Beaches In Samos - In That Postcard

BEST BEACHES IN SAMOS

In the summer of 2016 and 2017 each, we spent 2 whole months in lovely Samos Island. We rented a cosy summer house in Karlovasi and we even brought our car from Turkey to Samos. Discovering the jaw dropping beaches and lazing away the days under a tree shade with a frappe in hand is one of the best things to do in Samos. Of course we couldn't try all the beaches but managed to list most of them as Samos has more than thirty beaches. While some Samos beaches are sandy, some of them have pebbles but you can be sure that every one of them have pristine waters. We divided the beaches in Samos, Greece into two groups as north Samos beaches and south Samos beaches to offer a guide for your beach hopping holiday in Samos!

Samos Beaches Map

NORTH SAMOS BEACHES

Vathi is the center of Samos Island. Gagou Beach, Galazio Beach, Livadaki Beach, Mikri Lakka Beach, Megali Lakka Beach and Kerveli Beach are close to Vathi. While you can reach Gagou, Kerveli, Livadaki and Galazio beaches easily and rent sun beds and umbrellas, you need to walk from a nature path to reach Mikri Lakka and Megali Lakka and enjoy these untouched beaches.

GAGOU BEACH

If your Samos ferry arrives to Vathi, you can easily reach Gagou Beach by car. It is just a 10 km drive away. Gagou Beach in Samos is a very tiny beach with crystal blue waters. If it's coffee time already, there is a little café. You can either rent sun beds and umbrellas or you can put your towel on the beach for free. The beach has little pebbles but inside the sea, it is sand.

LIVADAKI BEACH

Livadaki Beach is also just 8 km from Vathi. We had heard that the road to Livadaki had quite bad conditions but in the end, it was worth it. If we didn't heard this, we would definitely go back because the road was a land road and it was too dusty. After kilometers of nowhere, we reached a well maintained and a good looking beach club named Livadaki Beach Bar.

Livadaki Beach was not a crowded place but still, there were a good number of people and it was looked like a Hawaiian beach -excluding the coconut palm trees :) Livadaki Beach is a sandy beach with crystal clear water.

A photo posted by Kokla Dünyayı (@kokladunyayi) on Aug 23, 2016 at 2:27am PDT

Livadaki Beach Bar entrance and parking were free. Sun beds and umbrellas were also free and best of all, the music was not so loud. The food was basic but quite affordable, we paid 4-5 Euros for a hamburger and coke. You can lay on the sun beds, or do as we did and lounge on the comfortable beach chairs on the terrace, or best of them all, put your sun bed directly inside the water and get a sun tan while you are in blue Aegean waters of Greece.

BEACHES IN KOKKARI, SAMOS

Kokkari Beach, Lemonakia Beach, Tsamadou Beach and Tsadou Beach are all located within Kokkari. Even though Lemonakia Beach is the most famous beach of Kokkari, all of them were quite charming with their view from atop and their vibrant blue color. Kokkari beach on the other hand, was lively even at night time but it can be too windy sometimes.

A quiet day on Kokkari Beach

Kokkari Beach

Tourists mostly rent a car in Samos to reach the beaches but alternatively, you can go to Lemonakia Beach by bus, too. Although the public transportation in Samos Island is not so frequent and feasible, we used it once before the pandemic. We paid 4 Euros for one way from Karlovasi to Lemonakia Beach. You should still check the timetable but the last bus was at 17:00 and there was no bus service on Sundays in Samos.

Tsambou Beach view: crystal blue waters and lush greenery.

TSAMADOU BEACH

Tsamadou Beach was a more popular place amongst the young people while Tsadou Beach was calmer. We couldn't go to Tsadou Beach yet, but we managed to visit Tsamadou Beach many times and really enjoyed it. Tsamadou Beach was located just below the main road, so we left our car on the road and took the stairs down to the beach. While we were admiring the view and color of the sea, we were just shocked that we actually landed in a nudist beach in Samos :) Luckily, there were two other facilities that we could spend time with our swimsuits on :) One of them was Tsamadou Beach. It was very quiet and the sandwich prices were convenient but we kept going to the other end of the bay to the Navagos Beach Club.

