Karystos offers simple pleasures, a place to wander aimlessly. Stroll along the busy street of fishmongers, or browse over the retail curiosities of a dark Aladdin’s cave of a shop off the main square with its assortment of exotic sweets, pastries, liqueurs, birdcages and toys.Is it expensive?Being off the tourist track, prices are low on Evia. It’s an ideal base: a sleepy small town with a comatose square on the wide Karystian Bay, set against the beautiful backdrop of Mount Ochi and fertile plains. It has the best selection of restaurants, tavernas and traditional cafes on the island, many overlooking the pretty harbour.Are there many nightclubs?Get the picture, it’s not that sort of place. To reach southern Evia, the quickest and easiest way is the hour-long ferry trip from Rafina (under an hour’s drive from Athens airport) to the attractive little port of Marmari.Where should I head for?Karystos, in southern Evia.

This is the place for a laid-back, relaxed holiday circa 1960.So how do you get there?Take a ferry or cross the bridge from the mainland to the island’s capital, Halkida. In southern Evia you will forsake signs for full English breakfasts and plate-smashing contests in the restaurants and instead see fishermen bringing their latest catch to the quay and farmers working the land. The south of the island, especially, offers a glimpse of the real Greek way of life rather than the tourist-resort version familiar to most British visitors. Set in the Aegean sea and separated from the mainland by only the slender Straits of Evripos and the Gulf of Evia, it is a popular weekend retreat for Athenians.So it’s got lots of high-rise hotels, only they are full of Greeks rather than British touristsOn the contrary.

Evia? Never heard of it

Evia? Never heard of it
Despite being Greece’s second biggest island (after Crete), Evia is virtually unknown to British holidaymakers. For detailed tourist information about the Illinois section of Route 66 and Milwaukee, contact Cellet Travel Services (01564 794999, ) or see . For St Louis, Missouri, contact the Missouri brochure request line (0870-9000 996) or see and .. For more information about organised tours and rental pricescontact Harley-Davidson Rentals at or contact the Harley-Davidson Motor Company (0870-904 1450).Further informationThe Visit USA Association (09069 101020, .uk). Harley-Davidson has 220 authorised rental locations worldwide, including 30 in Europe Bike rental in the US starts at around $80 a day.