These 13 Folegandros beaches are the best of a very good bunch because Folegandros is a gorgeous remote island with rugged high cliffs rolling into the Aegean Sea forming coves, bays, and long stretches of golden sand. In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn the best features and practical tips on how to get to each beach, when to go, and what you’ll need to bring along.
Next to its charming Chora and tranquil yet cosmopolitan atmosphere, the main reason to visit Folegandros is its spectacular beaches dotted all around this small island.
The wild terrain ensures a wide variety of swimming, snorkeling, and diving options, from natural coves, quiet bays, and exciting open sea coastlines to relaxing pebbled or sandy beaches with Greek tavernas just meters away from the sea.
Map of Folegandros Beaches
1. Agali Beach
🏆 Best feature – easy access, beautiful fine sand, and tavernas all around.
🏖️ Description – Agali is the all-time favorite beach on the island, loved by visitors and locals alike.
Soft sands nested between rocky hills and the open azure sea make Agali the best beach in Folegandros (at least among larger beaches).
Its white sands, easy access, and location protected from the winds make it perfect for families, while the turquoise waters are great for swimming.
Just a stone’s throw away interesting rocky sea bottom starts, ideal for snorkeling explorations. Behind the beach, several nice tavernas and relaxed cafés await for the midday nibble break.
For a complete guide to Agali Beach, read Agali Beach Folegandros
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – Agali is one of the most accessible beaches on the island.
Local buses leave from/to Chora every 30 minutes and drop you virtually where the soft sands of Agali begin.
Car and scooter parking is right there too. Due to its popularity, Agali can get crowded sometimes.
A tiny pier on the right side of the beach is the spot where the small boats for the nearby beautiful beaches depart from. You can also hike to Agios Nikolaos, Galifos, and Fira beaches from Agali.
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Best Hotels at Agali Beach
🛎️ Blue Sand Boutique Hotel & Suites
Absolutely the first choice, right on Agali Beach with an average rating of 9.4/10. There are sea-view suites with terraces, a terrific design, modern decor and fittings, bathrobes, & other lux inclusions. There is also a restaurant, bar, room service, & free wifi.
🛎️ Perigiali Rooms & Apartments
These sea-view rooms & apartments with balconies on Agali Beach have an average guest review rating of 9.2/10. There’s a restaurant, room service, free wifi, a bar, & breakfast.
🛎️ Pasithea Folegandros
Pasithea Folegandros has sea-view rooms with balconies or terraces looking down to Agali Beach, as well as a restaurant, room service, free wifi, and breakfast. The average guest review rating is 9.4/10.
2. Katergo (Katergos) Beach
🏆 Best feature – stunning landscape, light blue waters.
🏖️ Description –Katergos is a spectacularly beautiful beach, one of the most stunning locations on the island and perhaps the whole archipelago.
Set between high cliffs that form dramatic drops into the sea, this big finely pebbled bay on the southern side of the island is accessed by boats or by a long hike via Livadi Beach and Folegandros Camping.
Its remoteness, secluded location, and exposure to the open sea make a Katergo visit seem like a pilgrimage.
On a less mystic note, it is definitely worth a visit for the scenery, super clear waters, and mighty rocks on the beach and the sea in front of you.
On top of the hill you can see the whole beach, so make sure to bring a camera.
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – the 40-minute hike to Katergo is long and exhausting, requiring strength and skill, so this beach is best visited by boat (available only during the summer months).
Also, there are no facilities or natural shade, so bringing water, snacks and an umbrella is a must.
Closest food and drinks – Folegandros camping bar, at least an hour’s hike away.
3. Livadi Beach
🏆Best feature – calm beach, protected from all the winds
🏖️Description: Set close to the island’s port village of Karavostasis, Livadi is another very easily accessed beach – you can park just a few meters from the sandy beach.
It is a large and very tranquil beach, where you can relax and sunbathe in calmness as it is protected from winds coming from almost any direction.
