Island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece, uniquely characterised by simple yet striking blue and white architecture.
Here, are beaches to bewilder. Not just one, but one after another, and another. All lined up as you walk the coastal edge of this little Cycladic dream.
🏖️🤿🚲👨🦯
Last visit and update on 2 Aug 2026
Koufonisia is a nugget-sized treasure with a lost paradise type appeal and a history stretching back to around 3200 BC. There are no luxe hotels or fine dining establishments, but enough of the basics – two bakeries, one pharmacy, two mini-markets, tavernas traditional and contemporary, and a single, small Chora (main town). As those in-the-know catch onto this elysian escape, a new wave of sleek apartment rentals have mushroomed on the island speck, along with a handful of hip café-bars and elegant boutiques. The island’s draw? The best beaches in the Cyclades, and arguably, the country.
Where your options are few, choices are refreshingly simple. And if you’re unfazed by hearty walks and beaches basking in all their naked glory, Koufonisia is perfect for family holidays. Especially after you find out that while there’s no car rental service on the island (2026 update: Aeris Suites has started to offer the island’s first electric vehicle rental service), an on-call taxi (tel: +30698 73 37 290 – book ahead) stands ready to zip little legs from point to point.
GETTING AROUND
Part of Koufonisia’s allure is its size – in its smallness, it feels like your very own near-private isle. Just 3.5 kilometers from one end to another and a basic road network etched in, they say cars are not necessary. If you are child-free and eager on clocking-in 10,000 steps a day, even in the searing heat of the summer sun, we would agree. But with two under four and the usual truckload to cart around, I was delighted to have ours.
Otherwise, families were carting pram-loads of bottled water (tap water is not drinkable on most water-scarce Greek islands) from mini-mart to villa. The upside – gently hilly, the island’s terrain is not difficult. It’s actually ideal for older children ready for their first hiking and biking adventures (bike rental services are available). There’s also a boat taxi service shuttling from beach to beach every half hour from 8am to 8pm. Tickets are sold at the port.
WHERE TO STAY WITH KIDS
Life and habitation in Koufonisia center around its south eastern shores. If you don’t have a car and with babies, it’s a good idea to select accommodation in or near the Chora. The nearby port beach is an impressive one, and likely the most beautiful port beach you will ever find. Protected from fierce meltimi winds that blow across the Aegean in summer, it’s typically also the calmest beach on the island where babies and toddlers gather. If you need to expand the search area, I’d do it in the direction towards Finikia and Fanos beaches where you are likely to be spending some beach days.
EASY HIKES & DREAMY DIPS
On an island of just 400 residents, a collective determination to protect the coastline against the rising tide of tourism has ensured its six beaches remain blissfully untouched by rows of sunbeds. “Unorganised” as they say in Greece, be prepared to bring shade and mats. Your accommodation might come equipped with beach umbrellas and foldable chairs. If not, you can find them in the island’s mini-marts. And if it’s all starting to sound a little too complicated, the taverna-cafe on Fanos beach has loungers and umbrellas on its terrace perched just above the shore.
Starting from Ammos port beach, a coastal walking path leads you to heavenly Pori up north (40 minutes on foot), scalloped by the powder-white coves of Finikas, Fanos and Italida en route. Calm, crystal clear, and shallow for a generous length out into the sea, all have aquamarine waters that are ideal for splashing toddlers. At Finikas and Fanos, tamarisk trees lining the shore’s edge offer some feathery shade if you snag a spot early enough. Finikas has the added benefit of a homespun taverna with some standout dishes (try the oven roasted goat oven and octopus in red wine sauce). Like everything else on the island, service is slow in high summer in spite of stretched staff darting around, so arrive relaxed. Fanos also has a cafe and restaurant, but you are likely to dine better at Finikas.
The waters at Italida are similarly stunning. Without direct road access, its relative seclusion attracts more nudists than usual.
Pori beach in the north-east is the island’s main event. A luminous omega-shaped bay of surreal iridescence, it’s also shallow and invitingly child-friendly for swimming. Natural shade is spartan, so arrive equipped, although umbrellas often have a hard time battling the gusty winds that blow in these parts – bring hammering stakes, ropes and anchors. This is not a beach to miss.
