NorahIkaria is a beautiful, stunning Greek island that is known for its healthy lifestyle, quaint villages, and overall quiet vibe (especially if you are also visiting the more populated islands like Mykonos or Santorini on your trip!). Ikaria is less populated, but slightly bigger than many of the other islands. In this article, I will lay out and explain the pros and cons of renting a car while on Ikaria.
I also have a guide to Greece if you are interested in exploring other parts of this gorgeous country!
When is the Best Time to Visit Ikaria?
The best time to visit this island, and the best time to visit most Greek islands, is in the shoulder seasons of May and September. The summer months are usually pretty busy for the Greek islands, and going in a shoulder season can provide more reasonably priced accommodations.
However, Ikaria is a small, rural island. Even in the middle of June, we found the beaches to be clear and the lodging affordable.
What are the transportation options in Ikaria?
Given the fact that Ikaria is a rural island, there is very little in the way of public transportation. There are many taxis around the island, but there are also very remote sections of the park that have limited cell service.
Pros of Renting a Car
Perhaps the biggest pro of renting a car on Ikaria is ease and convenience. The island is very spread out, and there are very few attractions extremely close together. While there, you are definitely going to want to explore the different beaches, wineries, and villages. Having a car makes it easier to navigate and get around.
We rented a car on our trip, and I had an awesome experience with Ikarian way! We were able to pick up the car from the ferry terminal and drop the car off at the airport.
There are several rental companies to choose from, and rental car options also vary. When we went to Ikaria we rented a car, and we were able to coordinate with the company to bring the car to us at the ferry station, and then the airport.
Cons of Renting a Car
Perhaps the biggest con to renting a car in Ikaria is the price, and navigating the roads. While we did not find the rental car prices to be too extreme on Ikaria, they were definitely more expensive than the average price on the island. Most of the cars are also very small, so expect to be filling up the gas tank as well.
Ikaria is a very mountainous island, and there are not major highways. As a result of this, expect to spend time driving winding, narrow roads up and over some of the mountains.
Despite this, I never felt as if the roads on Ikaria were too difficult to navigate, and in fact do believe that they are fairly accessible and easy to maneuver.
Final recommendation
Given how spread out and somewhat remote Ikaria is, I do recommend renting a car for the time you will be on the island. Having a car will make navigating significantly easier, and the rental car prices are very manageable. However, here are some additional things to know before booking a car:
- You will need an international drivers license in order to drive in Ikaria. They are easy and inexpensive to get-you can find one here. I would recommend doing this before your trip and saving yourself some hassle.
- For getting gas, I would recommend having cash to pay with instead of a credit card. There are attendants that can assist you with any element of the process, but they do not pump the gas for you.
- The windy roads are not hard to navigate, but if you are nervous I would recommend taking your time and just driving slowly-chances are, there will be few people around!
- There is very little service on some of the islands, so always remember to navigate around using downloaded GPS maps.
Ikaria is a wonderful, amazing place and definitely deserves to be at the top of your bucket list!