Navagos Beach is always lively

Navagos Beach Club was a very nice place, mostly preferred by the young people. We visited Navagos on a weekday and it was not so crowded. The volume of the music was not too high. There were sun beds both on the beach and grass terraces and they were all free of charge, the entrance to Navagos Beach was also free. The restaurant in Navagos was not overpriced at all, we paid just 7 Euros for two beers and a snack plate.

Navagos Beach Club

Snacks are just for the summer!

Navagos Beach is a pebble beach with clean, crystal clear waters. There were no seaweed and dangerous sea creatures such as jellyfish. We went on a windy day but luckily there were no waves. The water is cold and it gets deep quickly. Since we love to take a dip in the cool water on a hot summer day, we loved the place! Actually, we would say Navagos Beach Club is the best beach in Samos in terms of prices, location and sea conditions.

Breezy terrace of Lemonakia Beach

LEMONAKIA BEACH

Lemonakia beach is located at the next bay of Tsamadou Beach. It has a breathtaking view. You'll never want to get out from the pristine waters. There were different colored sun beds on Lemonakia Beach, which belonged to three different facilities and the sun bed prices were around 3-4 Euros. Someone walks around the beach once in a while to collect these fees but it only depends on your luck to see this guy or not! If you don't want to pay for a sun bed on a Greek Island, you can always choose to lay on the beach.

Unbelievable colors of Lemonakia Beach

Two of these three companies had taverns at Lemonakia Beach. The prices were almost the same but we preferred Andrea's Place since it was closer to the sea. We ordered grilled sardines, Greek salad and saganaki cheese and we paid almost 20 euros including the beverages.

Lemonakia Beach Grilled Sardines

Greek Salad

Saganaki Cheese

AVLAKIA BEACHES

As you make your way further to the Northwest of Samos, you'll see Avlakia Beach, Tsampou Beach, Kampos Beach, Petalides Beach and Agios Nikolaos Beach, all closely located to each other. Agios Nikolaos Beach looked wavy but we loved the view of Avlakia Beach from the top and decided to stop and take a look. We still sometimes remember how we really loved Avlakia Beach, it is one of the hidden beaches of Samos. Almost no travel blogs or travel guides mention this beach, so it remains untouched and has a really local vibe. There are only two little hotels and a restaurant in Avlakia Beachi so it almost feels like a private beach for those. There is also a free parking lot right at the entrance of Avlakia Village.

There were literally nobody on Avlakia Beach

What we ate in the small fish restaurant in Avlakia Beach

KARLOVASI BEACH

Karlovasi is the most Northwestern point of Samos and our rental house in Samos was here as well. When we first arrived to Samos, our Samos ferry arrived directly to Karlovasi from Sigacik, Turkey. So, Karlovasi Beach is the first beach we saw on the island and I thought it wasn't going to be good because it is a pebble beach but clearly, I was wrong. The first 1 meter of Karlovasi Beach has pebbles but after that, it is all sand and even if you're not a good swimmer it is quite easy to swim here. The sea here is calm and clear but it can get a little wavy towards sunset time. We went to Karlovasi Beach almost every day because it was very close to our house. Tip: Meltemia Restaurant is just across the road and it is one of the best restaurants in Samos.

Karlovasi Plajı

Karlovasi Plajı'nın hemen yanındaki Meltemia Restaurant

POTAMI BEACH

World famous Potami Beach, Micro Seitani Beach and Megalo Seitaini Beach are located 3 km west of Karlovasi. Potami Beach is a very long pebble beach and you have to take the stairs to reach it. We heard that there were good parties in Potami Beach but we're not party people so we decided to come here on a week day. Don't forget to check the wind before coming here, because then it can be wavy if the wind is strong.

Potami Beach view from the top

There are two beach clubs on Potami Beach but we only tried Hippy's Beach Club. We loved its indie decoration, refined music choice of electronic and pop, and most importantly friendly service.

I can spend whole summer here

If you purchase something, sunbeds are all free and there is no entrance fee to Hippy's Beach Club. We cooled down with a frappe and a freshly squeezed orange juice and paid 6 Euros.

Cool decoration of Hippy's Beach Samos...

...and it's colorful details.

