Written by Elena Philippou,Updated August 2026
Where the villages and beaches actually sit, and how far apart they are by road.
Sifnos is small enough to cross in half an hour and awkward enough that the shape matters. The road from the port does not run straight to the south coast, the capital sits inland rather than on the water, and two beaches can look like neighbours and be nothing of the sort: Vathi and Platis Gialos are barely three kilometres apart in a straight line, and 17.5 by road.
Positions from OpenStreetMap; the villa from its own map pin. Use the plus and minus controls to zoom.
Two columns, because there are only two places you measure from: the port where you land, and wherever you are staying. Ours is Platis Gialos.
| Place | From Kamares | From Platis Gialos |
|---|---|---|
| Apollonia | 5.3 km | 9.0 km |
| Artemonas | 7.7 km | 11.2 km |
| Kastro | 8.4 km | 11.9 km |
| Platis Gialos | 14.2 km | — |
| Faros | 12.5 km | 10.5 km |
| Chrysopigi | 13.4 km | 3.2 km |
| Vathi | 14.7 km | 17.5 km |
| Cheronissos | 14.6 km | 23.3 km |
| Vroulidia | 12.3 km | 21.0 km |
| Kamares | — | 14.2 km |
Measured over OpenStreetMap road geometry and computed twice, on two independent routing engines; every figure above agreed to within 130 metres. Checked 12 August 2026. We publish kilometres rather than minutes because the minutes depend on who is driving — the guides give a range wide enough to hold both a local and a first-timer, and August adds to all of it.
These are the links people actually walk, on footpaths rather than the road, which is why some of them are shorter here than the drive. Allow roughly 15 minutes a kilometre: the paths climb, and the surface is old stone as often as tarmac.
For anything longer, start with the trail network — hiking in Sifnos.
There is not much parking anywhere on the island, and in August the difference between arriving at ten and arriving at one is a space or a long walk back up the road.
Villa Olivia Clara sits on the hillside above Platis Gialos, on the south coast. That is the marked chip on the map. It puts the beach at the bottom of the road, Chrysopigi three kilometres east, and the port on the far side of the island.
Whether that argues for a hire car depends on what you want from the week, and we have written honestly about it in getting around Sifnos.
Small. The longest drive you are likely to make is Platis Gialos to Cheronissos at the northern tip, 23 kilometres. Most of what a visitor wants sits inside a ten-kilometre radius of Apollonia.
14.2 kilometres by road, through Apollonia — the two are on opposite coasts, so there is no shortcut. The guides give the drive time as a range.
The cluster around the capital: Apollonia to Artemonas is 1.3 km on the footpath, Kato Petali 1.0 km, Exampela 0.9 km. Kastro is 2.5 km on the old stone path and a genuinely lovely walk. Everything else on the island wants wheels.
Not for all of them. Platis Gialos, Kamares, Faros, Vathi and Chrysopigi are on the bus network. The quieter coves — Fykiada, Vroulidia — need a car, a boat or a long walk.
No, and it surprises people. The capital sits inland in the middle of the island, about nine kilometres from us and five from the port. Its appeal is the evening: the pedestrian lane, the tavernas, the shops.
That is us: a house for eight above Platis Gialos, with the beach at the bottom of the road. Elena answers every message herself.
Village, beach and monastery positions, and the road geometry the distances are measured on, come from OpenStreetMap.