Seychelles Beach

The name is a marketing borrowing, but the comparison holds up better than most: a small cove on the wild southern coast of Ikaria filled with huge smooth white granite boulders, pale pebble underfoot and water of an intense clear turquoise, with nothing built anywhere near it. Reaching it means parking in a lay-by on the coast road and walking fifteen minutes down a rocky path into a ravine, then over the boulders to the water. There is no shade except in the gaps between the rocks, no facilities of any kind, and the swimming is off stone rather than sand. The southern coast is exposed, so swell can make the cove dangerous, and the return climb is steep.

What you actually see

• The white boulders - large smooth granite blocks filling the cove.
• The turquoise water - very clear water over pale stone.
• The ravine path - a rough descent from the coast road.
• The undeveloped coast - no buildings on this stretch of shoreline.

When to go

June to September, with morning the calmest and least crowded; midday sun gives the water its colour but leaves no shade. Southerly swell closes the cove entirely and should be checked.

Honest expectations

The path down is loose and steep, and the walk back up in heat is hard. There is no water, toilet, shade or lifeguard, and entry to the sea is over slippery rock. Parking is a handful of roadside spaces that fill in season.

Nearby

Manganitis village lies west; Agios Kirykos and the Therma hot springs are east along the coast.