Greece
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
300km²
Area
203km
Coastline
1,215m
Highest point
Kali Limni
1,085
People
25°C
Warmest sea
August
93km
To the mainland
When to go to Karpathos
Best for the beach from July to September.
The sea is warmest in August (25 °C) and coolest in February (16 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to October.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Greek island
Karpathos is an island in Greece. It covers 300 km², with 203 km of coastline. Its highest point, Kali Limni, rises to 1,215 m. About 1,085 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 93 km away.
Getting there
- Karpathos Airport (AOK)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at JSH airport (Crete Island)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesKarpathos - Rhodes, Kasos - Karpathos, Kalymnos - Karpathos, Karpathos - Chalki
- 93 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Karpathos.
- 99beachesAmopi, Gialou Chorafi, Achata and 96 more
- 18viewpointsProphitis Ilias and 17 more
- 5lighthouses
- 3ferry terminals
- 28named peaksKali Limni, Stroumboulas, Prophitis Ilias and 25 more
- 1castles and fortsCastle of Aperio
- 14ruins and archaeological sitesRoman Cistern, Vrougounda, Arkésia, Paleókastro and 11 more
- 1surf spotsMeltemi
- 31waymarked walking routesKA1, KA7, KA5 and 28 more
- 1campsitesPlace for tents
- 113hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 174restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Karpathos in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Karpathos, each with its own numbers.
3beaches and covesCoastya
5mountainsPeakyas
Highest point
1,215m
Lastos
according to Peakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
25.4°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
3 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Amoopi25.4°C
- Órmos Agías Eiríniscove25.1°C
- Órmos Achátacove25.1°C
5 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Lastos1,215m
- Kali Limni1,215m
- Orkilli
- Kimaras
- Oros Khomali
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 268 m above the sea. 48 % of it is below 200 m.
- 14 %0–50 m
- 34 %50–200 m
- 38 %200–500 m
- 13 %500–1,000 m
- <1 %1,000–2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Karpathos7,790 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 17 |
| Night low (°C) | 14 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 15 |
| Sea (°C) | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 18 |
| Rain (mm) | 113 | 88 | 49 | 29 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 46 | 65 | 109 |
| Wet days | 16 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 15 |
| Sun h/day | 4.5 | 5.3 | 7.4 | 9.0 | 10.7 | 12.5 | 12.6 | 11.5 | 9.9 | 7.7 | 5.7 | 4.2 |
| Wind (km/h) | 26 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 21 | 24 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +1.7 | +1.6 | +0.9 | +1.6 |
| 2021 | +1.9 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.6 |
| 2022 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.1 | −0.6 | +0.3 | +0.4 | −0.8 | −0.6 | +1.0 |
| 2023 | +2.0 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.5 | −0.2 | −0.2 | +0.8 | +1.6 | +1.7 | +1.8 | +2.4 | +2.0 |
| 2024 | +2.4 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +1.3 | +0.5 | +1.2 | +1.8 | +1.7 | +1.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +1.2 |
| 2025 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +1.2 | +1.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q204757) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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