my favorite and least favorite beaches in greece

28/12/2023 0 Comments

my favorite and least favorite beaches in greece

My friend and I decided to visit Greece in the summer of 2023, and the only period that we were both available was the middle of July. Let's just say we were aware the heat would be unbearable and there would be more swimming than visiting, so we planned our trip accordingly and visited a lot of beaches. We all have that idea of Greek beaches, of gorgeous turquoise water, infinite horizons, fine sands and cliff jumping, and honestly, they did not disappoint, but some beaches ranked higher in my opinion than others. If you are short on time, here is a list of beaches I visited, and which ones I would visit again in a heartbeat and which ones I would pass on.

love : Agios prokopios, Naxos

When we got to the island of Naxos, we were pretty tired because of the intense beginning of our trip and all we wanted were a few days of R&R, which ended up to be an easy plan as we were staying in an Airbnb 200 meters away from the beach of Agios Prokopios, one of the best beaches of the whole island.

Pros :

This beach is pretty wide and really long compared to most beaches in Greece. Even with the multiple lounge chairs for rent, there was still plenty of space for us, poor people, who just wanted a patch of sand to put down a towel. You could also go for a good half an hour walk on this beach before having to turn around.
The sand was really soft and comfortable to walk on and the beach was clean
the water was clear and gorgeous

Cons :

It was pretty crowded, but not uncomfortably so
Every few hours, when a ferry would go by, there would be a set of waves that would clean more than half of the beach. You would have to keep an eye out and gather your things quickly when they came otherwise everything would be wet and you might sacrifice you flip flops to Poseidon.

Pass : red beach, santorini

Santorini is really not the best island for beaches in my opinion. It is definitely a must visit, but the options for swimming are limited. Although this beach looks cool because of its colour, it's not the best place to spend time.

Pros :

It looks cool on pictures
Beaches are rare on Santorini so you have to appreciate what you have

Cons:

There is a small, but treacherous hike to get there. I made it with sandals, but the rocks and sand made it slippery and it felt, maybe not unsafe, but you still have to be careful going down the hill
The crowds... people everywhere
The water is full of little wood chips or some kind of seaweed
The little pieces of seaweed dry on the beach and every time there is a small gust of wind they pinch your skin so you can never be comfortable laying on the beach for more than a few seconds
You can't go too close to the cliff because there is a risk of landslides so there is not a lot of spase

love : Logaras, Paros

Logaras beach was one of my favorite beaches of the whole trip and was part of what made Paros such a dream to me. It was out of the really touristy areas and just beautiful. We were lucky to have made a reservation at a hotel nearby and didn't regret being away from the main towns.

Pros :

Almost nobody there
The sand was comfortable to walk on
The water was so clear and blue and clean
Once you entered to water, it was rocky, but they were big rocks that weren't really slippery and mostly level so it wasn't a problem to walk
There was plenty of space

Cons :

For people staying in Parikia or Naoussa, this beach would be a 30 to 45 minute bus ride away

pass : pollonia, milos

During our stay in Milos, we were sleeping in a small B&B in Pollonia. It was one of the cheapest areas, but it still had plenty of little restaurants and shops and it was a great place to stay in my opinion, but the beach wasn't anything special. The marina was too close and the water too shallow so we were basically standing by the boats. It was a great beach for small kids, but for adults it was kind of disappointing.

Pros :

No crowds
Beautiful sand
Accessible, which is rare for Milos where most beaches need a boat or a narrow ladder to get to

Cons :

Small and not deep enough
The water was murky because of the boats in the marina

love for the view : papafragas caves

Papafragas caves was an area with multiple narrow canyons with a small beach at the end. It was an incredible visit, but not the best beaches. I still recommend going if you can.

Pros:

The view is great
The cliffs are really impressive and it's a beautiful location for pictures

Cons:

No space
Getting to the beach area requires good shoes and balance. The paths are narrow and slippery
It feels crowded even when there are just two other people because there is literally no space
The water wasn't clean and there was a lot of trash on the beach

Love but inaccessible : kalogries, milos

There is something you need to understand before going to Milos. If you hire a boat, the island has some of the best beaches in all of Greece. It has fine sand, gorgeous clear water and wonderful views. If you don't plan on hiring a boat, you will only have access to some of the most disappointing beaches in all of Greece. This one was a good exemple. It isn't reachable by land, or at least not easily, but it was so beautiful.

