Little known beyond Greece, Chios is an island that has largely escaped the forces that have reshaped so much of the Mediterranean. Through Genoese traders, Ottoman rulers, and centuries of fortune and ruin, it has held on to a unique way of living, eating and celebrating. The resulting culture is distinctly Chian, bringing together the best of Greek, Middle-Eastern and Italian influences.
The island's soil, among the most fertile in the Mediterranean, allows crops to thrive. Here, citrus trees produce fruit and flowers in abundance, and in the warm months, the air is heavy with the fragrance of orange and lemon blossom. Chios is also the only place on earth where mastic is cultivated. Drawn from the bark of the Skinos tree, this aromatic resin is harvested by hand in the island's southern villages, just as it has been for centuries.
Behind this natural wealth is undisturbed history. Whole medieval villages still stand in the south, Byzantine monasteries perch on hillsides, and centuries-old culinary traditions persevere as part of everyday life.
This is where our story begins.
For 6 days, the island becomes home.
We will settle into an archontikó, a restored merchant mansion, of our own and gather around a chef and storyteller whose life is deeply rooted in the traditions of the Mediterranean.
Our days will unfold between three things: the table, the landscape, and the living past. Some days will be devoted to workshops and shared cooking, others to exploring, observing, tasting, and simply being present.
What follows is a glimpse of the week rather than a fixed itinerary. The season, the weather, and the island have a say in what happens next, and we leave room for them to do so.
RETREAT Highlights
A seat at the island's table
Guided by our chef and storyteller, we cook beside the island's grandmothers and growers, from sweet spoons to mastic scented ice cream, then gather for long meals and lose track of time.
Local stories & characters
We will wander medieval villages scratched in black and white patterns and raised as fortresses against pirates, learning their history and inherited crafts from the people born within them.
One with Chios' exquisite nature
We walk the mastic groves of the south where Skinos trees are scored by hand for their resin and the walled citrus gardens of Kampos flourish, learning from the growers how the island's ingredients come to life.
The sea, with those who know it
Led by people who have spent their lives by the sea, we will swim from quiet shore into water clear to the seabed and lift urchins from the rocks to savour with a cold glass of ouzo.
A historic estate of our own
We make our home in a stone estate among the walled citrus gardens of Kampos, where olive trees shade an infinity pool and the chef and lead storyteller gathers us for many of the week's workshops.
Food is one of the ways Greece keeps its traditions alive.
During our retreat, we will cook alongside yiayiades who have spent a lifetime preparing the food of the island, preserving seasonal fruit as spoon sweets and churning kaimaki ice cream scented with mastic: sweet, fragrant, and slightly chewy in the old Chian way. Together, we will learn the dishes that have remained at the heart of family tables for generations, then gather for long lunches that drift lazily into the afternoon.
There are drinks to discover as well. Mastiha, the island's sweet liqueur distilled from mastic resin, is enjoyed far beyond the shores of Chios yet produced nowhere else on earth. Souma is another: a clear, intense spirit distilled in villages and poured freely. Alongside them come wines from small Chian growers and olive oil pressed at mills just up the road. We will get the chance to visit local distilleries to get closer to the terroir, the processes and also taste the beauty of their different distillations.
By the end of the week, you will have tasted the island's ingredients and traditions and begun to understand the landscape, history, and people that shaped them.
Beyond the villa, the island opens up.
In the mastic groves of the south where low Skinos trees are carefully scored by hand to collect their resin, we will spend a couple of hours taking part in the mastic harvest itself if the season allows. This slow and meticulous process has shaped the island’s calendar for centuries.
Through the narrow roads of Kampos, we will wander with local citrus growers and admire the historic citrus district where our villa sits among walled gardens planted with fragrant orange, lemon, and mandarin trees.
Along the footpaths of locals that have spent their lives by the sea in the even less explored parts of the island, we will make our way down to quiet beaches beyond the reach of boats, where crystal clear water laps against the shore and urchins can be carefully harvested and savoured with a cold glass of ouzo.
Much of the island still lives the way it always has.
We will walk the medieval villages of the south in the company of people who were born inside them. Built like mazes to hide from pirates, now heavily protectted by their inhabitants, these villages have kept their medieval allure. In Pyrgi, every façade is covered in xysta, black and white patterns scratched into the plaster, found nowhere else in Greece. In Mesta, the lanes fold in on themselves beneath stone arches, a whole village raised as a single fortress.
