Sifnos · Kamares & the west · Καμάρες
Kamares, the island's harbour
Kamares is where the ferries come in, at the end of a long bay between two steep, bare hills on the west coast. It is more than a port. The waterfront is lined with cafes and tavernas, a sandy beach runs along the head of the bay, and the sun sets straight down the bay every evening. Kamares is one of the places the island's potters moved to once the seas were safe from pirates, and a few workshops still fire their kilns near the beach. Across the water, the small village of Agia Marina has a white chapel on the shore. Stay here if you want the beach and the boats on your doorstep.
The port in a deep bay, with potters on the shore and the sunset straight ahead
The story of Kamares
In the great years of Sifnian pottery the work was shared out: one man cut brushwood for the kilns, another dug the clay, another drove the mules, another pounded the earth, and the master threw the pots with his helper. The workshops by the sea at Kamares let them ship their pots by caique across the Aegean, and the potters lived at the kilns all week, walking home to the villages on Saturday afternoon.
Each year on the eve of Ascension, the icon of Chrysopigi comes down to the church of Agios Georgios in Kamares for a service before it is taken on board the Piraeus ferry, which that day calls at the rock of Chrysopigi on its way.
Where to stay
Where you'll wake up in Kamares
Kamares · Kamares & the west
Kamares · Kamares & the west
Where to eat
Tables we love in Kamares
Kamares · Kamares & the west
Good to know
Before you go to Kamares
Getting there
The ferries from Piraeus, Serifos and Milos dock here. Buses and taxis meet the boats for the 6 km climb to Apollonia.
When to go
Any evening, for the sunset down the bay; and the last swim before a late ferry.
More of Sifnos
Villages you'll want to see next
Apollonia & the hill villages
Apollonia
Three white hills that ran together into a capital, with the Steno for a main street
Apollonia & the hill villages
Artemonas
Mansions, windmills and old churches on the hill above the capital
Kastro & the east coast
Kastro
A medieval village whose houses are its walls, on a cliff lived on since antiquity
Fall for more of Sifnos
Every stay we recommend across Sifnos, from village guesthouses to rooms on the sea.
See all staysLast updated