Porto Koufo

Porto Koufo is the largest natural harbour in Greece, a bay almost a kilometre across whose mouth is only about three hundred metres wide, so hemmed in by cliffs that from inside you cannot see the open sea, and the water stays flat when the Aegean outside is rough. The name means deaf harbour, from the silence inside; Thucydides mentions it as a fleet anchorage. Today it holds a fishing village, a working quay where the day's catch lands, a row of fish tavernas, and a few small hotels, with the rest of the shore undeveloped. Boats run out to the cliffs of Cape Drepano and to sea caves along the coast, and the ridge above gives a view down into the whole bowl of the bay.

What you actually see

• The enclosed bay - a wide harbour with a narrow cliff-bound entrance.
• The fishing quay - working boats landing the catch each afternoon.
• The fish tavernas - a short waterfront row cooking what comes in.
• The clifftop view - the whole bay seen from the road above.

When to go

Late spring to early autumn; the harbour is one of the few places on this coast that stays calm in wind, which makes it a refuge on meltemi days. Winter is very quiet with limited openings.

Honest expectations

The beach inside the harbour is small and ordinary, so this is a place for boats and eating rather than swimming. Tavernas price fish by weight, which can surprise. The village has little to do beyond the waterfront.

Nearby

Toroni and its ancient site lie west; Kalamitsi and Sarti are up the eastern coast.