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Serifos is a small island Cycladic island with beautiful beaches and one of the most picturesque countries in the entire Aegean. The beaches of Serifos are famous for their turquoise waters and many of them offer a relative seclusion for those who seek it.
Combined with the relaxed rhythms that prevail on the island, always compared to other more touristic Cycladic islands, you will find in Serifos the ideal landscape for quiet and mainly relaxing holidays.
The beaches of Serifos will win you over at first sight while the beautiful Chora will leave you with unforgettable memories.
See the map with the exact location of Serifos beaches to get a small taste.
Country Serifos
Serifos Chora, especially the Upper Chora for its view and the Lower Chora for its narrow streets, is magnificent from any angle. Whether from above the boat as it approaches the harbour, or from a café or taverna in Livadi, the view of the whitewashed houses built around the hill of the castle is unique.
Most of the houses look out over the Aegean Sea while many have been integrated into the natural environment as the large rocks become one with the interior decoration of the house.
All this is of course worth seeing up close by following the uphill slope from Livadi to Chora. Take a rest in the lovely square of the Town Hall and continue towards the old castle, built in 1434, and the church of Agios Konstantinos and St. John the Theologian at the top of the hill. The view of Sifnos and the rest of the nearby Cycladic islands is perfect!
Beaches in Serifos
The coastline of Serifos is full of beautiful beaches. Most of them are now accessible by car. The sea is crystal clear with a special turquoise colour that invites you to enjoy it for endless hours.
The only organized beach is Avlomonas in the settlement of Livadi, at the port of the island. In 2003 I thought it was a beautiful beach, in 2024 I would not swim, especially now that they have opened roads to all the underwater beaches in Serifos. The beach just in front of the campsite to the left of Livadi, at Livadakia, is also very beautiful.
Beaches near Livadi Serifos (port)
Beautiful beaches in Serifos and one of the most famous beaches is the double of Agios Sostis with the beautiful little church, Psili Ammos, with the famous tavern of Stefanakos where we ate a nice fish and Agios Ioannis, within walking distance from each other, on the road north of the port of the island.
On the same side you will find the beautiful Lia beach, don’t be put off by the prohibitive barrier of the rooms of Nature Eco Living Serifos which is built directly above as I think it is only for cars.
Very close to the beach of Psili Ammos is the beautiful and quieter beach of Agios Ioannis.
Beaches on the south side of Serifos
Because of the strong northerly winds for which the island is famous, most days visitors to Serifos prefer the beaches in the southern part of the island. The first known beach is Kalo Livadi. To get there is a walk of about 10 minutes, gentle descent.
Be careful how you park your motorbikes and especially Vespas and duckboards because we saw some fallen because of the winds. This is the area that burned in the summer of 2024 but due to low vegetation it doesn’t make a very bad impression.
Continuing by car you will find the triangle with the most famous beaches of the island, Vagia, Ganema and Koutalas. Most people go to Ganema which is probably the largest and the most easily accessible. we preferred Koutalas because it was less crowded and I also visited Ganema by swimming from there.
We didn’t go to Vagia but we enjoyed the view from the road. Concluding with the beaches in southern Serifos we could not miss Megalo Livadi with its small beach, but its very beautiful waters.
There you will also find the multi-photographed metal bridge of the metaleion and the special landscape with the rocks and stones in the “thermal baths” location (sea, nothing to do with thermal baths, see on the map)
Photos in western and northern Serifos
Although it was windy when we were on the island, there are several beaches where you can still swim. We visited Avessalon, Sikamia which is probably my favorite of this area, Platis Gialos, which I would definitely go back to for the tavern nearby and probably not so much for the swimming.
and a few more beaches
In the western part, there is the beach of Kendarchos. It is not easily accessible and from what we were told you have to follow an unmarked path from the village of Kallistos to get down to the sea (summer 2024). We didn’t do it but from above the beach looked perfect.
In the western part there are the beaches of Agios Ioannis, Golden Beach, Agios Sostis and Lia but we talked about them above since they are relatively close to the port and the settlement of Livadi.
Transportation in Serifos
So beaches are fine, but how do we get there? By private car/motorbike or taxi. We didn’t see a bus, although there may be one or two routes serving some beaches near some of the few villages on the island.
We had no problems with the car, the roads are generally in good condition and in many places the road network is brand new (summer 2024).
Serifos bus timetable, summer 2024
What we didn’t like in Serifos
Of course the problem with parking in the Upper and Lower Country. We had trouble every night finding a spot and to think it wasn’t even mid-July yet. So what happens in August? Do you park down at the harbor and walk up?
Moreover, with the cars parked on the street, getting through the huge, for the size of the island’s roads, was an exercise for strong solvers…
We also did not like the image with the full bins and the dump just below, it created an impression of decadence and we were really impressed that while the tourist summer season had begun, no one has apparently dealt with the issue.
Fortunately we had no problems with the restaurants, only in one in Koutalas beach, where we ordered fried calamari, but we were served 5 calamari with plenty of fried potatoes underneath, obviously to fill the plate and to show when we arrived that the portion with the calamari was fine… A cheap trick that only makes a bad impression.
Finally, the bus routes seemed to us to be few, especially for the beaches, which may be non-existent in practice if they do not suit the tourists… We took pictures but I don’t know if you can rely on them (they are from 22/06/2024 to 07/2023, back in time)
Bus timetables
Photos from Serifos
*= many of the photos were taken in the summer of 2004 or 2003, on a Fujifilm Velvia analog slide format, digitization has gone through a thousand waves.
Rooms and hotels in beautiful Serifos
Map with the beaches of Serifos
Platis Gialos, Platy Gialos, Municipality of Serifos, Milos Regional Unit, South Aegean, Aegean, 840 05, Greece
Kentarchos, Municipality of Serifos, Milos Regional Unit, South Aegean, Aegean, 840 05, Greece
Avesalos, Avyssalos, Municipality of Serifos, Milos Regional Unit, South Aegean, Aegean, 840 05, Greece
Vagia, Municipality of Serifos, Milos Regional Unit, South Aegean, Aegean, Greece
Ganema, Municipality of Serifos, Milos Regional Unit, South Aegean, Aegean, 840 05, Greece
Koutalas, Municipality of Serifos, Milos Regional Unit, South Aegean, Aegean, 840 05, Greece
Kalo Ampeli, Municipality of Serifos, Milos Regional Unit, South Aegean, Aegean, Greece
Lia, Municipality of Serifos, Milos Regional Unit, South Aegean, Aegean, Greece
Sikamia, Municipality of Serifos, Milos Regional Unit, South Aegean, Aegean, Greece
Mega Livadhi, Megalo Livadi, Municipality of Serifos, Milos Regional Unit, South Aegean, Aegean, 840 05, Greece
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