Walking the Mountains & Villages of Evia

Excellent holiday only slightly affected by the Force 9 gales that blew for 5 days of our holiday . Karystos a lovely place , family run hotel clean and welcoming , guide Thanos brilliant in the face of having to rearrange whole of the walking itinerary !

Everything was spectacular - from hiking in the mountains and learning about the history of Evia to swimming in the Aegean Sea and basking in the warm sun. The numerous Tavena's and restaurants added to the experience, making it both adventurous and relaxing.

I would recommend this trip to anyone looking for a great hiking experience on a beautiful safe island in Greece. Our tour guide Cécile was exceptional. She was warm, friendly and incredibly knowledgeable, sharing not only the rich history of Evia but also insights into modern Greek culture and life. The Galaxy Hotel was the perfect setting for this trip. Thank you to the staff who went out of their way to provide the best service I have experienced in a long time.

South Evia is such a lovely island, and this hiking holiday shows it off to it's best advantage. George was a wonderful guide, and went above and beyond what I expected, made everyone feel safe and gave an insight into the area as he grew up around there. Highly recommended this hiking holiday.

Like most Exodus guides, Thano was excellent. However he went beyond expectations, his local knowledge was extensive (he seemed to know everyone on the island). Always approachable. The packed lunches were varied (and filling). He ordered the starters at every meal which meant that we sampled lots of local delicacies that we would otherwise have missed. Lots of little things (sampling the ouzo, beekeeper visit and so on) added to the overall enjoyment. The guided tour of Athens on the final day was a bonus. On a personal note, he spoke to a doctor on my behalf as I was suffering from an injured shoulder.

Wonderful holiday on a wonderful island. Returned home feeling very relaxed. Evia was very unspoilt. A real experience of Greek culture, food and hospitality. Hotel was very comfortable and in a perfect location for the beach and town. Hotel staff were lovely, breakfast excellent for a small hotel. I thoroughly enjoyed every day. Walking was varied, interesting routes and stunning scenery, we barely saw anyone else on the walks. Packed lunches were superb. Having private mini bus for the group made it easy for travel. Everyone on group was like-minded. Excellent guide Thano. Thank you!

A lovely trip led by a very hardworking and knowledgeable guide staying in a welcoming hotel on the waterfront. The walking was graded correctly in my opinion and we saw some fantastic scenery and remarkable ancient relics. The food was wonderful and Karystos is a super little town with plenty of fine restaurants and bars.

Lovely island and not over developed.

Overall great trip. Really beautiful island, miles of gorgeous coastline, great food, comfy hotel and all round excellent week.

This was our 4th Exodus walking holiday and it has lived up to expectations. George lead us on 6 fantastic walks, and planned everything meticulously… transport, lunches, pace of group. The Galaxy Hotel was just as described, friendly, great sea views and ample breakfasts. And, yes, as commented on in other reviews, the bathroom is ready for an upgrade but everything is works and is clean. Exodus remains our go to company when we are looking for a walking holiday.

This trip should be marketed as culinary delights of Evia! A lovely location and a very easy and relaxed week being expertly guided and looked after by Thanos and his connections on the island.

Thanos was an excellent guide and host. He could not have been more helpful. My only complaint was the showers in the Galaxy Hotel. Very dated with clinging shower curtain, leaky shower head and variable hot water. You will never be far from the nearest barking dog on your walks.

Our holiday in Evia was a very memorable and enjoyable one, mainly because Evia, an island which I had not even heard of before we booked our holiday, is such a historic and beautiful island. While I have a particular interest in nature and wild flowers in particular, on this holiday it was the history and antiquities of Evia that were the outstanding experience. Our accommodation in a friendly family-run hotel was excellent, and it was a welcome's bonus to enjoy a quick dip in the sea most days after our walks.

Evia is a Greek island most people of never heard of but it has a central role in Greek history. You are literally walking through time. Comfortable family run accommodation and excellent food in local tavernas. This is a destination not spoilt by international tourism. The 'real' Greece. The walking is varied and most involve an ascent but also long descents. The weather in October was just the right temperature for walking although a bit chilly and windy for swimming.

The trip was excellent from start to finish. The hotel has been described as basic but it has everything you need. It is scrupulously clean & the owner(s) / staff cannot do enough for you. There is a beach 5 minutes walk away at most & the hotel has a bar opposite where you can relax with a book & enjoy the light breeze after a walk.

