Best Beaches in Lipsi: 12 Beautiful Places to Swim

Lipsi is particularly rewarding for beach lovers because its coastline offers much more variety than the island’s small size suggests. There are sandy bays with shallow water, white-pebble beaches, rocky coves and isolated swimming spots reached along walking paths.

Better still, almost every beach can be reached from land. The Municipality of Lipsi says that keen walkers can reach nearly all of them from the village in no more than about an hour.

There is also a deliberate lack of conventional beach development. You come to Lipsi for clear water, tamarisk trees and natural coastline rather than rows of organised sunbeds.

Here are the beaches most worth exploring.

Lientou Beach — Best Beach Near Lipsi Village

Lientou is the easiest beach for most visitors to enjoy.

It is only a few minutes’ walk from Lipsi village, making it almost an extension of the settlement. Despite that convenient location, it remains an attractive sandy beach with clear, shallow water and tamarisk trees.

The shallow conditions make Lientou particularly suitable for families with younger children.

Its greatest advantage, however, is convenience. Visitors staying around the harbour can swim in the morning, return to the village for lunch and come back again later without organising transport.

Best for: families, easy access and swimming close to the village.

Kampos Beach — Best Alternative to Lientou

Continue beyond Lientou and you soon reach Kampos.

This narrow sandy beach is around a seven-minute walk from the village and has transparent water and numerous tamarisk trees providing natural shade.

Kampos is a particularly useful alternative when Lientou feels busy. It retains the advantage of being easily accessible from town but feels slightly farther removed from the harbour.

Visitors staying around Kampos also have the unusual luxury, by small-island standards, of having both a good beach and Lipsi village within easy walking distance.

Best for: sand, natural shade and car-free beach days.

Christos Beach — Best for a Quick Escape

Continue along the coast beyond Kampos and the scenery becomes progressively more rugged.

Christos has multicoloured pebbles rather than sand, beautifully clear water and views back towards Lipsi village. The small chapel of Christos stands behind the beach.

There is also a jetty that has become a favourite place for sunbathing and entering the water.

It is only around 15 minutes’ walk from the village, yet receives considerably less attention than Lientou.

Best for: clear water and escaping the closest village beaches.

Elena Beach — Best for Finding Your Own Cove

Elena is less a conventional single beach than a succession of tiny rocky coves.

Continue walking beyond Christos and you’ll encounter small pockets between rocks and pebbles, some large enough for only a couple of people.

The final and larger beach is known as Elena.

This is an excellent example of why walking works so well on Lipsi. Instead of travelling directly from one famous beach to another, following the coastline reveals tiny swimming places that would otherwise be missed.

Best for: couples and finding a quiet swimming spot.

Katsadia Beach — Best for a Full Beach Day

Katsadia is one of the most popular beaches on Lipsi, and with good reason.

The sandy beach sits in a sheltered bay with shallow water and large trees providing natural shade. It can be reached in roughly 15 minutes on foot from the village.

Another advantage is Dilaila, the restaurant and bar beside the beach. That makes Katsadia somewhere visitors can comfortably spend much of the day.

The sheltered bay is also popular with sailing boats, giving it a little more activity than some of the island’s isolated beaches without turning it into a resort.

Best for: swimming, lunch and spending most of the day beside the sea.

Papandria Beach — Best for Views and Coastal Exploring

Papandria is close to Katsadia and can easily be combined with it.

The beach mixes sand and pebbles and has calm, clear water. Across the bay is the tiny uninhabited island of Lyra.

There is little natural shade, so visitors should come prepared.

The real attraction for adventurous visitors lies beyond Papandria. Continue walking west along the coast and several tiny, secluded beaches appear.

Rather than simply swimming and returning the same way, allow some time to explore.

Best for: coastal walking and combining several swimming spots.

Hohlakoura Beach — Most Dramatic Beach

Hohlakoura — also encountered as Chochlakoura or Kohklakoura — is probably the most visually distinctive beach on Lipsi.

White pebbles cover the beach and continue beneath the water. In strong sunlight they help produce the intense aquamarine colour for which Hohlakoura is known.

The landscape is stark and beautiful but offers little protection from the sun. A cave at one end provides some natural shade, although space is limited.

It takes around 30 minutes to reach Hohlakoura on foot from the village.

Bring plenty of water and sun protection.

Best for: dramatic scenery, photography and brilliant water colour.

Tourkomnima and Xirokampos — Best Two-Beach Combination

Tourkomnima and Xirokampos sit back-to-back on opposite sides of a narrow section of land.

Both combine sand and pebbles with clear water and a small amount of natural shade.

Their unusual geography creates a practical advantage: when wind makes the sea uncomfortable at one beach, conditions can be much calmer on the other side.

A small chapel stands on the hill between them, adding another reason to explore rather than simply stopping at the first beach.

They are around a 40-minute walk from the village.

Best for: windy days and exploring two beaches together.

Platis Gialos — Best for Families Away from Town

Platis Gialos is one of the best-known beaches on Lipsi.

