Best Beaches in Greece accessible by public transportation

If they're graduating (I'm guessing from HS, not college) why not give them an opportunity to sharpen their research skills by assigning them the task of checking out attractive islands and researching the availability of beaches reachable by local bus networks. Learning how to do such things is part of growing up. There are several options for finding answers:

• PUBLIC LIBRARY -- The best Guidebooks (not promotional) are honest about islands' plusses & drawbacks and describe the beaches and ambience (i.e., good for high school/college age, vs. retirees or families w babies). Thay can take out several at a time. I recommend ROUGH GUIDE to GREECE, ROUGH GUIDE to CRETE, LONELY PLANET for GReece and For Greek Isles.

• WEBSITES -- the Most complete one is Matt Barrett's GreekTravel -- but themain website is TOO comprehensive. He has a focussed website - https://www.greektravel.com/greekislands/

TIMING TIP -- Glad to hear this will be in June rather than July-August... and the earlier in June the better, since Greece last year experienced both Recordbreaking Crowds AND record-breaking Heat from Late June thru early Sept.

BOOKING TIP -- Gone are the days when y ou culd just show up at a port and lots of locals would vie to offer you rooms ... especially for the young & inexperienced. When they've chosen their island & location ON the island you'll probably have to help with booking a room in advance... the only way these days to get something in the location you want

TEEN TIP -- Islands with lots of young-adult action but not crazy in June = NAXOS, PAROS, ANTIPAROS, SIFNOS -- all are in the Cyclades with the famous "white-cube/blue shutters' building style ... all have excellent beaches, good bus networks to get around, and (at least as of the moment) no huge package-tour influx, or cruise-ship mobs. CRETE also has great beaches on N Shore but too many of them are "Package-holiday-Hives" for UK & EUro ... One place I could warmly recommend in Crete would be just at the edge of CHANIA... there's a friendly "town beach" that's & walkable in 15 minute to the fascinating sights & shops of Old Town, as well as its Nightlife.. it's called NEA CHORA-- here's a good intro with photos: https://www.west-crete.com/chania-nea-chora.htm Best of both worlds; being right on sands (No package-tour crowds, good cafes, stroll to interesting old town, PLUS walk to bus station and get great Bus day-excursions to famous beaches like Falassarna or Matala.

These are great suggestions, thank you both! Yes, they are graduating from high school and my son has been to Europe a few times so he has some experience but just as a ride along, not with planning. I have given them our book on Crete but will direct them to more information listed here to decide where they want to go and what they want to do. I really appreciate the information, thanks!

To complete janet's advice, and to help these teenagers find places served by buses, know that all bus services in Greece are called KTEL... something.

Just add the name of the island or region and search on the internet.

For example regarding Ios island in the Cyclades which is very popular with teenagers finishing their studies, it"s "ktel.ios.gr"

https://ktel-ios.gr/

Send them to Ios, the affordable youth-oriented summer destination island of choice for those between 18 and 25. Give them a chance to make a few memories on their own terms in an environment that's tailor-made for them.

I can recommend Naxos. It is easy to get a hotel room on the beach within walking distance of the ferry. They can take the bus to other beaches.

On Crete, I recommend Rethymno over Chania. They can catch a bus to Rethymno from Heraklion or Chania, whichever town they fly into. Again, easy to stay in a hotel on the beach.

I am happy to answer any questions you might have.

They will not need to hire a car. Thousands of young people go to Greece on holiday every year and driving is not on the agenda. Pick a resort and they will have everything they need right there. Google best resorts for teens and you’ll find some options. All the islands have resorts that are favoured by young people - Kavos on Corfu and Faliraki in Rhodes are 2 that I can think of off the top of my head. Zante is popular too.

I have found RS a bit snobby about European resorts in some of the videos. There's a lot to be said for having everything laid on to maximise fun and convenience on holiday. There's been a large culture of package tours to Greece and Spain in Europe for decades and it's part of many of our youths, if not what we necessarily seek out now.

Remember OP - no 21+ drinking age in Greece! Tell the kids to take it easy :-)

Just like GerryM, I'm not sure that a resort like Kavos in Corfu, this special party place full of bars where alcohol flows freely all night long in DJ parties with foam cannons, and where the streets are invaded by groups of drunken tourists, would be the best idea for parents who are worried about their teenagers' vacation plans ...

Just like GerryM, I'm not sure that a resort like Kavos in Corfu, this special party place full of bars where alcohol flows freely all night long in DJ parties with foam cannons, and where the streets are invaded by groups of drunken tourists, would be the best idea for parents who are worried about their teenagers' vacation plans ...

That's not what I said at all though! I thought the recommendations further up from Helen and Concerned Local were pretty sound. Parties where there's alcohol flowing all night long and foam cannons on the dancefloor probably sound quite appealing to many young people. Not everyone that goes to Greek resorts needs to get absolutely hammered. Many young British people go and enjoy a drink or three and survive intact. Young people may find the slower pace and more pastoral scenes of the smaller Greek islands a bit boring. Or they may not. Each to their own.

