Agios Kirykos is the capital city of Ikaria island in Greece. Ikaria is considered one of the few Blue Zones where people live to 100 and more. When we visited Ikaria, we discovered that Agios Kirykos had the most inexpensive grocery stores on the island.
The city had other shops selling clothing and electronics. It it also serves as the central hub from where the ferries depart. There is also a beautiful waterfront promenade that has many stores, cafes and grocery markets.
There is a nice trail that goes along the road from Agios Kirykos of Ikaria to the small town of Therma, which is a famous hot spring resort town. There, we found out a few things about the island’s inhabitants and frequent visitors.
For example, the thermal springs are not renovated well enough for senior people. One elderly visitor from France told us that she was not able to descend down the old steps to reach the public outdoor baths. She asked the local government for help with renovations, yet no one reached back to her. Ikaria and its people live at their own pace and maybe they are okay with the way things are.
Story About Foreigners Relocating to Ikaria
We also heard a story about one expat relocating to the island. Although Ikaria seems inexpensive and beautiful, the island does not have efficient construction workers. Greek people are very friendly and laid back. But, it seems that Ikarians in general are even more laid back.
Someone who just relocated to the island was in need of building a house or making some repairs. He said that he had difficulty finding workers who would complete his project on schedule. One day, a worker showed up and refused to continue working.
We too witnessed how the construction workers took their time to finish a renovation project on one of the hotels in Therma, Ikaria.
When we arrived into the town, these works should have been completed long time ago. And yet, the entire time we were there, there was drilling noise. Though, fortunately, workers took generous coffee breaks with noise subsiding sometimes for hours.
Perhaps, the moral of this story is that this happens more often to foreigners who are expecting too much from others. And, perhaps, if you are Greek, you could be better taken care of by the locals. Who knows? We don’t know for sure. It is just something to keep in mind if you want to move to Ikaria and you are not Greek. Keeping expectations low always helps.
Wandering in Agios Kirykos, Ikaria
We spent a good few days in Agios Kirykos. The town is great for many restaurants and cafes to visit. We noticed many locals and foreign tourists came to Agios Kirykos for dining and replenish their groceries. As we learned, not every town on Ikaria has a grocery store.
We asked one of our local Airbnb hosts about Agios Kirykos, Ikaria and funny that he said that he does not think that the capital town is that interesting or beautiful. But, we still enjoyed as it was much livelier compared to other places on Ikaria. And, it is a great hilly place to explore with some beautiful buildings. As with many town in Ikaria, there were also many cats here. Although, they were a bit sickly, which was sad to see.
Also, there are hot springs all over the coast here near Agios Kirykos. For instance, there is one called Lefkada public hot springs. They are right by the shore. Unfortunately, we did not get to go there due to being short on time. But, Lefkada thermal baths are much hotter compared to other hot springs on Ikaria. And, they may not be as easy to get to.
Overall, Agios Kirykos was a great place to stock up on food or try Greek meals at local cafes and restaurants. On top of that, there there are transportation options available here including Ikarian car rentals and the ferry we took to Magganitis.
Related content: Taking cheap ferry from Agios Kirykos to Magganitis
We hope you will visit Ikaria one day. It is an amazing place with beautiful nature and very kind and friendly people. Subscribe to our Blokhin Films YouTube channel to know more about our travels to off the beaten path places around the world.