after visiting Heraion. A number of traditional restaurants and fresh-fish based eateries can be found in this cozy location and the local beach invites for an afternoon of relaxation.

Ephpalineio tunnel
This over a kilometre long tunnel, considered one of the most significant engineering achievements of the Antiquity, was in fact an aqueduct providing water supply to the ancient city of Samos (Pythagoreio). The entry to the tunnel is located appox. 700 meters from Pythagoreion in the proximity of the beautiful Panagia Spiliani Monastery. It is a beautiful drive to the monastery and thanks to the elevated position of the monastery beautiful views of the turquoise Aegean Sea are available.

Potami Waterfalls
A Samos hire car is the most convenient way of reaching many natural attractions of Samos. Amongst the most beautiful places to visit in Samos are Potami Waterfalls, accessible from Potami Beach near Karlovasi on the northwestern coast of Samos.

Mount Kerkis
The second highest mountain of all the Greek Aegean islands, an extinct volcano is home to many endangered species of animals and European Union programme protected site. Mount Kerkis is also frequently visited by the tourists in Samos because of its cultural and historical value: in one of the caves on the slope of the mountain, the persecuted and controversial in his own times philosopher Pythagoras was hiding before his exile in Italy.

Samos villages in a hire car
For the taste of the original Greek traditions, it is well worthwhile to visit some of the villages in Samos.

Located both along the coastline and in the mountainous interior, the picturesque, centuries-old settlements in Samos preserved a lot of the Greek customs, crafts and, not the least important, cuisine. The traditional tavernas of Samos villages are very appreciated by the holidaymakers tired of the mainstream, ‘touristy’ restaurants of Vathy, Pythagoreion or Karlovasi.

With a Samos hire car at your disposal you can comfortably visit the villages of Kokkari, Manolates, Marathokambos or Vourliotes, scattered all around the island.

Samos beaches
The diversity of beach locations in Samos will leave no visitor disappointed.

There are both sandy and pebbles beaches, having in common, crystal clear waters of the Aegean and a rather tranquil atmosphere when compared to other seaside resorts in Greece.

The beaches of the northern coast of Samos, especially in the area of Kokkari, are usually preferred by the surfers, as offering good wind conditions and stronger waves, while the beaches of southern Samos are much quieter and safer.

Psili Ammos beach, approx. 6 miles east of Pythagoreion is a favourite location for families with young children thanks to its shallow waters, soft sand and a good supply of tavernas, cafés and bars.

Find Samos beach locations on the map.