Beaches in Patmos

Patmos has good beaches, but they are the supporting act, not the reason you came. Most are quiet or secluded coves rather than organised strips lined with sunbeds, and the island rewards a slow swim and an empty stretch of pebbles more than it rewards a full beach-club day. Read that as a description rather than a warning and the coast here is a pleasure.

The two most organised, both on the north coast. Agriolivado is a sheltered sandy bay. Livadi Geranou looks out on a small offshore islet. If you want the easiest version of a beach day, they are it.

Lambi, up on the northern tip. A pebble beach known for the smooth coloured stones that wash up on it, and worth a look even if you do not swim. That is a rare thing to be able to say about a beach.

Psili Ammos, on the wilder south coast. The one people make an effort for, usually reached on foot down a path or by a summer beach boat from Skala. The effort is the reason it stays as it is.

Grikos bay, if you want it easy. The easiest swimming close to a base, and the reason a lot of people who are not here for the monastery choose to sleep there.

The catch, which decides your week. The beaches are spread around the island, and reaching them is a drive rather than a stroll from town. A rented car or scooter turns the whole coast into an afternoon’s choice. Without one you are limited to what is near Skala and Grikos, plus whatever the summer beach boats can reach. Decide which of those suits you before you arrive, because it shapes where you stay. Getting around Greece is worth thinking through in advance.

Reading the water. This is the Dodecanese in summer, so the wind is the factor, and an island with coves on several coasts usually has a sheltered side. Read the sea when you arrive rather than a description written months earlier. What the sea is like covers the mechanism.

What the island is actually for. The Cave of the Apocalypse and the Monastery of Saint John are the reason Patmos holds the place it does, and they open in the morning and shut in the early afternoon. So the natural shape of a day here is monastery first, beach second, which is the opposite of how most Greek island days run. Plan it that way and both halves work. Things to do in Patmos covers the sites and their hours, and our Patmos guide has the practicalities.