Simos Beach

Public domain · Clemenshumeniuk

Simos is the signature beach of Elafonisos, a double bay of golden sand and emerald water backed by dunes and a rare cedar forest.

About Simos Beach

Simos is the beach that made Elafonisos famous, a spectacular double bay on the south-east coast of the small island, where two crescents of fine golden sand are separated by a narrow spit and backed by tall dunes and a rare cedar forest. The water is an almost unreal shade of emerald and turquoise, shallow for a long way out, and the bay is sheltered between the headlands of Fragkos and Sarakiniko, so it stays calm even when the open sea is rough. The sand is soft and pale, the dunes are among the most extensive in Greece, and the cedar forest behind them is a protected habitat that gives the beach a wild, natural backdrop. Simos is really two beaches in one: the smaller, more sheltered bay of Fragkos and the longer Megali Paralia, and between them the sand spit creates a constantly shifting landscape of shallow pools and channels. The beach has long been a favourite of free campers, and although it now has basic facilities and a taverna, it still feels remote and unspoilt. The combination of warm, shallow water, soft sand and dramatic dunes makes it one of the most beautiful beaches in the country, and it is the reason most visitors come to Elafonisos at all.