Pori’s other attraction is Kalofego restaurant and bar – a rustic-chic oasis with an inventive menu of skillfully executed dishes. Embracing the Cycladic vernacular, boxy sand-hued volumes topped with thatched bamboo roofs, wood furniture, and oversized terracotta pot adornment imbue a warm enchantment. Also thoughtfully equipped with a bar that shakes up beautifully boozy cocktails (which you can take away to the beach), we were in a slice of paradise. Work off your meal after by exploring the impressive coves and rock cliff formations behind Pori beach.
ABOUT TOWN
Koufonisia’s Chora is a single-street patchwork of elegant shops and enticing cafes, bars and eateries that feel more city than tiny Cycladic island. It’s also one that’s eager to please with a surprisingly varied food scene. While mornings see early-risers fuel the day with eggs and matcha lattes in packed-out cafes, by evening, swanked up, sun-bronzed diners fill tavernas traditional and elevated (Armira & Pioto is our town favourite). Since our first visit in 2018, prices have climbed by more than 40%, along with restaurants’ seating capacities. Some have expanded into neighbouring garden plots once left abandoned, creating atmospheric courtyards where tables sit beneath softly illuminated fig and olive trees. While expensive, development so far has been tasteful, thankfully.
Or perhaps, like us, you’ll find yourself lingering over a seaside taverna lunch at four in the afternoon after a slow start to the day and a homemade breakfast. We leave just enough room for a stroll back into the Chora in search of something sweet—gelato, honey-drenched loukoumades or a towering soft serve at Laggona (also a great coffee stop). And if, somehow, the children announce they’re hungry again an hour later, there’s always souvlaki. Dining schedules get impossibly confusing for me in summer.
Uninterrupted by stairs and characterised by a wider-than-usual, gently sloping walkway, unlike most other Greek island villages, you won’t have trouble pushing a stroller though.
WHEN TO VISIT
In the first two weeks of June, the waters have warmed up enough so your first sea dive feels refreshing rather than bracing. The afternoon sun is also not as intense as it gets in July and August – quite important on an island where most travel on foot. June and early September are also always a better time than July and August for avoiding heatwaves, finding space on the beach, securing the best accommodation (start the search early – good options are limited), and smaller dents in budgets.
GETTING THERE
For a diamond of a find, Koufonisia is not hard to get to. While it doesn’t have an airport, neighbouring Naxos (with an airport) is just a 40-minute ferry ride away. Otherwise, the fastest journey on a vessel departing from Athens’ Pireaus port takes 5 hours. Not short, but the Hellenic Seaways Highspeed 4 ferry offers cafe-style seating for a more bearable ride.
Even if you discover that you’re not quite the personality for do-nothing trips in quiet solitude, it’s not difficult to change your plans. A plethora of exciting new worlds, each with its own distinct personality, lie in the surrounding Cyclades (e.g. Mykonos and Paros are close by). For more island hopping inspiration, refer to our post on possible itineraries.
FIND A FERRY TO KOUFONISIA
There was a time when the only way to reach Koufonisia was aboard the rickety Express Skopelitis, the family-owned ferry linking the Small Cyclades. Today, fast ferries have arrived—and with them, larger crowds. Input your planned travel dates for ferry schedules and pricing to Koufonisia from Pireaus port.
- Getting There:
- Where We Stayed: Keros Airbnb Villa
- Eat:
- To Kyma (Ammos Beach) for breakfast.
- Aneplora Taverna (Parianos Bay) for lunch or dinner, although it may get hot at lunch.
- Kalofego Cafe Restaurant & Bar (Pori Beach) for lunch or dinner.
- Armira Kai Pioto (Main town) for dinner.
- Drink:
- Baby Supplies: There is no large supermarket on the island. Just one pharmacy and mini-marts where we were able to find wipes, pampers, and food essentials (e.g. eggs, yoghurt, milk, cheese and fruit).
