The most beautiful beaches in Greece have no bar, no sunlounger and rarely any signal. You reach them along a dirt road, on a path through the pines or by boat from the next village over, and the reward is water so clear the boats seem to float on air. I spent three summers collecting coves like these — and, more to the point, taking notes on how to reach them without a struggle and without spoiling the beach for whoever comes after you.
How we chose the seven
Greece has more than six thousand islands and islets, a few hundred of them inhabited. With that much coastline, "the most beautiful beach" is a question with no answer — it depends on what you're after. We started from a very specific profile: the traveller from Romania who wants clean sea, without driving for days on end and without paying Mykonos prices at the peak of August.
So we filtered by three criteria, in this order. First, access: a direct flight or a reasonable ferry from home, so the holiday doesn't get swallowed by travel. Then the water: it has to hold its own against any Cycladic postcard, whatever the wind is doing. And finally the pace: it has to belong to the place — fishermen, family tavernas, roads that lead nowhere else — not to mass tourism.
We left aside, with some regret, the beaches that have already "blown up" on social media and filled with sunloungers at 40 euros a row. Not because they aren't beautiful, but because the experience we're promising here — the feeling of having found something that's yours alone — no longer exists there by eleven in the morning.
Navagio, Zakynthos
Yes, it's the most photographed beach in Greece — and that's exactly why the trick is the hour. Come on the first boat of the morning, around nine, and you'll have the cove almost to yourself for a whole hour before the flotilla of excursion boats arrives. The white cliffs drop straight into the water, and the rusted shipwreck in the middle makes the photo everyone knows. The rest of the island, the part you don't see in brochures, stays rural: vineyards, monasteries and nameless little coves where the water is the colour of a swimming pool. Rent a scooter for a day and stop at the first sign pointing to "paralia" (beach) — you'll rarely go wrong.
Antisamos, Kefalonia
Myrtos shows up on every postcard, but Kefalonia keeps its best coves hidden behind the switchbacks. Antisamos is a half-moon of white shingle beneath forested mountains, its water shifting from turquoise to deep blue within a few metres of the shore. There's no fine sand, so bring water shoes — but it's that very shingle that keeps the water crystal clear. Early morning is yours alone; the afternoon brings people, though never as many as in the Cyclades. On the way back, stop in the village of Assos — a fistful of pastel houses on a spit of land, with two or three tavernas where the fish is picked from the crate, not from a menu.
Canal d'Amour, Corfu
Corfu's green north hides sandstone rocks that the sea has carved into tunnels, arches and coves just a few metres wide. The water is calm and good for swimming among the formations, and legend has it that whoever swims through the channel finds love — reason enough to give it a go. Come in the morning again: at midday, in high season, the small coves fill up quickly because they aren't large. The sunset, on the other hand, can be watched from the cliff without fighting for a spot at the railing, and the tavernas behind still cook sofrito and pastitsada, the island's Venetian dishes.
Four more, in brief
Kos — the beach by bike
The island of Hippocrates is flat and bike-friendly: you can cross from beach to archaeological site in a single morning. The long beaches in the south, towards Kefalos, rarely fill up even in August, and Paradise Beach has, here and there, bubbles of warm air rising from the sand on the seabed — a small, free volcanic show.
Rhodes — St Paul's Bay
Below the acropolis of Lindos hides an almost circular bay with a narrow mouth to the sea, looking for all the world like a lagoon. Walk down the steps from the little white church and you have a natural pool sheltered from the waves. Come early or towards evening — at midday, the terrace above pours people down the slope.
Halkidiki — the middle finger, Sithonia
Of Halkidiki's three "fingers," Sithonia is the wild one: a coast road with dozens of little coves where you pull the car over to the right and climb down to a nameless beach. It's the best choice if you're driving from Romania — one day at the wheel and you're there, with emerald water and campsites under the pines.
Mykonos — but the wrong beach
Even on the party island there is quiet, if you know where to look. Skip the beach-club shores in the south and head for the north coast, exposed to the meltemi wind: Fokos and Mersini have neither bar nor music, just a taverna and the open sea. The meltemi keeps them empty — come on a day without a strong wind and you'll find one of the loveliest surprises in the Cyclades.
The best Greek beach is the one you reach dripping with sweat and leave without telling anyone its name.
Radu Ionescu
Snapshots from the seven coves — white shingle, emerald water and roads that lead nowhere else.
How to get there and when to go
Corfu, Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Kos and Rhodes have airports with direct or charter flights from Romania in season. For Sithonia and Halkidiki, the easiest gateway is Thessaloniki — an hour and a half by air or a day by car. Domestic ferries link many of the islands, so you can combine two in a single holiday without heading back to the mainland.
As for timing: June and September are pure gold. The water is warm, prices drop by a quarter compared with August, and the wild beaches actually stay wild. July and August work if you get moving in the morning and accept the company of others by midday. Avoid, if you can, the first half of August, when the whole of Greece is on holiday and even the hidden coves get crowded.
How to combine two islands in one holiday
Domestic ferries are the difference between a single-island holiday and an "archipelago" one. Kefalonia and Zakynthos are linked by a crossing of about an hour and a half, so they combine easily without heading back to the mainland. Likewise, from Corfu you quickly reach Paxos or the coast of Epirus. The practical rule: book the ferry well ahead in high season, especially if you're bringing the car, because the vehicle spaces sell out first.
What to pack for a day on a wild beach
These beaches have no kiosk, no parasol and no lifeguard, so a little kit makes all the difference between a glorious day and a miserable one.
- Water shoes — the shingle is lovely, but scorching at midday and slippery at the water's edge.
- Plenty of water and something to eat: the nearest taverna can be kilometres away.
- Portable shade or a large towel to rig up — the midday Greek sun shows no mercy.
- Snorkelling mask and goggles: the clear water hides caves and shoals of fish.
- A bag for your rubbish, to carry back out — these places stay clean only as long as each of us takes care.