Breathtaking views, fabulous fresh Greek food and time (if you have the energy left) to stroll 5 minutes to a local beach at the end of each day's walk. Our guide Charlotte (known to literally everyone on the island as Nanou, had an infectious smile, bags of enthusiasm and a motto of 'everything is possible' to help make this holiday memorable. With temperatures being hotter than normal, some of the steeper ascents were a little hard work, and I'd recommend taking walking poles just to help you up and down the steepest parts of the walk to see the 700 year old Roman Columns.. The hotel is quite basic, but the water is drinkable straight from the tap as the supply comes from a stream. Your room will have a kettle and a supply of local tea and coffee, so if you hanker for a brew in your room, you can.

Adventurous walking & scrambling along the dramatic coastline & remote villages of Island of Evia. Tasting delicious cousin of their culture.

If you like sparkling turquoise sea pretty much outside the hotel then this holiday is for you ! I found the walking quite tough as I wasn’t quite fit enough and as other reviewers state it’s more moderate than leisurely especially in June! However, I enjoyed the three walks I did enormously and it was amazing to get up (and down) to the Roman columns the view from which is so memorable and now my screen saver. Solid support and encouragement up and down from Cecile and lovely group members. Plenty to see and do if you want to dip in and out of the walking you can, ie to dip in and out of the sea on comfy sun loungers with inexpensive waiter service from the taverna whilst helping the Greek economy (what’s not to like). One day I went on an astounding snorkelling trip to the renowned Petali Islands : 7 hours for €35 including CAKE !!!

A lovely week walking, plus swim in the sea at the end of each day. The town is nice and laid back.

If you want a really relaxing entirely relaxing atmosphere with few tourists, then Evia is the place to go. The itinerary was varied and exactly as described. The family at the Galaxy hotel couldn't do enough for us. Their breakfasts are fantastic and grandad's home-made goat cheese legendary! It was a pleasure to stay there.

Varied but generally not too challenging walking in an area with a fascinating history and archaeological interest. Also an opportunity to visit Athens.

A relatively restful week of walking, eating, drinking and learning a lot from a knowledgeable leader (Thanos) in a wonderful location. No walk is too long or taxing, but just enough to engage, but with plenty of rests for snacks and interesting history lectures! This trip is leisurely because there is no rush and plenty of free time. Also, no early starts!

The tour guide, Thanos, was superb. The food was great. Treks were beautiful. However, the quality of the hotel was OK.

This was my first holiday on my own, couldn’t have asked for a better one. Exodus sorted everything and were very helpful and lovely. The hotel was lovely, right next to the beach. The staff were great and couldn’t do enough for us. Met some great people, walking is just enough to get your heart pumping with some fantastic views along the way. Going in November was great weather not too hot, perfect for walking. Even though we walked everyday I must have eaten my body weight. Our guide had pumpkin pie and doughnuts for our brunch stops. Food was delicious and lots of it.... we’ll definitely recommend this holiday and I will be booking with Exodus again........ just need to loose some weight first!!! lol....

good walks with patient guide and pleasant social evenings with fellow walkers

Varied walks, which tended towards the moderate rather than leisurely. Everyone at the hotel was friendly and helpful.

A great first trip, Cecile the group leader was excellent. Competent, calm, interested. A different type of walking each day. From hot up & down treks to ancient roman quarries to beautiful ridge walks with quiet, unspoilt gorge walks in between. Not sure I would describe it as "leisurely" - think moderate is more accurate.

Two days walking mountains. Two days walking gorges. One coastal walk. One day in Athens.

A really good short walking holiday with rewarding hikes, beautiful scenery and lots and lots of good food. Greek hospitality has to be experienced to be believed.

I really enjoyed the week on Evia in October, made all the more special by excellent leadership from Cecile Deltreil. The walking is good, scenically varied and very rural (we only saw one other walker the whole week!). Paths were sometimes good, sometimes non-existent on hilltops and sometimes through scratchy scrub - take your long trousers or gaiters. The trip is rated leisurely-moderate and whilst I felt the 4 day walks were 'moderate' in difficulty, partly because of the rough paths, the whole trip is fairly leisurely because you are based in one hotel and have some relaxation time at the end of each day (gin and tonics on the beach!). The Galaxy hotel in Karystos was fine with friendly family staff, good breakfast, but awful showers.

We had a wonderful week. Our group was delightful, the hotel had a lovely local charm and the town of Karystos has a lovely friendly atmosphere. The walks were quite exhausting because of the heat, but as a result there's a huge feeling of satisfaction at the end of each day.

