Athens is more than ancient ruins. A few miles outside of Athens’ most famous landmark and away from the armies of tourists, are beautiful serene and almost deserted beaches that you’ve never heard of.
Here’s a secret: I get a lot of my travel inspiration from Instagram. When I know I will be traveling to a place, I take a deep dive through all of the hash-tagged photos. I follow all of the location tags like I’m researching a new man. You know how you follow the tags so deep you end up on their best friend’s cousin’s ex-girlfriend’s baby daddy’s nephew’s son’s page? Yeah, like that. That’s how I locate the most interesting places, and that’s how I build my itinerary. That is how I came across Lagonissi Beach. Prior to seeing the photos I really wasn’t aware that Athens was even close to a beach. None of the travel sites or online magazines I had searched through mentioned anything about it. Thanks Instagram—you’re the real MVP!
We visited Athens in September and I found our hotel through Expedia. While searching hotels I discovered that rooms in Europe are incredibly small and getting two rooms for three people was not budget friendly, so I sought out rental homes instead. I hit the jackpot when I found Stefanos Villa in Saronikos. It’s a private home that sits atop a rocky hill in a quiet neighborhood, overlooking the electric blue waters of the Aegean Sea. The immaculate three story home had everything we needed–roof top deck, private pool, indoor sauna, media room and (trumpets please!) the use of the owner’s car! The house even had an elevator. The level of opulence at just $291 a night was beyond my expectations.
The ceiling of the living room was glass and each morning we would open the panels and let the sun flood in. Being in that picturesque setting, looking out at the ocean from the living room couch inspired a lot of laziness. We found ourselves basking in all the beauty and just relaxing. We didn’t really feel a strong urge to leave. Being there was the perfect recharge.
But on our second day we did finally mustered up enough motivation to leave. We ventured out to Grand Resort Lagonissi, which was a short 10 minute drive from the house. We paid 8 euro to park and rent beach chairs and umbrellas. The water was amazing! It was incredibly calm and clean. It has to be the clearest water I have ever been in. There were no crashing waves, or floating seaweed, and no rancid fish smells. Be advised however, the waters are filled with rocks—jagged rocks. I got a pretty good scrape on my knee from one of them.
We took some time to drive the winding roads of the magnificent coastline that rivaled the beauty of Pacific Coast Hwy 1, with cliffs cascading into the cobalt blue water—some rocky and some lush green. For dinner we stopped off at an open air restaurant overlooking a small patch of beach. We were the only patrons there. While we enjoyed our souvlaki and cocktails (which were made across the street from the actual restaurant) a man armed with a plastic bag and fishing pole made his station on the small beach below the restaurant. He had no music, no cell phone, and no friends. It was just him catching fish to the calming sound of subtle waves, teaching us the art of patience and contentment.
We did visit the Acropolis—which was about a 45 minute drive from the house. We also got a chance to walk around the city center and I ate some bomb lamb and greens, which I feel were collard greens, but when I asked our server if they were collard greens, he replied, “What are those?” Did I mention the food in Greece is amazing? So is the wine.
If you are planning a trip to Athens I definitely recommend seeking accommodations outside of the city if you are looking for space to relax and unplug. I enjoyed the city but the true gem was Saronikos. I can’t wait to explore more of Greece—I’m sure there are many more gems to discover.
