Although Athos is less known than Kassandra and Sithonia, it provides an excellent opportunity for a beautiful and comfortable vacation. The very fact that it’s not so popular, makes it an exceptional destination for lovers of a quiet holiday. Athos is perhaps the only destination in northern Greece that has not yet been taken under mass tourism.

The most beautiful beaches are located near Olympiada, Nea Rodha and on the Ammouliani island. Considering the fact that the Athos coast available to tourists (a large part belongs to the Holy Mountain and is closed to visitors), is relatively small, all these beautiful beaches will be easily accessible whatever place you pick as a base during your vacation.

Beaches around Olympiada are considered to be the most beautiful throughout the whole Halkidiki.

From Olympiada towards Ierissos, there are wild bays that you can visit if you’re adventurous. 2km before the center of Ierissos, there’s a very beautiful beach called Kakoudia, consisting of several parts divided by interestingly shaped white rocks. Kakoudia is a wide and long beach, with a gradual depth and golden-yellow sand. There is usually no crowd on this beach, and there is no content and you have to take your own equipment, food and water. The town beach in Ierissos is practically extension of Kakoudia beach.



The beach called Legend (formerly Wet Dreams) is about 500m before Nea Rodha. It has very fine bright-coloured sand and the light blue sea. The shallow is very long and ideal for small children. There used to be a big bar called Wet Dreams on the beach and most of the beach belonged to him, but it is closed this summer 2022 and the whole beach is for visitors with their own equipment.

On the other side of Nea Rodha, towards the Holy Mountain, there are two famous beaches. Voulitsa, small and completely under umbrellas and sunbeds, and Komitsa, very long beach and mostly available to visitors with their own equipment. At the end of the Komitsa beach, there’s a wall that represents the border with the Holy Mountain. For us, Komitsa is one of the beaches that you should visit if you’re spending a vacation on Athos.

That’s about all regarding the beaches on the east coast of Athos.

People on Athos say that when it’s windy on the east coast, it’s not on the west coast. The west coast is easy to reach from any place on the east coast, so all the beaches on the west coast are easily accessible as well.

Known for the calm sea, and perhaps the most famous on the west coast is definitely Xiropotami, long but narrow beach, not arranged, with many boats tied to the coast. This beach is a paradise for lovers of the peaceful sea.

On postcards and in catalogues, you will mostly see photos of the beaches on Ammouliani island. It has several phenomenal beaches and the most famous is the Alikes. During the holiday on Athos, you should take at least one day to visit this beautiful island. You can catch a ferry in a small port in Trypiti. The sea on the island will leave you speechless, so you can easily visit it again.