Greek Island, beautiful, safe beaches,no large block of flat on beach which one?

[SpringisSpinning]

Please.. I've never explored the Greek island, we like South of France, nice etc Antibes.. characteful beaches.. safe water for children, also snorkeling, nice restaurant on sea.. people milling around at night like in Spain.. no package holiday places we can't afford And books pie own ab

Thassos? I have been three times and it is lovely.

www.greeka.com/eastern-aegean/thassos/beaches/

Look up Lonely Planet and the rough guide books/websites.

Plaka beach and Agios Prokopios in Naxos are both beautiful and safe. They both have nudist sections though, but are popular with families during peak season.
Also, Koukounaries on Skiathos.

Kalymnos and Samos are the only Greek islands I have stayed on.
Kalymnos didn't even have an airport when I visited (quite a long time ago) and I stayed at Hotel Elies which was within walking distance of a couple of pretty beaches.
On Samos we stayed at Hotel Daphne, which is not on the beach but at the bottom of the Nightingale valley - lovely walk up to the top, tree-lined. The hotel, which is family run, will take you to the local beach (pebbles) and collect you again. We also hired a car and toured around the island.
Neither island was too overrun with tourists.

Kefalonia. Can’t beat it.

Seconding Thassos - Golden Beach is beautiful If you imagine that the sea is in front of you, go as far to the left as you can. Glorious!

Skiathos also has beautiful beaches, and Banana Beach is the best. Up a blinking big hill and down again means its especially crowded. Don't veer off to the right unless you want to go to the nudist Beach.

Ithaka is very much off the beaten track but lovely.

Santorini can be breathtaking but the beaches are predominantly volcanic.

I have also heard that the beaches in Croatia are lovely so that might be worth considering.

I always found the sea much more salty off the Greek islands (I've visited a few). No idea why! But worth bearing in mind if you have young DC.

I have been to numerous Greek Islands,my favourites are of course the ones with no Airport.

The Cyclades has some stunning Islands,Amorgos,Anti-Paros,Folegrandos are just a few.I stayed on Amorgos in a beautiful Hotel.Always use the flying dolphins where possible to move between Islands.

We went to Aegina and Kalymnos, however this was back in the late 80’s /early 90’s
Back then neither had an airport , they both do now.
They were very rural and ‘Greek’, we had a fabulous time. We hired a moped and drove inland. Around lunchtime we were looking for a cafe and an elderly man called us over and we sat in his garden and his wife made us Greek salad and kebabs. It was amazing, only cost a few drachma.

So not much help now but I have fibd memories

Fond memories

Kefalonia

Thank you,in terms of beaches I do prefer beaches with character, cove's etc rather than really long straight stretches if possible...

Sorry I should have said I've never been to the Greek island, I want to avoid the benidorn of them if possible...

@480Widdio

I'd love to island hop. Are the Cyclades the ones where you do this?

There is the Dodecanese as well,the amount of ferries and flying dolphins is staggering.Last time I did it I flew to Athens,had three weeks,I was on Anti- Paros when the weather was forecast to get bad,so had to leave early,couldn’t risk missing flight home.Had to be flexible,with boats being cancelled.Not the best thing to do with small children I don’t think.Just took a rucksack,crammed with stuff.

There are so many Greek Islands to choose from,never been to one I don’t like.Even on the more Touristy ones,it is easy to find a quiet place.

Paxos, it is the most beautiful place on earth

Pefkos in Rhodes has lovely family friendly beaches.

The Greek don’t really do massive high rise blocks on the beach, I don’t think

Also, nobody can own a beach so hotels can’t cordon them off for private use

It’s what makes Greece pretty lovely almost anywhere, almost all beaches accessible to the public (I think you can own, and cordon off, an island though for Onassis and the like)

It can be busy, but not high rise busy iyswim

Skiathos.

Kefelonia

Ikaria is amazing although overcrowded in August, Kalymnos, Thassos, Donousa, Schoinousa, Koufonisia also northern Evia just a few suggestions.
Personally, I would avoid destinations like Rhodes, the larger Ionian Islands and most of Cyclades although beautiful they are very touristy during summer months.

Another vote for Kefalonia

gosh lots and lots of ideas here thank you. I think I would like somehwere were we can either stay in some different places very easily and explore or/and island hop as it would be very very different to any past holidays, dc would be 9 and 12

I would not go in August, perhaps April? Easter holiday or October? would sea be warm enough then ( it was just about in south of France)

April is a little early for the islands, many of the beach tavernas don't open until May.
Skopelos is lovely, no high rise flats, some very pretty beaches, near by Skiathos is nice also, maybe a bit better for families with young children as has very family friendly hotels & cafes.