If you don't want to take the stairs to the beach but still enjoy the view, you can choose one of the restaurants overlooking the bay. Our choice was always Cafe del Mundo. The Mexican decoration, the cocktails and most importantly the sunset view were all awesome. It is open till late night on the season. Actually, Cafe del Mundo is the best bar in Samos in our opinion.

Micro Seitani Beach

The path to Micro Seitani is mostly easy to hike but sometimes steep and rocky.

Getting to Micro Seitani Beach wasn't so easy for us. We asked local people if it's an easy hike and how much time it would take to get walk to Micro Seitani Beach. The answer was always 20 minutes but Greek people proved us that the time is really relative :D Einstein would be proud. It took almost 40 minutes for us to get to Micro Seitani. You should take this moderately hard hike to Micro Seitani Beach either in the morning breeze or the afternoon hours such as 17-18, but you should plan your time wisely and add some time for the return path.
To reach to Micro Seitani Beach, drive 1.5 km more from the end of Potami Beach and when you reach the pathway, you'll see the tiny Micro Seitani sign. You should park your car here and start to walk. If you're not a hiker, Micro Seitani path can be hard for you, especially if you're wearing flip flops.

The path was not easy and walking to Micro Seitani Beach took long, the end of it was breathtaking. It was almost empty (except the nude guy:). The color of the water was very clear with a nice tone of turquoise despite the waves. If you're ready to spend a good effort and your half day, this place would be an unforgettable experience. Don't forget to bring a bottle of water and something to eat as Micro Seitani Beach is not one of the organized beaches of Samos.

Micro Seitani'de büyüleyici gün batımı.

MEGALO SEITANI BEACH

On another occasion, we tried walking to the Megalo Seitani Beach. This time we were ready with our sneakers and water bottles. We have been told that it is just a 1.5 km easy hike from Micro Seitani Beach to Megalo Seitani Beach but it took almost 1.5 hours to get there. Either we were lost or something was wrong :D Anyway, when we reached the breathtaking Megalo Seitani, it was almost night fall, so we took some photos and went back without swimming.

Being one of Samos wild beaches, Megalo Seitani Beach is a Natura 2000 protected area and we can understand why. It has an outstanding natural beauty with crystal clear and turquoise blue waters. While we were trying to reach Megalo Seitani Beach, we met many people coming back from there. They were all carrying their ice boxes and bags. We believe, all these people spend their whole day in Megalo Seitani Beach, so they were well prepared. This place is a must see in Samos Island.

SOUTH BEACHES IN SAMOS

Posidonio Beach, Klima Beach, Psili Ammos Beach and Mikali Beach are conveniently located before arriving to Pythagorion. We visited Psili Ammos Beach and Posidonio Beach only. Posidonio actually serves like a marina and there were many fish restaurants, the beach was ok but Psili Ammos Beach was an ordinary, even mediocre beach. There is another Psili Ammos Beach in Samos (Hrisi Ammos) close to Marathokampos and I left my heart there. Mykali Beach Samos, on the other hand, is another place with it's pristine waters where you can spend a day together with your family.

Psili Ammos Beach close to Pythagorion

REMATAKI BEACH

Remataki Beach is in the heart of Pythagorion and one of the rare sandy beaches in Samos. It is shallow, clean and located between Likourgos Castle and Roman Baths. Remataki Beach is one of our favorite beaches in Samos. There are many taverns on Remataki beach. If you don't like any of them, there are other bars, shops and restaurants in Pythagorion center within a very short walking distance.
Ireon Beach and Potokaki Beach are beaches near Pythagorion, Samos. While Potokaki Beach is quite popular among especially young people, Ireon Beach is popular among tourists. To reach Tsopela Beach, you should use either a boat or a steep path, but according to the locals, it is a marvel.

Crystal clear waters and sand beach of Remataki

Remataki Beach

POTOKAKI BEACH

Potokaki Beach is a very long beach and it is just 2 km from Pythagorion, just near the Samos International Airport. When we first got there, it was a very windy day, so we prefered to return to Pythagorion. Potokaki Beach is a pebble beach with crystal clear blue waters. There are hotels and restaurants along the beach, either you can use one of them or just sit on your towel on Potokaki beach is free.