Just an hour away from the port of Rafina is the unspoilt island of Evia. A really lovely destination for walkers and Greek island hoppers alike.

Great, relaxed trip with cultural, bird and flower interest. Food, people, setting all good.

Lovely scenery to be seen. It is a very peaceful location. The hotel is in the perfect location for both the beach and restaurants.

Very pleasant trip, walking was fine albeit rather more leisurely than I anticipated, food was excellent and the tour leader exceptional.

Another excellent holiday with this tour company. Enjoyable walks, just the right length for me, pleasant company, lovely range of vegetarian food available in the restaurants. Hotel in a convenient position on the water front, sea views beautiful. Relaxed, substantial breakfast with local produce. Karystos felt safe to walk around at night. Brochure description accurate. Good value.

Very pleasant trip, walking was fine albeit rather more leisurely than I anticipated, food was excellent and the tour leader exceptional.

A great trip to an unknown part of Greece. Most of the walking is easy so the grading is about right, but be aware that some of the paths are through very prickly vegetation so have an alternative to shorts. All but the last night is based in the Hotel Galaxy in Karystos, which is run be a very nice local family and has a wonderful location on the waterfront on short distance from numerous bars and restaurants.

Another excellent holiday with Exodus. Enjoyable walks, just the right length for me, pleasant company, lovely range of vegetarian food available in the restaurants. Hotel in a convenient position on the water front, sea views beautiful. Relaxed, substantial breakfast with local produce. Karystos felt safe to walk around at night. Brochure description accurate. Good value.

This was my first holiday with this tour company and I was very impressed by the standard of the holiday. Karystos is a very pleasant resort, with some good restaurants, but is not over-commercialised. The hotel is good, though hot water did go missing for a short time! I had a room with balcony facing the sea front. There were tea/coffee-making facilities in the room and after a hard day's walking it was nice to sit on the balcony with a cup of coffee and watch the world go by. The walks were good with many fine views of both mountains and sea. The six members of the group got on well and we had enjoyable evenings sat outside restaurants drinking cheap local wine and chatting. I would certainly travel with this tour company again.

This was my 1st trip with this tour company. I was very impressed with the various landscapes I encountered on the day hikes throughout the week.

We had a wonderful week. Our group was delightful, the hotel had a lovely local charm and the town of Karystos has a lovely friendly atmosphere. The walks were quite exhausting because of the heat, but as a result there's a huge feeling of satisfaction at the end of each day.

Just an hour away from the port of Rafina is the unspoilt island of Evia. A really lovely destination for walkers and Greek island hoppers alike.

This was my first holiday with Exodus and I was very impressed by the standard of the holiday. Karystos is a very pleasant resort, with some good restaurants, but is not over-commercialised. The hotel is good, though hot water did go missing for a short time! I had a room with balcony facing the sea front. There were tea/coffee-making facilities in the room and after a hard day's walking it was nice to sit on the balcony with a cup of coffee and watch the world go by. The walks were good with many fine views of both mountains and sea. The six members of the group got on well and we had enjoyable evenings sat outside restaurants drinking cheap local wine and chatting. I would certainly travel with Exodus again.

Great, relaxed trip with cultural, bird and flower interest. Food, people, setting all good.

This was my 1st trip with Exodus. I was very impressed with the various landscapes I encountered on the day hikes throughout the week.

Lovely scenery to be seen. It is a very peaceful location. The hotel is in the perfect location for both the beach and restaurants.

Well looked after and group was a good one. Eating in different tavernas was fun.

A week full of amazing moments, either walking in beautiful mountains, seeing sites that were inspirational, eating delicious local food, chatting with interesting people and looked after by a natural guide.

The trip started with sunshine, and a first walk, then the weather turned to rain and snow, covering the beautiful mountains. Excellent guide, re-planning routes, taxis, lunch menus and venues to enable us to continue walking. Food and service was amazing and plentiful. Scenery lovely. Company excellent. BA troublesome but guide and Exodus made the troubles dissipate.

Evia in the autumn was lovely- nice walking temperatures for beautiful sceneries! Our guide knew ( nearly) everyone on the island and spoilt us with local food, great walks and lovely stories about the areas. Very relaxing and a great way to prepare for a wet winter in Belfast. The win of the Northern Ireland football team against Greece was a great final! Brigitte

Easy walking on hills and mountain gorges. The weather was nearly perfect, warm spring sunshine. Food was wonderful. The perfect antidote to a wet miserable British winter.

