Folegandros
Photo: George Zografidis / Pexels
The Verdict
The most dramatic small island in the Cyclades: a cliff-edge chora, three beaches worth the trip, and almost nothing else — which is the point.
Why go
Folegandros does one thing better than anywhere else in the Cyclades: it puts a village on the lip of a cliff and leaves it alone. Chora is small, mostly pedestrian and genuinely beautiful at night, with the Kastro quarter inside it and the Panagia church on a rock above, reached by a zigzag path at sunset. The rest of the island is a dry empty ridge with three excellent beaches and a port with one street. It fills in August and empties in October, and it works best as two or three nights rather than a base.
Understand the place
A small, dry, spectacular Cycladic island — its chora on the lip of a two-hundred-metre cliff, a medieval kastro, and a handful of beaches.
Where to swim
Beaches
Agali Beach
A sandy-pebble cove on the road between Chora and Ano Meria, with clear water and a few tavernas built into the slope.
“A small cove with tavernas on the cliff behind it, and the easiest good swim on Folegandros.”
Katergo Beach
A remote pebble beach at the end of a dry valley on Folegandros, reached by boat from the port or by a rough path from Chora.
“Pebbles, deep blue water and cliffs on both sides — the best beach on Folegandros and one of the best in the Cyclades.”
The old world
History & archaeology
Beyond the built
Outdoors & nature
Towns & villages
Chora
The chora of Folegandros, built along the lip of a two-hundred-metre cliff, with a medieval kastro at one end and the Panagia church above.
“One of the most beautiful villages in Greece, on the edge of a cliff, and the reason to come to Folegandros.”
Karavostasis
The port of Folegandros, a line of tavernas along a small harbour with a beach at one end and a cave-riddled cliff to the north.
“The port: one street, a few tavernas and a small beach — you arrive, eat, and go up to Chora.”
Easy to combine with
Logically reachable by transport. Confirm current ferry/flight schedules before booking.
Nearby
Sources
Booking links
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Plan this trip
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