Askeli Beach

If you are only going to set foot on one beach in Poros and you are travelling with children, make it Askeli. It is the longest on the island, almost nine hundred metres of golden sand on the south coast of Kalavria, and the only one where there is real space even on a Saturday in August.

It sits two kilometres from the port, which in Poros means you can walk it in twenty-five minutes, cycle it in ten or take the bus in five. That closeness, combined with the size, is what has turned it into the island’s beach centre of gravity.

What the water and the sand are like

The sand at Askeli is golden and fine along most of the strand, with the odd stretch of coarser grain towards the ends. Getting into the water is easy, no treacherous rocks, although the bottom drops away fairly quickly: ten or fifteen metres from the shore you are already out of your depth.

That is an advantage for proper swimming and something to watch with small children. The good zone for little ones is the western third, where the slope is gentler.

The water is sheltered and usually calm. Poros opens onto an inner channel, not the open sea, so there is rarely any swell here. It is one of the reasons Greek families keep coming back.

Pain points, unvarnished

Shade: this is Askeli’s weak spot. There are tamarisks and the odd pine at the back, but the strip of natural shade is narrow and it is taken before ten in the morning in August. If you do not get up early, you are going to depend on a paid parasol or on bringing your own.

Crowds: Monday to Thursday, even in July, there is plenty of room. From Friday afternoon to Sunday it fills up with weekend Athenians and the atmosphere changes completely. If you can choose, go midweek.

Sunbed prices: here Askeli beats the other beaches on the island. Several beach bars do not charge a fixed rate but a minimum spend of around 15 euros for the set of two sunbeds and a parasol, which in practice means you pay for a couple of drinks and a coffee and the sunbeds come free. On other Poros beaches they ask between 15 and 20 euros for the hire alone.

Accessibility: there is a car park nearby and the access from the road is flat, with no steps or awkward descents. It is the most accessible beach on the island for reduced mobility, although there is no walkway down to the water.

What is around

Askeli has the highest concentration of services on the island: two or three beach bars, tavernas with terraces over the sand, a watersports centre with kayak, SUP, banana boat and water-ski hire, and several beach hotels right behind.

Olga’s Taverna is the local classic in the area and one of the most recommended options for eating here without going back to the port.

That means you can plant yourself for a whole day without moving. It also means that if you are after a wild, empty beach, Askeli is not your place: for that there is Monastiri or one of the coves on the west side.

When to go

May to October. The water becomes swimmable at the end of May and stays warm well into October, one of the longest seasons in Greece thanks to the shelter of the channel.

The best hours are before eleven or after five, both for the sun and for how busy it is. At sunset, with the sun dropping behind the mountains of the Peloponnese, the beach empties out and you are left with an orange light that is hard to beat.

And then

Fifteen minutes’ walk east is the Zoodochos Pigi monastery, and just below it Monastiri beach, far quieter and with more natural shade. It is the logical plan for escaping the crowd without leaving the same area.

And if you want the full contrast, cross to the west coast and compare with Love Bay: small, ringed by pines and with the most photogenic water on Poros. The two beaches tell different island stories.