The Beaches around Attica

Attica-beachDoes Athens have beaches?!?
Of course it does!.. and they are amazing! 

Attica is surrounded by water, so it’s no surprise that there are some great beaches to visit. Most tourists visiting Greece think only the Greek islands have good beaches, but Attica has some of the best beaches in Greece!
From public and free to the privately operated ones where an admission fee is charged for the services, many great beaches can be found minutes away from the Greek capital. The nearest beach to downtown Athens is only 8 km away!
A few of them have also been awarded the Blue Flag of quality. Greece was awarded 497 Blue Flags in 2020 (second place among 47 countries). From the 497 Blue Flags awarded to Greece’s beaches, 16 were awarded to the beaches of Attica!

Click on the map above to view the location of the beaches.

The beaches that follow are in my opinion the best beaches of Attica. They all have facilities, services and free wifi that will make your stay there very enjoyable! All beaches are very close to downtown Athens and a few are even close to the airport. 7 of the 10 beaches below have also been awarded the Blue Flag in 2018. 

BALUX Glyfada

Not a Blue Flag beach this year, but BALUX is a unique place, specially designed to cater to all your needs, The House Project- Balux Cafe is a one-of-a kind destination in the Northern part of Athens. There is a restaurant, cafes, a living room, a play-room, playground for kids, a beach-bar… everything your heart can desire. Oh, and the beach is good too! You can get there by bus or tram.
Distance from Syntagma (center of Athens): ~ 10 km – Admission fee required for the beach.

img-thingVoula – South Beach39713492

This is a long and sandy beach in the south of Athens which is easily accessed with the Athens Tram. You will find many cafeterias, taverns and sport activities. Voula – South Beach was awarded the Blue Flag this year.
Distance from Syntagma (center of Athens): ~16 km – Admission fee required to enter.

Vouliagmenivuliagmeni4

Vouiagmeni is located South of Athens and is easily accessed with local buses. It is considered as one of the best-organized beaches offering all types of beach facilities, including cafes, restaurants and taverns. Vouliagmeni was awarded the Blue Flag.
Distance from Syntagma (center of Athens): ~20 km – Admission fee required to enter. 


white-numeral-4-centered-inside-black-circle-md-250x250Asteras Vouliagmenis1500x500

Astir Vouliagmenis is considered the best beach of Athens. Is is considered the best organized beach with top-line facilities. You have everything here. Restaurants, cafes, sports activities, and all of top quality. It might be the most expensive beach in Attica, but it’s worth it. Best time to go is the weekdays. Less expensive and less crowded. You will surely even bump into a Greek celebrity at this beach as well. Astir Vouliagmenis was awarded the Blue Flag.
Distance from Syntagma (center of Athens): ~20 km – Admission fee required to enter.

white-numeral-5-centered-inside-black-circle-mdVarkiza (Yabanaki)10258875_662377300536441_132432572620585131_o

Yabanaki is located South of Athens and is easily accessed with local buses. It is considered as one of the best-organized beaches offering all types of beach facilities, including cafes, restaurants and taverns. In my opinion the best beach in Attica. It’s affordable, the water is clean, the services provided are high quality and it’s just 24km away. With Yabanaki, you can’t go wrong. Yabanaki was awarded the Blue Flag.
Distance from Syntagma (center of Athens): ~24 km – Admission fee required to enter. 

white-numeral-6-centered-inside-black-circle-hiLagonissi – Grand Beach/Mediterraneo/Kohylia

Three beaches that all have Blue Flags are Located in Lagonissi.
Distance from Syntagma (center of Athens): ~35 km – Admission fee required to enter.


71Mavro Lithari/Eden Beacha2620201-photo-110135

Located in Saronida, Eden Beach is a private beach situated on the grounds of the Eden Hotel. Similar to the above beaches, Eden Beach has deck chairs, umbrellas, showers, dressing rooms, lifeguards, a beach bar and many other services are available to guests. Mavro Lithari was awarded the Blue Flag.
Distance from Syntagma (center of Athens): ~45 km – Admission fee required to enter


white-numeral-8-centered-inside-black-circle-hiKaravi Schiniasa2150101-photo-111431

Karavi Schinias beach and water sports club is located 42 kms (26 miles) north-northeast of Athens, near the historical city of Marathon and very close to the Olympic Rowing Centre. Karavi was awarded the Blue Flag this year.
Distance from Syntagma (center of Athens): ~42 km – Admission fee to enter

Other beaches:

Apart from the above beaches, which I consider the best in Attica, there are also others that might be good to visit. So many to chose from, but I’ll mention one that might interest visitors. 

vouliagmeni_lake_by_sc1r0n-d3y4hwz-1– Vouliagmeni Lake – not a beach but the lake of Vouliagmeni is a picturesque place to swim and relax. It is believed that its water has therapeutic purposes.
Distance from Syntagma: ~23 km (after Vouliagmeni beach) – Admission fee to enter

A few tips:

All the above mentioned beaches are private and have an administration fee to enter. Some might be failry expensive too. If you don’t want to pay for the beach (as you don’t on the Greek islands), there are many options as well. For example, across from Astir Vouliagmenis there is the Vouliagmeni beach (which is an extension of the private Vouliagmeni mentioned above), or next to Varkiza (the extension of the private Varkiza beach), or in Glyfada, in Kavouri or even Faliro (which is 11 km from the city center) or even on the coast driving between Vouliagmeni and Varkiza, and past that, there are many free beaches to chose from. The only draw-back is that you don’t get all the facilities, the cafes, the free wifi and the services that you usually have in the private owned beaches.

No matter which beach you chose, you will surely have a great time!