Apella Beach

Apella is regularly named the best beach in the Dodecanese and sometimes in Greece, and the claim rests on a combination that is rare: white pebble and coarse sand, water that shifts from turquoise to deep blue within a few metres of shore because the bottom drops fast, and steep cliffs behind covered in pine down to the rock. Three small coves make up the bay, separated by outcrops. The setting stays undeveloped because the access is awkward: a winding road along the east coast, a parking area on the cliff, then a path of several hundred metres down. A single seasonal taverna sits above. There is no organised beach and little shade beyond the rocks at either end.

What's there

• The white pebble shore - bright stone against very clear water.
• The colour gradient - turquoise shallows dropping quickly to deep blue.
• The pine cliffs - forested slopes rising steeply behind the bay.
• The three coves - separate pockets of shore divided by rock.

When to go

June to September; the water is cold until well into summer because of the depth. Mornings are calmest, and the eastern aspect means afternoon shade arrives early from the cliff.

What to expect

The path down is steep and the climb back in heat is hard work. There are no facilities on the sand itself, no sunbeds in most of the bay and almost no shade at midday. Karpathos roads are slow and winding, and the wind on this island is famously strong.

Nearby

Kyra Panagia and Achata beaches lie along the same coast; Olympos village is in the north.