What are the best beaches in Greece?

What are the best beaches in Greece? Follow along as I share my Top 5 beaches!

So you are curious as to which beaches are the best in Greece! Well hopefully this list can steer you in the right direction to decide which ones to go visit! Which ones offer the best views, the clearest waters and of course the best places to brush up your instagram profile!

So, when it comes to top beaches in Greece a few come to mind, Elafonisi in Crete, Balos in Crete, Navagio in Zakynthos, Porto Katsiki in Lefkada, Egremni in Lefkada, Sarakiniko in Milos, the list goes on!

Quite frankly, there isn’t a ‘best’ beach in Greece, but what we can do is break these beaches down to what they have to offer and see which ones come out as the king of Greek beaches! Keep in mind, these are beaches that I myself have been to, I will leave out popular beaches that I have not been to.

What are the key factors that make a beach great? For starters, you have the water, is it a good swim? Is it colorful? Are the views incredible? Other key factors would be the atmosphere, the food and beverage service, and is it easy to get to!?

What I will do is take each beach and rank these 5 features on a 5 point scale and let the math do the talking! I could not stress enough that the results this will produce does not make the higher score beach a better beach. What it will do is highlight the features of each beach! For example, if you usually pack your own food and drink, then this system will not produce the best one for you!!

Beach – Sarakiniko

Water – 3.5 – Unique swimming experience, be prepared to have your feet being bit by tiny fish and a great diving experience!

Views – 5.0 – Some of the most otherworldly scenery that you will find anywhere in Greece!

Atmosphere – 5.0 – The stone you stand on, is white volcanic rock, shaped by the wind. I mean, if that alone doesn’t deserve a 5.0 then I am not sure what would.

Food Service – 1.0 – There is snack and drink truck in the parking area.

Access – 5.0 – Not only is it easy to access, its a small island so its a quick ride from anywhere and the best part is after the parking area, the approach to the best consists of walking along the white lunarscape path providing an otherworld experience.

Total: 18.5/25

Beach – Elafonisi

Water – 3.0 – Shallow waters pretty much anywhere on the peninsula, its an effort to get to a good swimming depth.

Views – 4.5 – A very unique experience, especially the pink sand. Everywhere you look there is water as you are on a peninsula beach.

Atmosphere – 5.0 – Good vibes, lots of people but it is a huge beach so it does not feel crowded. You have several options as the shore line can be in front of you and behind you at the same time, and it curves around into some unique areas you may want to venture off to.

Food Service – 2.0 – There is no waiting service, however there is a snack bar for snacks, ice cream, coffee, and very basic prepackaged sandwiches.

Access – 4.5 – It’s a long drive in Crete, but its pretty simple to access once you get there.

Total: 19/20

Beach – Balos

Water – 3.0 – Shallow waters pretty much anywhere just like Elafonisi.

Views – 4.5 – A very unique experience, pink sand similar to Elafonisi..

Atmosphere – 4.5 – Feels a lot like Elafonisi.

Food Service – 2.0 – There is no waiting service, however there is a snack bar for snacks, ice cream, coffee, and very basic prepackaged sandwhiches.

Access – 2.0 – You can drive here but its a rough road, followed by a long walk down a mountain road. Your best bet is to take the boat tour to the beach which docks on the shore.

Total 16/20

Beach – Navagio

Water – 5.0 – Turquoise blue water from out of this world. Not much of shallow area after about 2 to 3 steps in but the water has a feel unlike anywhere else you will ever find!

Views – 5.0 – You are engulfed by enormous walls in the cove. You have a huge shipwreck that you can enter and climb.

Atmosphere – 5.0 – Otherworldly. You will feel like you got dropped off on another planet. It is that different!! The huge cove walls engulf you into the somewhat short shoreline. You find a historic shipwreck stashed right in the center of the beach. Makes for the most amazing photography and memories you will get. Oh, and you might see someone base jump and start landing above your head from the top of the cove.

Food Service – 0.0 – There is no food or drink.

Access – 4.0 – Your only way there is by boat. Most of the boat tours also take you to another stop along the way for an extra swim inside the Blue Caves. This approach by boat also makes the anticipation incredible as you watch the beach closer and closer as your boat arrives.

Total 19/25

Beach – Myrtos

Water – 4.5 – Turquoise blue water very similar to Navagio. Large pebbles as you approach the water. Can get annoying if this bothers your feet.

Views – 4.0 – Endless turquoise blue from edge to edge.

Atmosphere – 4.5 – It feels like any other big beach, however it is quiet and all you hear is tzitzikia!! However the views are world class. Same color water as Navagio. People are paragliding off the mountain onto the beach, however bring an umbrella!! There are only about 20 or so on the beach and as you may expect, they are tough to come by. Except that once time I walked right up to the front row as someone was leaving!! Super lucky.

Food Service – 1.0 – None, however a local shop nearby does deliveries. The beach keep can give you their phone number.

Access – 4.0 – You drive down a steep zig zag slope, the drive down is amazing watching Myrtos in front of you. You can feel the excitement the entire way down!

Total 18/25

Beach – Porto Katsiki

Water – 4.5 – Turquoise blue water very similar to Navagio. Can be a bit chilly.

Views – 4.5 – Endless turquoise blue from edge to edge, with some amazing landscapes.

Atmosphere – 4.5 – The atmosphere here is a mix of Navagio and Myrtos. It is a long shore line. Huge cliff walls. Has a restricted area where stairs along the mountain were destroyed from a recent earthquake. I am not advising you to cross, but those who have, have sent in some amazing views.

Food Service – 3.5 – Great service, just a bit of a wait after you order.

Access – 4.5 – Easy to get to, easy to park, easy to walk down.

Total 21.5/25

Which beach is best!?

Well before we get to that, here are a few notable mentions that I did not reveiew: Seitan Limani in Crete, Tsigrado in Milos, Kolymbithres in Paros, Antisamos in Kefalonia, Falasarna in Crete, Matala in Crete and many more!!

So, according to this scoring system, here is what we end up with!

5. Myrtos Beach on Kefalonia

4. Sarakiniko on Milos

3. Elafonisi on Crete

2. Navagio on Zakynthos

1. Porto Katsiki on Lefkada

So there you have it! Take it for what it’s worth, all 5 of these beaches are worthy to be called ‘Best Beach in Greece’ and so is Balos which fell just short of the Top 5. But for today, Porto Katsiki is king!! All hail!!

Balos in Crete did not make the Top 5, missing by just a little bit! However, it is still a world class beach!! If I wrote this on a different day, maybe I would have had it in there!! It’s that close!!

Let me know what you think! Did I forget to mention an island? Did I leave a great beach out? Tell me in the comments or shoot me a message!! You can always find me on Instagram and Twitter: @iamgreece

If I find a new beach worth to crack this list, I will share that right away!!

UPDATE: I scored this system prior to my 2019 summer Greece tour. Of the 5, I only visited Sarakiniko this summer. I would still leave it where it is. It’s perfect. Also, I did not find another beach this summer that should crack the list, but definitely some honorable mentions!!