Beaches in Greece

About the coast

Greek beaches divide cleanly by geography. The Ionian islands on the west — Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakynthos — get the cliff-and-cove drama and the bluest water in the country. The Aegean (Crete, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese) is windier, more open, and runs to long sand bays rather than tight pebble coves. The Peloponnese mainland holds a bit of both. Most of what's worth visiting is reachable on a 90-minute ferry from somewhere bigger.

Swimming is comfortable May through October. July and August are peak — domestic Greek holidays plus the international rush — and the meltemi wind picks up in the Aegean. June and September are our default windows: warm enough, far less crowded, and ferries still run on the summer timetable.

See our ranked list of Greece beaches →