We prefered the Beach Volley Cafe on Potokaki Beach. There were mostly younger people around and accordingly, the music was loud and upbeat. The sun beds were free and the menu prices were quite affordable at Beach Volley Cafe. We had a delicious burger but the club sandwich looked awesome as well. What's best is that, Beach Volley Cafe has swinging sun beds! If you want a more chill day though, there were other places with calmer music, too.

IREON BEACH

After passing Potokaki Beach, you'll see Ireion Beach sign. It is around 7 km from Pythagorion. The main attraction here is the Temple of Hera but we skipped it and directly went to the beach. The place is like frozen in the 80's. It is a super chill and laid back fishing village in Samos.

Here, you'll see German sign boards as well as the English ones. We don't know how, but if a place serves both German and British tourists, it always has a 80's vibe. We walked around a little bit, took some photos and swam in the beautiful Aegean Sea. After all those superb beaches of Samos, Ireon Beach is kind of average with its mossy stones. So, if you're staying in Samos for a short time, don't stretch your plan to come all the way here.

On the way back from Ireon to Karlovasi, we took a hitchhiker. He was a senior French man married to a lady from Samos. He told us their love story along the way. They broke up a few times, but each time, they returned to each other :) That's the mediterranean love!

BEACHES NEAR MARATHOKAMPOS

Lastly, there are the beaches on the south of Samos Island, close to Marathokampos. We heard that Perri Beach and Balos Beach are hidden gems but we could only see Balos Beach. Votsalakia Beach, Hrisi Ammos Beach (aka Psili Ammos) and Limnionas Beach are ideal for families because they are organized beaches. Agios Ioannis Eleimonas Beach is another beach near Marathokampos, impressive with its natural beauty. Keep in mind, it's a rocky beach though.

Votsalakia Plajı

Votsalakia Plajı'nın arkasındaki işlek cadde

LIMNIONAS BEACH

We went to Balos Beach, Hrisi Ammos Beach and Limnionas Beach on this side of the island. Limnionas Beach was a calm and little pebble beach. There were different hotels around but only one restaurant on the beach. The color of the sea was amazing.

Limnionas Beach - Samos Island

PSILI AMMOS BEACH (HRISI AMMOS)

One of the best beaches in Samos is the Hrisi Ammos Beach (or Psili Ammos). As we mentioned before, there are 2 beaches named as Psili Ammos in Samos and this one is the best. Although it has strong winds sometimes, Psili Ammos Beach is a long, sandy beach with pristine waters. It is shallow and it makes the beach suitable for families with children. The sun is very strong so it would be wise to either rent an umbrella in Psili Ammos Beach or bring your own. We've been told that renting an umbrella costs 5 euros per day but nobody asked us for money.

Hrisi Ammos / Psili Ammos

The sea is shallow and pristine

There are some trees just next to the beach and there is a cute, small restaurant under these trees. It is a shady, nice tavern. We ordered a mixed seafood plate and 3 different mezzes for 3 people and paid 30 Euros in total without any drink. It was totally worth it for all those prawns and squids.

Plajın hemen içindeki restoranda yediklerimiz.

On another visit to Psili Ammos beach, we tried another restaurant named Paris Tavern. The food prices were similar to the other restaurant but the food quality was better. Portions of restaurants in Psili Ammos Beach are generous! We paid 3-4 euros for the mezzes and 8-10 euros for the main plates.

Fried squid of Paris Tavern

Changing rooms in Psili Ammos beach

Paris Taverna'daki atıştırmalık masamız

BALOS BEACH

Balos Beach is a pebble beach like most of the beaches in Samos. It was extremely quiet and peaceful so we fell asleep on the beach. Swimming in the cool blue waters was amazing.

As an additional information, Tripadvisor's number 1 restaurant in Samos was Stella Restaurant at the time and it was located here. We couldn't miss this, so we went to the restaurant for an early dinner. We were greeted by very nice two Greek chefs, we have been told the menu but they didn't give us a written menu or they didn't mention any price information so we didn't order anything and left the place. Instead, we went to Akrogiali Restaurant by the sea and had delicious traditional Greek food by a lovely sunset.