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – There are no facilities on Livadi beach and only limited natural shade is available. The lovely Camping Livadi bar and Taverna are just a couple of minutes walk uphill.
4. Latinaki Beach
🏆Best feature – secluded location very close to Karavostasis village
🏖️Description: Latinaki is a small white sand beach set on the other side of Karavostasis Bay, just 10 minutes away from bakeries and restaurants of the port.
Nice for a quick swim if you are on your way to Katergo Beach on foot.
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – Latinaki is separated from Vitsentzou Beach by a big rock, so you can combine the two to get natural shade during most of the day.
5. Agios Nikolaos Beach
🏆Best feature – Scenery, natural shade, beautiful swimming, and snorkeling
🏖️Description: My all-time favorite beach on the island.
Located under the whitewashed chapel of Agios Nikolaos around a sandy bay with fertile terraced fields beyond, this beach is a great place to come and stay for the whole day.
Low-rise trees provide a natural shade, a relaxed beach bar serves cold drinks and offers shade from the midday sun, the pier is perfect for jumping and the rocks at the far end are a good place for snorkeling.
The best part is its tavernas, where Papagali Seafood Taverna stands out for its stunning location. (If you’re worried about how and when and how much to tip at Greek restaurants, see my complete guide: Tipping in Greece – the Complete Guide).
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – You can get to Agios Nikolaos after a 15-minute hike or a 5-minute (€3) boat ride from Agali Beach. The far end of the beach is a nudist section.
6. Vardia Beach
🏆Best feature – Family friendly
🏖️Description: This eastern-oriented beach in Karavostasis is perfect for when the winds are blowing in other directions, otherwise, it is quite wavy.
Easy access (proper stairs), soft sands, natural shade, and easy entry to the sea make Vardia a great family beach, especially if you’re staying at the Port.
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – No facilities, but the port’s shop and bakery Kalymnios and wonderful Dal Capo bar and restaurant are just a few minutes away.
Best Hotels at Vardia Beach
🛎️Vardia Bay Studios
A beachfront 3-star hotel with breakfast. It has an average rating of 8.8/10, is a 1-minute walk from Vardia Beach & 3 minutes from Cochlidia Beach & the hotels, tavernas, & shops of Karavostasis Port.
🛎️AMO Folegandros
A newly built 4.5-star luxury hotel (average guest rating of 9.6/10). It has 4 suites with outdoor jacuzzis, an on-site bar, room service, & breakfast & is 100 m from Chochlidia Beach.
7. Pountaki Beach
🏆Best feature – Ideal for the days when the south winds are blowing.
Set between Livadi Beach and Karavostasis, Pountaki is a small sandy stretch with cliffs behind it. It forms a beach triplet with Latinaki and Vitsentzou beaches, all of which are very close to the asphalt road.
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – A steep path leading from the road is the main access point to the beach.
8. Livadaki Beach
🏆Best feature – Remote location, white pebbles, hiking opportunities, and Aspropounta Lighthouse
🏖️Description: One of the best-loved beach excursions around Folegandros is Livadaki Beach.
This picture-perfect setting brings together the essence of Folegandros in one place – turquoise water, snow-white pebbles, a remote location, and a wild magnificent rocky landscape.
No facilities whatsoever, so make sure to bring food, water, and an umbrella with you.
Just 10 minutes on foot from the beach is one of the largest lighthouses of the whole Aegean, the famous Aspropounta Lighthouse of Folegandros.
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – The 20-minute taxi boat to Livadaki starts from Agali Beach and runs throughout the day (€6).
Alternatively, three 45-60 minute stunningly beautiful hiking routes to Livadaki start from Ano Meria (hiking shoes, sunscreen, and water are a must).
9. Galifos (Galyfos) Beach
🏆Best feature – scenery, swimming, jumping, snorkeling, laid-back vibe
🏖️Description: This small cove just next to Agali Beach (a 5-10 minute hike on a cliff coastal path) is a serene haven where you can jump to the sea, swim to the cliffs on the opposite side, and sunbath on its rocks that form natural sun loungers!
