Help me find this resort (Greek Islands)

[thisist]

I’ve had a shocking few years. So bad it’s hard to fathom. I want to do a Shirley Valentine and visit one of the Greek Islands for a week in May, solo. I need rest and recovery, hot sun and glistening sea views.

I want to be very close to a sheltered beach with white sand and shallow turquoise water. I need a direct flight and I don’t want it to feel overcrowded in May. I plan to go for early morning walks, read by the pool and sit on the beach. Evenings will be spent at the accommodation - watching movies and sleeping early. I’ll take a couple of day trips. I don’t want to use public transport or hire a car if possible - I’d like everything to be walkable (happy to walk far and a lot). I need good breakfast and lunch spots, coffee shops, and a small supermarket. I don’t want to feel isolated so not a village - it does need to be a small town at least.

Does any of this ring a bell? I feel at home in the Greek Islands, but the ones I’ve been to actually haven’t had great beaches. I’m looking for a feeling of paradise and pure escapism.

Can anyone help? Thank you!

Almyrida Crete.

Thank you for the suggestion. I’ll check that out on YouTube. It does look a small village on the map so possibly going to be smaller than I was hoping for.

Elounda in eastern Crete. It’s about an hour east of Heraklion which is very well served with direct flights from the UK. We’ve been a few times and never hire a car. Completely walkable with a great range of bars and restaurants and a lovely chilled vibe. Main town beach is sandy with some more pebbly ones as well. Highly recommend it- quite possibly my favourite place in the world.
https://www.cretetravel.com/en/guide/18/Elounda_Village

Skopelos. You would have to fly to Skiathos, but it is then a v easy 1 hour ferry to Skopelos. Once there the town is v pretty and v walkable. Quiet and peaceful but with enough buzz to keep you interested. Revitalising.

That looks like a really good suggestion - thank you. I’m just watching on YouTube and the beach looks lovely. I could visit Spinalonga easily from their too.

Skiathos keeps popping up wherever I look but I hadn’t thought about Skopelos. It looks stunning and traditional.

Skopelos (for me) is a wonderful balance of calm enough to be restful, but touristy enough for everything to work easily. If you are interested, I can highly recommend a place to stay that is an easy 10/15 min walk from the centre of town with a shared pool and wonderful sea views. Drop me a message if you'd like any more info.

Spinalonga is an absolute must see. There are very frequent boats from Elounda harbour. Plaka village a few miles north is right opposite Spinalonga and definitely worth a visit. We love having lunch on the waterfront there. Plaka has a lovely beach- it is stony, but the water is crystal clear. Happy to provide recommendations- just let me know. And definitely read ‘The Island’ by Victoria Hislop if you haven’t already!

I went to Andros years ago, of all the Greek islands it's my favourite. But it doesn't have direct flights, it's Athens airport then a ferry.

Rhodes would work for this - Lindos has great beaches, an acropolis, restaurants and a touch of history.

I stayed at a hotel in Greece that had a private little cove beach opposite.
It also had a main larger beach and little town perhaps a 20/30 minute walk away.
I booked through TUI..
San Giorgio Hotel, Skala, Kefalonia.

I agree with Lindos. Some stunning beaches around too.

Lindos would be good (I’ve been before) but it’s just so expensive these days. I wish Rhodes had more white sand beach resorts on offer. I might take another look and see what’s available close to Rhodes town.

Parga on mainland Greece is very good. I can't remember exactly what the beach was like but it's a lovely place.

Lindos or Rhodes Old Town would also be great.

Paphos in Cyprus is also one of my favourites.

You should be able to find some deals in May as that's still pretty early in the season.

Pretty much everywhere on Kefalonia is gorgeous. Fiskardo particularly.

Tigaki in Kos?

Where you would you recommend for a 7 day holiday if I was to stay in one place? I’m sure I read that Fiskardo is best for a day trip only.

That water! Heavenly!

It is small but seems to have most of what you need.
-10-12 excellent restaurants, bars and coffee shops along the beach front
-couple of decent supermarkets
-a few interesting local shops
-buzzy but calm.. no ‘nightlife’
sheltered beaches ( a few to choose from) and shallow calm water.
a few nice walks
good options for accommodation including private villas, adults only resorts or cheaper end but no ‘Brits abroad’ feeling.

Only thing it doesn’t have sights in walking distance but a taxi or bus can get you to them.

Paxos.

It’s not direct. It you need to take a boat from Corfu and go to Erikoussa. Oh man, paradise on earth. Nothing to do but love it, eat and drink well and enjoy the gorgeous beach and pristine waters. Trips to Corfu of you wanted to but you might not!!

I love Elounda. Lots of hotels but wpuld recommend elounda blu for loads of reasons, you can see spinalonga from almost every room

Have you visited the Greek islands in May before, OP? I only ask because you say that you want hot sun & that’s not at all guaranteed in May. Several years ago I did a Shirley (minus the Costas character 😉) & now I live on a Greek island in the southern Aegean. Whilst the weather can be lovely, even down here we can have cool, rainy & stormy periods right through to early June. Last year we had terrible “sand rain” (stains everything orange/brown) with high winds for the last 10 days of May! The chances of cooler weather are higher in the more northerly islands. So with that in mind, I would definitely recommend going to a southern island group (eg Cyclades) rather than the Ionians or even Sporades.

Thanks for the heads up. Spent a whole day researching yesterday and decided to go towards the end of June instead just to be sure! My heart can’t cope with travelling all the way there and being met with clouds and rain!

Good plan. We’re going to Elounda late June and it’s a lovely time of year to be in Greece. We’ve been at that time of year a few times and never been disappointed in the weather.