In those villages, we will also get the chance to sit with the island's women and witness the weaving craft they keep alive, inherited skills handed down without ever being written.
Home, for six days, is a stone estate in the Kampos valley.
Kampos is the old citrus country of Chios, a few kilometres inland from town, where the merchants of the Genoese and Ottoman centuries built their mansions behind high walls and planted the ground with orange, lemon and mandarin. Ours is one of them, restored and still lived in: traditional stone, intricate woodwork, a terracotta roof warming through the afternoon. Inside, marble bathrooms and rooms enough that sixteen of us never crowd. Outside, the reason people linger, olive trees and lavender, ponds and quiet water, and an infinity pool set before the house with the valley opening beyond it.
The chef and storyteller will gather us here for workshops and long table meals.
ESTATE Highlights
A restored merchant mansion
A stone mansion behind the high walls of Kampos, traditional architecture, intricate woodwork and a terracotta roof warming in the afternoon light.
An infinity pool, and the valley beyond
A 185 square metre pool set before the house, heated when the season asks, a pool bar alongside and the citrus orchards falling away past it.
Lush rooms to settle into
Ten bedrooms, each with its own marble bathroom, and living rooms and quiet corners where old stone and woodwork meet softer comfort.
Gardens, and ways to roam them
Olive trees and lavender, ponds and quiet water, croquet on the lawn and bikes for the walled lanes of Kampos.
A kitchen and bountiful tables everywhere
A working kitchen at the heart of the house, and long tables set across the estate, for workshops and the meals that follow.
What's Included
Six nights at our archontikó in the Kampos valley, in a room of your own.
Every meal of the week, from slow breakfasts to long lunches and dinners at the estate's tables, alongside the island's wines, its mastiha and souma, and olive oil pressed just up the road.
All workshops and cooking sessions, led by our chef and storyteller and the local cooks, growers and craftspeople who join us through the week.
Every outing in the programme: the medieval villages of the south, the mastic groves and, if the season allows, the harvest itself, the walled citrus gardens of Kampos, the village distilleries, and the quiet beaches beyond the reach of boats.
All transport on the island, including your transfers from Chios airport or port on arrival and departure.
All entries and admissions, and gratuities throughout.
What's Not Included
Flights to and from Chios, and any travel to your point of departure.
Travel insurance, which we ask every guest to arrange before arrival.
Anything of a personal nature, and any nights or experiences taken before or after the retreat.
Anything not named above.
Terms & Conditions
Every guest is asked to hold travel and cancellation insurance, ideally covering medical care abroad, lost luggage and emergency evacuation.
We will do everything to deliver the week as described, but the season, the weather and the island have a say, and we reserve the right to adjust the itinerary where we must, for reasons of safety or anything beyond our control.
From time to time we photograph the retreat. Images may be used in Notos's own storytelling, never in a way that intrudes, and you can tell us at any point if you would rather not appear.
How to Travel to Chios
Chios sits in the north east Aegean, a short hop from Athens. Most guests fly to Athens first, then take the domestic flight on to Chios, which lands in about 45 minutes and runs daily through the season. The island's airport is a few minutes from the estate, and we will be there to meet you.
If you would rather arrive by sea, a daily ferry runs from Piraeus to Chios in roughly eight hours, a slower and quietly beautiful way to reach the island. There are also seasonal connections from Thessaloniki and the neighbouring islands.
We recommend arriving on Sunday, September 27th and departing on Saturday, October 3rd. If flight or ferry times are tight, consider coming a day early. The island rewards the unhurried, and we are happy to help arrange an extra night at the estate.
Good to Know
We keep each retreat to sixteen guests, no more.
You will not need a car. From the moment you land we take care of the moving around, so the week is yours to be present in.
Before you arrive we send a short guide: what to pack, what the days ask of you, and a few of our own favourite corners of the island should you choose to come early or stay on.
The week involves gentle walking on cobbled village lanes and uneven ground, with time in the sea. No particular fitness is needed, only a willingness to be on your feet for parts of the day.
Tell us of any dietary needs or allergies when you book. On an island this generous, the table bends easily to accommodate them.
Check-in is from 3pm on Sunday, September 27th. Check-out is by 11am on Saturday, October 3rd.