The beach is well protected from the northern winds and offers limited shade. It’s a nudist-friendly beach as well.
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – There are no facilities, but the restaurants of Agali are close by. Since the beach is only accessible by hiking, bring shoes with some grip, and sunscreen.
10. Ligaria Beach
🏆Best feature – remote, quiet location, spectacular views, not a popular beach
🏖️Description: This beach on the northern tip of Folegandros is the choice for those looking to escape the crowds of August or simply to enjoy a remote, quiet beach.
Since its location is below the Ano Meria village, you can combine a trip to Ligaria with a visit to the Folegandros Folk art museum and lunch in one of Ano Meria’s very good restaurants or tavernas.
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – To Ligaria it is either a dirt road that you walk down or hop on one of the island’s excursion boats.
There are no facilities, so bring snacks, water, and shade. Climb the craggy orange cliffs for the fantastic sunset-watching spot.
11. Chochlidia Beach (Karavostasis beach)
🏆Best feature – main Karavostasi beach, ferry-watching while swimming, crystal calm waters
🏖️Description: The main beach of Karavostasis, Chochlidia, is a perfect example of how the ports of Cycladic islands are oftentimes one of the best places for a swim.
Crystal clear with round pebbles and with gorgeous views over the port’s pier, this lovely beach is my favorite place to swim when in Karavostasis. The beach houses are a thing of beauty too!
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – Easy access on foot and by car, mini-market, and bakery Kalymnios nearby. The wonderful small-plate restaurant Dal Capo is just 3 minutes away.
This is the first beach you see when approaching the island by ferry.
Best Hotels at Chochlidia Beach (Karavostasis Beach)
🛎️ Anemi Hotel – is the island’s only 5-star hotel. Two of the modern suites have private pools. There’s an enormous outdoor saltwater pool, & all the facilities & services you expect of a true 5-star hotel.
🛎️ Onar Suites and Villas – is a superbly designed hotel 50 meters from the beach. The suites have private pools. All suites & villas have extraordinary sea views. Onar is built on a cliff in a Cycladic style of stone, glass, & wood with a fitness center, room service, & free shuttle service from the Port.
🛎️ Coral Apartments – these apartments are 400 m from Karavostasi port. They all have sea views and a little garden and are a half-minute walk to the beach. A traditional Cycladic style of architecture with simple but clean rooms and an average guest rating of 9.4/10.
12. Ambeli Beach
🏆Best feature – very remote west coast location, rocky and demanding.
🏖️Description: Ambeli is the most remote beach on the island, set on its north-western tip of an island.
it’s a very small beach that can fit up to 15 people comfortably. Ambeli is great as a part of an itinerary that explores other beaches and the Ano Meria area.
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – At the very end of the asphalt road, turn left on a well-pressed dirt road and keep on driving left for around 15 minutes until you reach a small dry creekbed with trees all around it.
The trees are the only shade of Ambeli and mark the entrance to the beach.
13. Agios Georgios Beach
🏆Best feature – scenic location, fine sand, crystal waters
🏖️Description: Agios Georgios is a quintessential island beach – a great swimming spot set along old fishing huts, a whitewashed church, and between rocks forming a protected swimming area.
The only thing missing to make it my No. 1 of the best beaches in Folegandros is a taverna.
🚏 Practical Details (Need to Know) – Check the winds before visiting, as Agios Georgios often gets strong northern winds. Dirt road access (10-minute drive from the main paved road).
Final Thoughts
Folegandros has a large number of beautiful beaches for such a small island.
Difficult access to some of these beaches means you have to take a short boat trip (available during the high season), otherwise, just be at the bus stop on time (if you don’t have your own rented wheels) to get where you want next.
This makes Folegandros one of the best islands to visit in the Greek Cyclades.
