What are the differences between the beaches in Greece and Italy? Which country is known for having better beaches?

Volker Eichener

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Professor at Hochschule Düsseldorf Updated Wed

What are the differences between the beaches in Greece and Italy? Which country is known for having better beaches?

The Italians will beat me (again), but the clear winner is Greece. Sorry, my Italian friends. Maybe the comparison is unfair, because Greece has so much more coastline than Italy.

But to do Italy some justice, I start with Italian beaches.

The famous Adria beaches are long, wide and sandy.

The beach of Jesolo, one of Italy’s most popular beaches

The Riviera beaches are often rock-rimmed coves. Some of the beaches are pebbly.

Finale Ligure

There are some nice beaches on the Amalfi coast.

Amalfi beach

Outside the towns, you can find real gems, even at the Adriatic coast:

Milano Marittima

Puglia is somewhat far away from us but has spectacular beaches:

But if you are looking for the very best beaches in Italy, go to Sardinia!

Orri

Now, Greece. Greece has an incredibly long coastline. And dozens of smaller and larger islands which are developed for tourism. It is absolutely impossible to list all the nice beaches of Greece here. Instead, just a few examples.

Lefkada

Ionian coast, Peloponnese (near Skafidia)

Ionian coast, Kakovatos

Gythio, Peloponnese

Mani peninsula, Peloponnese

Lygia, Northwest Greece

Parga

Ammoudia, the bay where Odysseus landed to visit the Underworld

Alonaki Fanariou, still Northwest Greece

Halkidiki

Voidokilia, Peloponnese

Koroni, Peloponnese

Finikounda, Peloponnese

Tsapo, Peloponnese

Rhodes

EDIT:

Lively comments, so far.

I added a few pictures for Italy. Sorry, if I missed some beautiful beaches on Greek islands, but I have only taken pictures from beaches where I have been.

Actually, I have been much more often to Italy than to Greece, but the Italian beaches never really appealed to me - except on Sardinia.

All pictures of Greek beaches are mine. And I made all of them end of August/first half of September (in different years), because this is the best time for travelling to Greece (the only exception is Rhodes, where we were swimming in mid-November). And all pictures were taken more or less around midday or in the afternoon (as you can see from the shadows).

One commentator has not understood that the Mediterranean Sea is different from the ocean. The Med has almost no tide and the waves are usually gentle up to nonexistent in summer (storms are a different story). Hence, the water is crystal-clear. You can swim long distances (which I love), you can swim with the fish and an occasional sea turtle, you can snorkel. I also love the ocean, but the question asked for Italy vs. Greece and both are on the Med.

What I love about Greek beaches:

If we want to visit archeological sites or castles or monasteries or picturesque villages we almost always can stay at a nearby beach, have a swim in the morning before breakfast to wake up and have a swim in the afternoon when we come home exhausted and sweaty from sightseeing. This is so great.