My Favourite Beaches

Depending upon which way the wind is blowing, you should go to one of the beaches protected from the wind - opposite to the direction of the wind. The prevailing wind on Kythera is the westerly, and the eastern and southern beaches are usually the best protected.

You can check the weather predictions on this great website:

http://www.meteo.gr/meteoplus/cf-En.cfm?city_id=19

NORTHERN BEACHES:

St. Nikolaus

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/VEn8JbvYPjk

Platia Ammos

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/xJbmmJBnZM72

EASTERN BEACHES:

Limni (also known as Aphrodite's Beach)

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/yZxYLAMnW3C2

Kaladi

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/9DPCSTrgsvG2

Paliopoli

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/4NQoznFaiN42

Avlemonas

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/JNhFztarRZk

Diakofti

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/Bk8TE5qZxeB2

Neos Kosmos

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/v5ic8TiUYGx

Firi Ammos North

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/E1jYtjVwERA2

Lagada

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/U32rBBq7Qhr

SOUTHERN BEACHES:

Halkos

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/qZPtipYa8VG2

Kapsali

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/5kqrFx62kQL2

Firi Ammos South

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/iZ7EydPtmQQ2

WESTERN BEACHES:

The Magic Green Pool

It's an hour's walk from Limnionas, and you need good shoes, but well worth it. See the pictures on the Sights page.

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/NPJ41sYnTeJ2

Kalami (you need to climb a bit)

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/UKR6DdnvBqC2

Likothimo (not that pretty, but good when there is an easterly blowing

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/9RaeBFZFknv

If you've been invited to visit our house, this is where you'll find all the relevant information to make your stay enjoyable.

How to get there:

Once you get to Athens (for example with Easyjet from Berlin which costs between €150 and €330 return, depending upon season and holidays), you still of course have to get to the island. It takes about 35 minutes with Olympic Air from Athens to Kythera, and flies at least once a day and which you can book here. At the time of writing it cost about €120 return (Sept-June) and €180 return (July/August) for the Athens-Kythera-Athens flight.

You can also take a ferry from Piraeus, the port of Athens, to Kythera. That costs less than half as much as the plane, takes 8 or 9 hours, and is a wonderful, if long, journey. I think it sails twice a week in season but in the winter it is sometimes affected by bad weather. You can see the ferry timetable here.

If you can find a cheap flight to somewhere on the Peloponnese (Patras, Kalamata), it is sometimes cheaper to fly there and hire a car (4WD if you are staying at our place because of the road) and drive to Neapoli (see below) and take the ferry across. This is especially interesting if you want to see more of Greece anyway.

There is also a daily ferry from Neapoli, on the southern tip of the Peloponnese, to Kythera. In the summer it runs twice a day. So you could rent a car in athens, make the 6-10 hour drive down the Peloponnese, and take the ferry across. The crossing takes about 2 hours.

You can rent cars on Kythera from the port or from the airport directly from the friendly Drakakis Tours or Panayotis motor rent.

In July and August the island is pretty full of Australians returning to their ancestor's home island, so you might want to avoid it then if you want peace and quiet in the villages and beaches. On the other hand it is an exciting time to be on the island, as there are regular village dances and lots of friendly faces at the markets and in the restaurants.

For insiders the months of September and October are considered the nicest, as the bulk of the tourists are gone, the weather is perfect, the sea still warm and the restaurants still open.