Sifnos on a budget: how to do it well
Short answer
Sifnos can be done on a modest budget with buses, footpaths and simple meals. A realistic minimum is about €80 per person a day: €40 for a bed, €25 for food, €5 for sights and €8 for transport.
A realistic daily budget
| Budget | Mid-range | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed (per person, sharing) | €40 | €75 | €170 |
| Food & drink | €25 | €50 | €90 |
| Sights & tickets | €5 | €15 | €35 |
| Local transport | €8 | €25 | €45 |
| Per person, per day | €78 | €165 | €340 |
Approximate 2026 prices, two people sharing a room. From our Sifnos day-cost table.
Free things to do
- Walking the Steno, Apollonia's marble-paved main lane.
- The paved path from Apollonia to Artemonas and the windmill ridge.
- Kastro, the fortified village whose outer houses form the wall.
- The chapel of the Epta Martyres on its rock below Kastro.
- Chrysopigi monastery and the beach at Apokofto.
- The marked footpaths between villages and bays.
Cheap eats
- Revithada, chickpeas baked overnight in a clay pot, often at weekends.
- Melopita, the honey cheese pie, from an Artemonas pastry shop.
- Ambelofasoula (black-eyed beans) with a caper salad.
- Manoura or chlorotyri cheese with bread for a picnic.
- Taverna dinner with house wine: €18–30.
Where to sleep for less
Budget travellers stay in Kamares, the port, with rooms from about €60–100; Apollonia is a little more but is the bus hub.
Getting around cheaply
Island buses cost about €2 and run from Apollonia to all main villages and beaches in summer. Conventional ferries from Piraeus take about 4.5–5 hours and are cheaper than fast boats (about 2.5–3 hours). There is no airport.
A sample budget day
- Morning: walk from Apollonia down to Kastro (free).
- Lunch: swim at Seralia and a picnic of cheese and bread (about €8).
- Afternoon: bus to Chrysopigi and Platys Gialos (about €4).
- Evening: revithada or mastelo in a taverna (about €20).
- Total: about €80 including a €40 bed share.
More ways to save
- Base yourself in Apollonia to use buses instead of taxis.
- Buy picnic supplies in Apollonia before beach days.
- Swim at free coves like Glyfo and Fasolou instead of renting sunbeds.
- Ask a day ahead for revithada, which many places only make at weekends.
- Visit in May, June or September for walking weather and lower prices.
- Book dinner in August to avoid long waits.
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Common questions
Can you visit Sifnos on a budget?
Yes: stay in Kamares or Apollonia, use the buses, walk and eat local clay-pot dishes.
How do I get to Sifnos cheaply?
Take a conventional ferry from Piraeus, about 4.5–5 hours. There is no airport.
Where should budget travellers stay?
Kamares, the port, from about €60–100 a room.