Pros :

Since it is only reachable by boat, there were a few tour boats like ours anchored in the bay, but they didn't stay long and it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves
The water was indescribably clear and clean
The sand was so soft and fine it was ridiculous. It felt like being in Varadero
You can slowly walk in the water for a really long time before you can't touch the bottom anymore

Cons :

Hard to access

pass : perissa, santorini

Just one more disappointing Santorini beach. Perissa is one of the black beaches of the island.

Pros :

This beach is long and wide so there is plenty of space
It is easy to access as the road goes all along the beach and there is also plenty of parking spaces

Cons:

The sand, since it's black, gets very hot so you can't walk on it
As soon as you enter the water, the ground is full of uneven rocks so, with the waves, it is almost impossible to swim safely

loooove but inaccessible : kleftiko, milos

Kleftiko still lives rent free in my dreams even months after this trip. Seriously, how gorgeous is it?! I don't know if you can really consider it a beach as there is barely a little sliver of sand, but it still deserves a mention on this list.

Pros :

The little grottos and arches to explore and plenty of places to cliff jump
The water so clear that you can see all the way to the bottom even when it is meters deep
The whole atmosphere of the place
The beauty of the white cliffs all around

Cons:

It is completely inaccessible if you don't have a boat
It is one of the most popular tourist attractions of the island so it can get crowded, but honestly it didn't feel overwhelming to me. There was still plenty of space

love but no place to hangout : ammoudi bay, santorini

Ammoudi bay is just one of those places that make you feel like you are in a movie. Unfortunately, it is really crowded, but still deserves a visit.

Pros :

Beautiful water and one of the few places where you can swim in Santorini
Just a staircase (alright it's a lot of stairs haha) away from Oia
Lots of places to cliff jump
Pretty easy spots to get in and out of the water

Cons:

You have to go back up all of the stairs to Oia
Soooooooo crowded
There are no places to sit or lie down so you can't really hangout there. It's just a place to go for a swim
Did I say it was crowded?
Leaving your bags unattended while you go for a swim is stressful, so I couldn't fully enjoy the experience

pass but also love : sarakiniko, milos

Before going to Milos, I had seen everywhere that Sarakiniko beach was a must visit on Milos Island. Personally, I don't know if we were in the wrong season to visit or if we had just loved Kleftiko too much the day before, but I was really disappointed. I think it depends what you are looking for: a photo op or a swimming spot. It was also really hot the day we visited so I might have just been done with everything.

Pros:

The cool surface-of-the-moon-like landscape
Nice place for cliff jumping if you don't mind waiting your turn

Cons :

Accessible by bus, but it is a long and complicated ride and a bit of a walk, so if you didn't rent a scooter, getting there is a pain
The water was kind of gross. It was murky from sunscreen, there were algae and lots of trash
It was really crowded
The places where the water looked nice, weren't accessible because of the cliff side

Looove but inaccessible : blue bay, poliegos

This is the spot to visit if you are looking for blue water. And I mean the electric blue Crayola marker of your childhood. The water was completely clear and we could see the rocks 30 meters below our feet. The only downside is the fact that it is completely inaccessible except by boat.

Pros:

There was almost nobody there
The bluest water I have ever seen in my life. Comparable to Morraine lake in Banff
Also some of the cleanest water

Cons:

You need to charter a boat to get there. It was on the itinerary of the tour we purchased from Milos

So I guess what you have to remember from this article is: charter a boat in Milos and you will not regret it, and don't expect to be doing a lot of swimming in Santorini. Other than that, Greece has some of the bluest water I have seen in my life, often bluer than the Bahamas, and the beaches are pretty great. I mean, even the ones I would pass would look great compared to most beaches in Quebec soooo...

YOUR CART