WORTH A DETOUR

Greece · Skiathos · #10 of Greece's ten by fame

Koukounaries Beach

A lake and a bird reserve behind the sunbeds.

How we rated it: up one for a sourced find, a lake and bird reserve directly behind the beach. Photo: dronepicr · CC BY 2.0

The hang

Behind the Blue Flag sand at Koukounaries is a nature reserve with a lake, Strofylia, and rare birds in the migration season. In front of it are pedalos, a ski and dive school, water rides and beach bars. It is one of the most popular beaches on Skiathos and about 30 minutes from Skiathos Town by a bus that leaves roughly every 15 minutes in summer. The advice is to avoid Sundays, when the day-trip boats arrive and free space gets hard to find. We measured 669 metres of sand.

The real intel

Best months · warmest sea: July (26.6 °C), then August and September. Coldest: February (14.1 °C). One year of data, 2025.
Best months · emptiest: Any day but Sunday, when day-trip boats bring crowds.
Getting there: About 15 km and 30 minutes from Skiathos Town on the main south-coast bus, with departures roughly every 15 minutes in summer. Also by car, water taxi or boat from the old port.
Cost reality: Sunbeds from about €15 for a basic pair, more nearer the sea. The bus costs less than €3.
The catch nobody tells you: No hazard on record. The catch is Sunday, when day-trip boats bring the crowds.

The year at Koukounaries Beach

Warmest sea in July. Fewest wet days in August. Pick your fight.

Sea (°C)

14.9

14.1

14.6

15.6

18.4

23.5

26.6

26.3

22.2

19.8

17.6

Air (°C)

11.1

9.1

13.6

14.4

19.4

25.1

28.4

23.9

18.2

16.7

12.3

Sun (h/day)

7.1

8.9

10.9

12.5

14.2

13.8

12.9

11.2

9.2

7.7

6.4

Rain (days)

One year of data, 2025, from Open-Meteo at this beach's coordinates. A rain day is 1 mm or more. The red bar is the month to aim for in each row.

The neighbours

6 beaches within 6 km, as the gull flies.

374 mMystique beach222 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.
742 mMaratha Beach247 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.
822 mBig Banana Beach292 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.
852 mSmall Banana Beach207 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.
1.1 kmEleni Beach465 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.
1.6 kmKrifi Ammos Beach165 m of beach, measured. Not rated yet.

Straight-line distances from the mapped beach shapes (OpenStreetMap). Roads are longer, and in Bali they are much longer.

The crowd

One of the most popular beaches on Skiathos. On Sundays free space and sunbeds become hard to find.

The receipts

Pedalos, a ski and dive school, water rides, toilets and beach bars.

The facts · we measured

Length: 669 m
Mean width: 26.1 m
Area: 17,455 m²
Warmest sea (2025): 26.6 °C in Jul
Coldest sea (2025): 14.1 °C in Feb
Sea by month, °C: Jan 14.9 · Feb 14.1 · Mar 14.6 · Apr 15.6 · May 18.4 · Jun 23.5 · Jul 26.6 · Aug 26.3 · Sep 25.0 · Oct 22.2 · Nov 19.8 · Dec 17.6