Exodus has once again provided a truly memorable walking holiday. Evia is beautiful and unspoiled and the holiday was everything we expected.

An excellent trip.Lovely weather.Really nice family run hotel,right on the sea front.

Ceciile was an excellent guide and the walks were varied and beautiful. Very good hotel and tasty meals.

A way to experience authentic Greek cuisine, take part in guided walks in areas you couldn't find on your own and learn something you probably didn't know about the inhabitants and history of this island.

Our guide Thanos is incredibly well informed with lots of interesting information on the area and is long history.It was well organised and the food was amazing each evening in different tavernas.The walks were at times challenging up and down and along goat tracks and a walking pole was a great help!

A lovely week on an unspoilt Greek island with delicious food and good walks.

A holiday that ticked all the boxes for me. Some wonderful scenery which came alive through the enthusiasm of our guide.

One of the best group walking holidays I have been on, and excellent value for money.

What a great way to get away from the Christmas craziness, remain occupied, and learn a lot about the history of Evia and Greek culture. Evia is gorgeous and our hikes were the perfect amount of challenge. Thanos knows so much history and is happy to share it. My advice would be to just go with the flow, trust that he knows what he is doing and not press too hard for information about what's next. It is nice that we frequented independent businesses and had nice breaks between the hikes and dinner.

I have never been on an organised group holiday trip before, but have travelled independently regularly, so it was with some trepidation that I joined the trip to Evia. I need not have worried- the company was fantastic and having a knowledgable guide brought the walking experience alive in a way that I would never have acheived travelling by myself.

A great holiday, with a very pleasant group, a brilliant leader, good walking in attractive scenery, and based at a simple friendly family hotel.

I didn't know quite what to expect never having been on an organised trip before and being a bit of a loner. However the holiday was amazing. Not only was the walking good, although I might have liked something a bit more strenuous, but the accommodation was just right with lovely views from our balcony room and our guide was wonderful, providing history and stories to enlarge our visual experiences. All in all it was a most satisfactory holiday which I am still thinking about long after my return. Thank you Exodus,

Excellent Leader, Group and Holiday! The dining out at different restaurants each evening was really enjoyable.

I would happily do this holiday again! I loved the greekness of Karyistos. It's a working town not a tourist one. The hotel sits on the harbour front where you can see the fishing boats preparing to go out to sea in the morning. And in the evening you can eat wonderful fresh fish and drink cool greek wine in one of the lovely tavernas either on the harbour front itself or, our favourite, in the 'little alley' near the town square. Each of the walks was unique, surprising and inspiring.

An excellent trip with a very knowledgable and attentive guide, who tailored the walking to suit all the abilities.

Evia is an amazing island, very green and lush and the walking was varied. I was pleased by the amount of history and local knowledge imparted by the guides. The butterflies, flowers, tortoises and slow worms interested me a lot. The hotel provided a very comfortable base with the sea, tavernas and sea front giving evening entertainment. This is a great mix of moderately challenging walking with great food, wonderful history and interesting nature. I would heartily reccommend this holliday

A very enjoyable trip with varied walks and an enthusiastic entertaining leader. The hotel staff were helpful, the breakfasts were superb and it was lovely to have a sea view. Karystos is very unspoilt and by the end of the week we felt we knew half the town! Overall a very relaxing holiday.

A wonderful holiday in an unspoilt part of Greece. The walks were as described in the brochure of varying lengths between 8 and 15 miles. The Galaxy hotel was simple but welcoming and had everything that I needed. It was lovely to have a fridge and tea and coffee making facilities. My room and the rooms of the others in the party faced the sea which meant I could sit on the balcony and watch the fishing boats.

This was a really lovely break away. The walking (B grade week) was not particularly challenging, nor were the days long, but the scenery, food and company were excellent!

Aa unexpectedly warm,relaxing, informative, friendly, November walking break

An excellent trip. The location of the hotel is superb and the leader informative and extremely helpful. The surrounding countryside is very pleasant and the walking pretty easy. Eating out at different tavernas each evening (cost included) was a great way to chat to people and sample many different dishes.

Fabulous laidback trip, great scenery and coastline, varied walking with plenty of swimming opportunities - and fantastic food!!

well up to Exodus' usual high standards. Lovely island, warm welcome. good walking with plenty of interest. exexcellent robust rustic food with plenty of choice