A cheerful port area, a number of beaches, very little accommodation and some excellent tavernas sum up what you can expect on Fourni. There is very little else on this most unspoilt of the lesser-known Greek islands, and that is the whole of its appeal.
The village of Fourni is wonderfully vibrant in the traditional Greek way. Locals scuttle around conducting their day-to-day business, most of which is linked to the fishing fleet based at Fourni. The resultant prices for fresh fish and shellfish (especially lobster) in the tavernas is a fraction of what you would expect to pay on other islands.
Such is the temptation and reputation of the tavernas on Fourni that locals from Ikaria, Patmos and Samos make the trip to sample the culinary delights on offer. Away from the village the island is almost deserted. Secluded coves and bays are within walking distance, one of the best being lovely Kampi complete with a taverna that overhangs the sandy beach. The 20 minutes it takes to reach Kampi is nothing to what the more intrepid walkers will undertake in reaching some other gloriously remote areas of the island.
Fourni is not one island but a small archipelago, of which two are inhabited and the rest are rock and goats. That geography is the reason for the fleet: sheltered water between the islands, and a position on the channel between Ikaria and Samos that has made it a natural anchorage for as long as boats have sailed here. Recent underwater surveys of these straits have turned up an unusually dense concentration of ancient shipwrecks, which is a consequence of the same shelter.
Getting there
Travel between Samos and Fourni is by ferry (2 hrs. 55 mins.).
| Leg | By | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Samos → Fourni | ferry | 2 hrs 55 min |
Crossing times are the scheduled durations of the route, not a timetable. Sailings vary by season and operator.