Koufonissi: an island to explore on foot

After visiting several islands of Greece, I would have no difficulty answering the question “Why Koufonissi? What does it have different to offer? " Koufonissi offers the possibility of being discovered on foot, according to a philosophy of slow tourism, appreciating its beauty by walking through the dirt roads and walking to the beaches and coves that the island offers. Here it is not possible to rent cars, but only bicycles, which from our point of view are not all that necessary.

It is an island where you can rediscover the value of time, where in addition to the destination of your day, you will also appreciate the path you take to reach it.

Moreover, here you will find coves with crystal clear water like that of a swimming pool, fairly pristine paths to walk during the day and the possibility of observing the stars and the Milky Way thanks to the reduced light pollution that characterizes it in different points.

Beaches

The port beach, Megali Ammos, will leave you speechless. The water is so transparent that you cannot resist going inside! For those who want comfort, it can be an excellent solution: wide beach, surrounded on one side by the beautiful typical houses and convenient to reach an excellent bakery on the road to the Chora, ideal for a tasty snack.

Continuing east, you will then find the most famous beaches, in order: Finikas, Fanos and Italida. They are all very beautiful, we do not notice any particular differences except that the first two have a nearby tavern, while the last, the most famous, becomes overly crowded during the day (in August). After trying them for several days, Fanos is definitely our favorite!

Continuing on foot, the path continues for about 2 km until you reach the beach of Pori, a horseshoe characterized by white sand and crystal clear waters. Keep in mind that this beach is more exposed than the others, so on windy days the Meltemi makes itself felt here. A few steps from the beach, there are two tavernas for lunch or just for a snack.

Along the path, about 500m before Pori, the rocky coast offers some spectacular openings and a fantastic natural swimming pool which, seen from above, has the shape similar to a heart. What do you say, we could not resist to take a dip, right?!?

Kato Koufonissi

Koufonissi, whose full name is Ano Koufonissi, has an uninhabited older sister, Kato Koufonissi, which is worth visiting for the day. Several boats leave from the port during the day to reach it. On the island you will find several paths to reach its beaches and a truly picturesque tavern.

Sunsets

We recommend two alternatives to enjoy the most beautiful sunsets in Koufonissi, the first is the cove where the Neo Remezzo restaurant is located. Here you will find a beautiful windmill (you can rent it), the little church of Agios Nikolaos and some fantastic old boats, which will help to enhance the sunset background. For the most revelers, you can opt for a new venue, Milos Koufonisia. It is a restored windmill with a small shop, which prepares original cocktails overlooking the new port. Don't expect to eat though: the cocktails are accompanied only by a few peanuts.

Even after sunset, while Koufonissi begins to light up, it manages to give wonderful views.

Chora

The Chora develops along the main uphill road that starts from the port and culminates with the small church of Agios Georgios. Small but nice, you will find several small shops, bars and restaurants and it is pleasant to walk there after dinner for some shopping. If you are looking for some souvenirs to take home, we recommend the shop Το Παραδοσιακό (Paradosiako) an excellent choice of typical products, where we bought the typical rakomelo, loukomi, excellent body creams and hand creams with aloe.

Before your trip

• How to reach the island? It can be reached by ferry from various islands with an airport, this year we reached it from Paros, the previous trip from Mykonos. Otherwise from Piraeus with a slightly longer journey
  
  
• How many days? We have dedicated three and a half days to it, which was enough to calmly see its beaches and enjoy the life of the Chora by day and by night. In the previous trip, we had dedicated one day to visit Kato Koufonissi
  
  
• How to move around ths island? We have no doubts: on foot! Distances are absolutely feasible and if you are tired on the main beaches there is a very frequent boat shuttle service, which can take you back to the port
  
  
• Where to stay? We went back for the second time to Joanna's beautiful apartments: Aperanto Galazio. Small apartments in Greek style, with a wonderful veranda overlooking the sea where you can have breakfast and a nice garden. In its simplicity it is absolutely functional and very clean! Our super recommended choice!
  
  
• Where to eat? Compared to our previous trip, many new restaurants have opened, so we want to share with you the ones that conquered us in 2016 and that this year have been able to confirm their quality!
  • Aneplora is an excellent fish restaurant located near the old port. Absolutely worth the walk, to be able to dine well-cooked local cuisine on an outdoor veranda. This year the service was a bit disorganized, but if you are not in a hurry you will be rewarded with an excellent fish-based dinner. Among the specialties not to be missed is the ray wings salad.
  • From 5:30 pm onwards, the gyros pita is available at Souvlaki Stri Stoti for us on the podium of the best we have eaten so far in Greece