Quick facts
Location: on Andros’s northwest coast, the island’s only active ferry port, connecting to Rafina on the mainland.
Distance: about 32 kilometres from Chora, Andros Town, on the opposite side of the island.
Known for: being most visitors’ first and last stop on Andros, and the well preserved Hellenistic Tower of Agios Petros nearby.
History: became the island’s main ferry port in the late 1960s, though it kept much of its character as a working fishing village for several more decades before tourism infrastructure developed more fully.
Is Gavrio worth visiting
Gavrio is where almost every visitor to Andros arrives and leaves, and it is worth more than a quick pass through, fishing boats still work out of the harbour, and the well preserved Hellenistic watchtower a short drive away is one of the more distinctive ancient sites on the island. It is also the practical base for the island’s northern beaches, making it a sensible place to build in an extra day rather than heading straight for Batsi or Chora.
Highlights
The Tower of Agios Petros, a cylindrical Hellenistic watchtower probably built in the fourth or third century BC, standing about 20 metres tall in well preserved local schist, originally with 5 floors connected by a spiral staircase. It was built to watch over the surrounding sea routes and protect Andros’s ancient copper mining operations, which continued in various forms from antiquity through to the mid twentieth century. Reached by a short drive from Gavrio followed by a walk uphill.
Gavrio’s working harbour, still used by local fishing boats alongside the ferries, giving the village a more genuine maritime character than its role as a transport hub might suggest.
The Giannoulis Tower, an eighteenth century tower in the wider Gavrio area, and the Mouria Fountain, built in 1882, both smaller landmarks worth knowing about if exploring beyond the port itself.
Getting there
Gavrio is Andros’s only active ferry port, connecting to Rafina on the mainland, so most visitors arrive here directly rather than travelling to it from elsewhere on the island. From Gavrio, it is about 32 kilometres to Chora, Andros Town. See getting around Andros, Andros taxi and the Andros bus timetable for onward routes, and how to get to Andros for ferry details.
Map
Where to eat
Gavrio has a modest but genuine choice of tavernas, cafes and bars around the harbour, generally straightforward, unfussy places aimed as much at locals and ferry travellers as at tourists rather than anywhere trying to be destination dining.
Where to stay
As the arrival point for the island, Gavrio has a reasonable spread of hotels, rooms and a campsite, useful for an early ferry departure or a late arrival, though most visitors looking for a longer stay tend to base themselves in Batsi or Chora, Andros Town instead.
Nearby beaches
Agios Petros Beach, about 3 kilometres from the port and reckoned the largest beach on the island, and Chrysi Ammos Beach, also about 3 kilometres away and known for its well organised facilities and golden sand, are both easy trips from Gavrio.
Best time to visit
Gavrio is busiest around ferry arrivals and departures throughout the season, so a quieter stroll through the harbour is easiest outside those windows. July and August bring the most visitors overall, in line with the rest of the island, while spring and autumn give a calmer first or last impression of Andros.
Back to the Andros island guide. See also our best villages in Andros guide.
