92 | SATURDAY | 30.04.22 | The Guardian
LIFESTYLE
GREECE1 | Fteri, Kefalonia
Reached via a mildly adventurous
hike or on a short bouncing taxi boat
ride from nearby Zola harbour , Fteri is
an alternative to this popular island’s
busy big-hitter beaches such as Xi and
Myrtos. Backed by white cliff s and a
forested valley, Fteri remains
relatively quiet thanks to the slight
eff ort involved in getting there, but
those who do are rewarded with
cut-glass water and the sweep of
white sand. An occasional luxury
yacht might drop anchor but there are
no snack bars or facilities, just caves to
poke around in, interesting rock
formations and darting fi sh to
tail with your snorkel. A simple base
for exploring this end of the island is
the harbour’s Anna Studios Zola (from
£ 205 a week room-only, sleep two ,
anna-studios.business.site ).2 | Elafonisi, Crete
Elafonisi’s fl amingo-pink beach,
linked by a shallow turquoise lagoon
to a dune-studded island where rare
pancratium lilies perfume the air inspring, was once Crete’s best-kept
secret. Even today, these talc-soft
sands 50 miles south-west of Chania
are rarely crowded except in the
height of summer, especially out on
the island, where sunloungers are
prohibited. It’s a bumpy ride on
winding roads to this paradisiacal
beach: for a stress-free way to soak up
the vibe, stay close by at Elafonisi
resort (doubles from €58 B&B ,
elafonisi-resort.com ).3 | Sarakiniko, Milos
Santorini ’s spectacular caldera m ay be
Greece’s poster child, but when it
comes to volcanic beaches, lunar-like
Sarakiniko in Milos, with its startling
white rocks like chalky icebergs, wins
hands down. Inevitably such a striking
beach is popular with Instagrammers
who come to take selfi es leaping from
the cliff s or posing near the beach’s
half-submerged shipwreck; luckily,
there are plenty of sheltered coves to
escape the crowds. White Pebble suites
(doubles from €250 B&B, two-night
minimum , whitepebblesuites.com )
provides an elegant spa haven 15
minutes’ drive from Sarakiniko.TRAVEL
From fl amingo-pink shores to wild coastlines and
everything in between, our travel writers pick the
continent’s fi nest sands, and places to stay nearby
Europe’s 40
best beaches
Words: Liz Boulter, Gemma Bowes, Carolyn Boyd, Jon Bryant, Elton Caushi, Heidi
Fuller-Love, Mary Lussiana, Fergal McCarthy, Mary Novakovich, Nazia Parveen,
Paul Richardson, Paul Sullivan and Annabelle Thorpe
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