Andros is a fertile island, blessed with many springs, quiet beaches, and pretty villages. It also has a tumultous history.

Lying immediately south of Evvia, the Northernmost of the Cyclades islands has, at various times, been plundered and looted for different reasons. The Andriots chose the wrong side in the Persian War, and Athens punished them for this by sacking the island. It was a favourite haunt of pirates and the victim of pirate raids. The so-called Cavodoro, (Cape of Gold), the straits that separate Andros from Evvia, is a place where two opposing currents meet. When combined with a strong wind, this can be fearsome for sailors, with the result that many shipwrecks have taken place over the millennia in these straits. One was quite recent; a ferry set sail on a rough winter's day. A combination of the weather and a gas cylinder (for cooking) in a car or lorry, carelessly bound, resulted in an explosion, and the ship sank. Because of this and other concerns, the Greek authorities have got much more careful about passenger and ship safety, and cancel the boats far more readily if the weather is too stormy or rough.
On the positive side, the archaeological museum in the Hora (Andros Town) shows what a lovely place its ancient capital, Paleopolis, must have been at the peak of Andros' period in the Ancient world. Modern Paleopolis, incidentally, is still gorgeous, with its terraces, groves and whitewashed houses pokadotted about the lush hillside that leads down to the sea.
Andros was renowned in the Middle Ages, and especially later on in the Renaissance period, under Venetian rule, and then under Turkish rule, for the quality of its silk. There are still many mulberry trees on the island, though sericulture is no longer practised.
It is also renowned for its mineral water, bottled at Apikia-Sariza.
As Greek islands go, it is prosperous, and has only one real resort, Batsi, a package holiday destination. Camping Andros, just outside Gavrion is a good camping site. It is essentially an Athenian weekender's island, and is still relatively unspoilt.