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A journey with SP Sailing to infinity — which sometimes is closer than you think. Or, what Manuela told us about the island of Samothrace.
This is one of those stories where you won’t find a list of the thousand things to do once you step foot on the island. Nor will it offer you recommendations on where to eat or sleep. It’s more a story of a deeply personal and beautiful experience — words that could make you want to go there if you haven’t already, or shed a quiet tear if you have. Words that remind you how much you want to go back.
Everything becomes real — but not at the moment of packing your bags or setting off for Greece. It happens out there in the sea, somewhere equidistant between two shores, as your course narrows toward Samothrace. That’s when it hits you: you’re only about an hour away. And then, you start to wonder — are you going to the island, or is it moving toward you? But no — there’s no Mohammed going to the mountain here. It’s just you. You’re the one sailing to the island. Excitement starts to crawl up your legs in pins and needles. Your neck tingles.
The docking itself is like any other — nothing new under the sun, and at the same time, everything new under the sun. That’s the thing about sailing — each new destination feels like a different world, even though it looks similar to the last. The people are different. The water is different. The food too.
This time, we dock at Kamariotissa. The name alone carries a strange weight — hard to learn, but after 17.6 repetitions, it sticks. Soon, we’re all pronouncing it like seasoned professors at an afternoon briefing, ouzo in hand, pondering whether calamari is better fried or grilled. (Both, obviously. Both!)
It’s obvious we’re not from here. And it’s clear we’re only here for a little while. Our faces are thirsty for the Greek wind. Our eyes seek views. Our bodies are ready for anything that will help them absorb every possible inch of this island.
Everything is priceless, yet we’re in no rush. Who hurries in Greece anyway? You’d be a fool to try and speed things up here — or to let someone rush you. You only rush when there’s something critical at stake. But remember — in this life, there’s rarely anything truly irreversible. Especially not when peace and stillness are holding your hand.
So… Samothrace!
The island is 17 km long, 178 sq. km in area. Once home to Thracian tribes, it was the site of a sanctuary to the Great Gods and deeply mysterious religious rites of ancient Greece.
In those 17 km, Samothrace manages to be the island of the goddess Nike; to contain dreams, rainbows, beauty, storms, waterfalls, winds (meltemi), scooters, and road trips — just enough of each to fill your soul.
It’s where the sea meets the 1,611-meter-high peak known as Fengari — “Moon” in Greek — which you can reach only with a six-hour hike. It’s a place for ouzo with ice, for calamari on the southern beach, for rosé in the calm streets of Chora. It’s a place of sights that bond with your soul, and air that lets your dreams run wild.
This island is an endless source of serotonin and deep sighs. A place where you can get lost — not because the roads are confusing, but because your eyes get lost in the hills and you forget to even look at a map. Not that it matters — most roads lead either to the sea or to a secret taverna with that famous goat meat everyone raves about.
And if you get really, truly lost, you’ll find goats, figs, salty water, and stunning fish.
This is our second time here.
And everything feels familiar — like a dream you’ve half-remembered or a long-lost memory. Two years after our first visit, we came back with a question lodged deep in our minds: Is it just nostalgia, or is this place truly special?
After several days of chasing waterfalls, exploring beaches, passing olive trees, meeting herds of goats, and soaking in every unique Greek scent — we found our answer: the island hadn’t changed. It remained that place where you can rest, reflect, and realize that at the end of the day, nothing beats feeling good.
Happiness isn’t a goal. It just happens. And nothing good ever demands more attention than you naturally give.
That’s the nature of Samothrace — it allows you to feel all that, whether you give it a little time or a lot. The truth is: it deserves a lot.
It deserves your surrender, your forgetfulness — so you can truly remember.
And remembering Samothrace is an honor few grant themselves in a lifetime.
After docking, there was only one road. But the direction? That wasn’t so clear.
We stopped and listened. The beach was calling us — like a baby goat calling for its mother, like an old grandpa on his sixth tsipouro, like a child calling its dog.
We followed that call. And nothing had changed.
The cliffs still stood tall and majestic. Still as battered, still as beautiful. And the water — just as we remembered it.
Clear. Full of curious fish. Calm stones. A visible depth.
The patterns danced before our eyes, reminding us: everything happens for a reason.
This time, that reason twisted itself around generosity — and brought us face-to-face with a baby stingray.
I’d seen them on TV, in aquariums, in encyclopedias. But the idea of swimming with one? That always felt like something from a dream, somewhere between the shape of the mountain and the sky.
And yet — here it was. No six-hour hike. No leap into the atmosphere. Just us and this surreal little creature.
After a series of moments like that — which somehow only seem to happen on this island — you realize: Samothrace is a special place.
You start calling it “home” without thinking. And not just calling it that — you feel it.
You want it. You remember it.
And you don’t share it with just anyone.
When you’re away from it, you’re only ever one thought away.
And if you’re not greedy for physical closeness, it’s even easier — you’re just one memory away.
And that’s enough to take you back. To feel it all. Again.
The island stays relentlessly beautiful — and though someone might say that your eyes will get used to it, they won’t.
They can’t.
All they can do is miss it. Long for it.
Luckily, SP Sailing offers truly unforgettable sailing trips — the kind that make meeting Samothrace possible.
And the reasons to get there? Practically endless.
Just pick one — and go.