Northern Evia

Northern Evia is the island's greenest and least developed region, a sweep of pine-clad mountains, olive groves and running water that reaches from the North Euboean Gulf to the open Aegean. This is a landscape of forest and spring rather than famous ruins, best explored slowly by car along winding coastal and mountain roads.

Its anchor towns give the area its character. Loutra Edipsou (Edipsos) is Greece's grand old thermal spa, where hot mineral springs steam into the sea; Limni is a jewel of a seaside village of cobbled lanes and red-tiled roofs; and the beach resorts of Rovies, Agios, Pefki and the market town of Istiaia string out along the coast. Inland, the wooded uplands hide waterfalls such as those at Drymonas, quiet monasteries, and villages where life still turns on the olive harvest and the seasons.

The north is inseparable now from the great wildfires of August 2021, which burned for days and destroyed a large share of its forest, the worst blaze in modern Greek history. The recovery is ongoing and visible, and tourism is part of it: coming here supports communities rebuilding their livelihoods, while nature slowly returns to the blackened hills. Much of the coast, including the spa towns and the prettiest villages, came through and remains as inviting as ever.

Access is easy from the mainland by the short car ferries to Edipsos from Arkitsa and to Agiokampos from Glyfa, which bring the region within a comfortable drive of Athens and central Greece without passing through Chalkida. Those crossings make the north a natural weekend escape.

Go for the thermal baths, the forest drives, the sheltered swimming and the sense of an unhurried, authentic Greece. This is Evia for travellers who prefer springs and pine woods to crowds, and who like the idea of a corner of the country quietly finding its feet again.