The sheltered cove has shallow aquamarine water and tamarisk trees, while a taverna behind the beach makes it possible to stay for lunch.

The beach is about 3.5 kilometres from the main settlement and involves hills, so transport is more attractive than walking during the hottest part of summer.

The shallow water makes Platis Gialos particularly attractive for families.

One unusual feature is the ducks that regularly appear around the beach and enter the water alongside swimmers.

Best for: families, shallow water and a leisurely beach lunch.

Kimissi Beach — Best Beach Combined with a Walk

Kimissi is a quieter pebble beach on the southwestern side of Lipsi.

Reaching it takes visitors through one of the more interesting landscapes on the island. The route passes the churches associated with Kimissi before descending towards the coast.

The beach itself has clear aquamarine water and receives relatively few visitors.

There are no facilities, so bring drinking water and anything else required for the visit.

Combining the beach with the historic churches and walking route makes Kimissi more interesting than treating it simply as another place to swim.

Best for: walking, churches and a quiet swim.

Monodendri Beach — Best for Adventure

Monodendri is among the most memorable beaches on Lipsi.

Its name means “single tree”, referring to the solitary juniper growing from the rock above the white-pebble beach.

The setting is wild, with pale pebbles, aquamarine water and virtually no development.

It is also one of the harder beaches to reach. The municipality estimates around an hour’s walk from the village, and the final approach requires more effort than reaching the beaches close to town.

That naturally keeps visitor numbers down.

For walkers who want somewhere that feels genuinely remote, Monodendri is one of the best choices on the island.

Best for: walkers, solitude and wild scenery.

Kamares Beach — Best for Solitude

Kamares is another option for visitors prepared to walk.

The beach is rugged and isolated, with large pebbles and rocky surroundings. Reaching it takes roughly 45 minutes on foot.

It is considerably less suitable when strong winds affect this side of the island, but in good conditions its isolation is precisely the attraction.

The surrounding rock formations also distinguish Kamares from the softer sandy landscape around Lientou and Katsadia.

Best for: solitude and rugged coastal scenery.

Which Is the Best Beach in Lipsi?

There isn’t one beach that suits everyone.

For families, start with Lientou or Platis Gialos.

For a full beach day with somewhere to eat, choose Katsadia or Platis Gialos.

For dramatic scenery, Hohlakoura is difficult to beat.

For walking and solitude, Monodendri and Kamares are stronger choices.

For visitors without transport, the sequence of Lientou, Kampos, Christos and Elena provides several beaches within easy walking distance of the village.

And for travellers who simply want to swim somewhere different every day, Lipsi is small enough to do exactly that.

Lipsi Is an Excellent Island Without a Car

One of the strongest features of Lipsi is how accessible its coastline is.

Roads and paths radiate from the main village, and the municipality specifically promotes walking as a way of discovering the beaches. Nearly all can be reached overland, generally within an hour from the settlement.

That makes Lipsi particularly attractive for travellers island-hopping without a vehicle.

A car, scooter or bicycle can certainly make reaching places such as Platis Gialos easier, especially in summer heat, but it isn’t essential for enjoying the island.

Don’t Expect Organised Beaches

The absence of conventional beach infrastructure is part of the Lipsi experience.

The municipality states that rental umbrellas, sunbeds and beach canteens are not permitted on its beaches. The intention is to preserve the natural coastline rather than progressively convert beaches into organised commercial spaces.

That means natural shade from tamarisk trees becomes valuable.

It also means visitors heading to more isolated beaches should carry water, food when necessary and adequate sun protection.

Beach shoes can be useful at Hohlakoura, Monodendri and other pebble beaches.

Choosing a Beach According to the Wind

Wind can make a substantial difference to swimming conditions in the Aegean.

The varied orientation of Lipsi’s beaches is therefore useful. A beach exposed to rougher water doesn’t necessarily mean conditions will be poor everywhere on the island.

Tourkomnima and Xirokampos provide the clearest example because the two beaches face different directions from opposite sides of the same narrow area. When one is choppy, the other can be calm.

Asking locally about conditions before setting out for a distant beach can save a wasted walk.

Explore Beyond the Main Island

Lipsi is surrounded by a remarkable collection of small islands and rocky islets.

Boat excursions can add beaches that cannot be experienced by simply walking around Lipsi itself. The municipality highlights the white-pebble beach of Aspronissi, caves around Makronissi and the turquoise water of Tiganakia near Arki among the destinations reached on local island excursions.

For a stay of four or five days, this provides a good contrast: spend several days exploring Lipsi’s beaches on foot and another discovering the surrounding archipelago from the water.

Explore More of Lipsi

Continue planning a visit with:

Things to Do in Lipsi — explore the village, Panagia tou Harou, historic churches, walking routes and surrounding islets.

Best Places to Eat in Lipsi — discover fish tavernas, harbour restaurants and beachside places to eat.

Best Places to Stay in Lipsi — choose between the harbour, Lientou, Kampos and quieter accommodation.

Best Beaches in Leros — continue exploring the northern Dodecanese.

Best Beaches in Patmos — discover the coastline of Lipsi’s neighbour to the south.