GerryM, sorry, I was only reacting to the last part of your post regarding alcohol and young people.

Remember OP - no 21+ drinking age in Greece! Tell the kids to take it easy :-)

I should have put it in a quote and not start my message with this "Just like GerryM"

There are resorts that aren’t full on party but still have lots of amenities. As was mentioned upthread just have a look at the website of one of the big European tour operators like TUI. They will give you details about all the main resorts with ideas for hotels as well.

You don’t say where your teens will be travelling from, but sometimes a package holiday can be cheaper than booking everything separately and will include coach transfers from the airport to the hotel so it’s all very easy.

A quick search on TUI's website turns up self catering apartments in a variety of Greek destinations starting from just under £500 ($608) per week per person, beginning of June 2024. That's with both the "nightlife" and "local flavour" boxes ticked in the search. Flying from London airports, meaning all the communication with the booking and the representatives at the resort will be English speaking by default.

Here's the link to click if you'd like to see the search results.

Thanks everyone, the kids will be flying from Paris. They have decided they want to go to Paros so I’m looking at the best option for travel to there. They will fly to Munich from Paros. Since travel season is less now there are not as many ferries going back and forth to Athens and looks like only flights into Paros are from Athens on a couple different carriers. If we did a package trip for them, do any of you know of any reputable companies for this? I would like to compare of few trusted ones like TUI. Thanks!

Are they going now? Package holiday season is over. Last holidays to Greece are the end of October. I think a lot of Paros will be shut for the winter.

Paros does not have an international airport. From Paris they will have to go through Athens.

Same for going from Paros to Munich

From Paris the two best options are either with the Greek airline Aegean from CDG airport (up to 3 flights per day ) or from Orly Airport with Transavia, the low cost subsidiary of Air France (up to 3 flights per day in June)

From CDG there can also be flights with Volotea, the Spanish low cost company which I do not recommend and also flights with the other Greek airline Sky Express.

I did all three, Volotea, Transavia, Aegan. (and Sky Exprees for others routes) and although my preference is for Aegean, Transavia could be a better option because Transavia departs from Orly which is closer and easily accessible from central Paris and is cheaper than Aegean or Sky Express. But the service is quite decent (meals and drinks are subject to charge)

Also note that with a morning flight arriving early enough in Athens, it is possible to then take either:

An ATH→ Paros flight with Aegan or Sky Express, there are at least 5 after 3 p.m.

Or go to the port of Piraeus and take a ferry to Paros (last ferry around 5:30 p.m. / 6:00 p.m.)

So, they could be in Paris in the morning and in Paros in the evening!

Please note that the weight and size policies for cabin or checked baggage are specific to each company.

https://en.aegeanair.com/

https://www.transavia.com/en-UK/home/

https://www.skyexpress.gr/en

To those worried about package holidays being over -- Sarah slipped the mention of the date in the last sentence of her post -- yes, very inconspicuous, i missed it 1st time round also.

Sorry I missed that the date was in the original post.

I would steer them to choose an island with direct flights. It’ll make things much easier and they’ll have a great time wherever they go. I’d assume any of the more popular islands would have flights from both Paris and Munich eg, Crete, Corfu, Zante and I’m sure some others.

You won’t be able to book a package holiday using different departure and arrival airports so you’ll have to book it all separately.

Helen, since these teens want to go to PAROS, they cannot do a direct flight from a European city.

Yeah I know they want to go to Paros but they don’t have to go there. There are plenty of other options that they’ll enjoy just as much.

I think it would be wise to get them to rethink and choose a destination with direct flights. It will make things so much easier. We know how unreliable flight schedules are post covid so I’d make it as simple as possible for them.

Helen, I don't understand this "We know how unreliable flight schedules are post covid".

There is no unreliable flight schedule specific to flights to Athens.

On the contrary, the least reliable flights are direct flights from a European city to islands with international airports such as Mykonos or Santorini or Corfu. And it has nothing to do with post-Covid. In addition, these are generally non-daily flights (often once or twice a week) which adds a risk in the event of cancellation

Paros is a very good choice.
Your children will find plenty of possible activities there, windsurfing, kite surfing, diving, snorkeling, etc.

Lots of hiking possibilities and lots of typical villages to see.

In addition the bus network is very good if they cannot rent a car due to their age.

For young people who want to discover a country, a Holyday package is, in my opinion, nonsense. especially in the Greek islands where they will find plenty of inexpensive studio or small apartment type accommodation and plenty of restaurants and taverns to go to rather than spending their days in one of those hotel club type accommodations generally included in packages where everything is made to keep you as much as possible within the hotel grounds and which, unless you pay a fortune, have rooms in poor condition and semi-industrial canteen-type food.

In Paros (which I know very well) take a look and show them rather one of accommodation like for example Louridis Studios:

https://paros-studios.gr/

It is on Golden Beach, the largest sandy beach in Paros. The staff is super friendly and the studios are very good.

A studio for 2 with sea view, 2 single beds, kitchen, bathroom AC, tv, balcony is at 65€/night in June.

It's mainly frequented by young people like your kids.