Barbati Beach

Barbati is the northeast coast at its most composed, a long bay of small white pebbles below the green flank of Mount Pantokrator, with water so clear it reads like glass over the stones. This is the stretch sometimes called the Kensington Riviera for the smart villas in the hills, and the beach carries that tone without showing off. There is no neon and no thumping strip here, just a tidy run of upmarket beach bars and restaurants by the water, sunbeds set out neatly, and a calm, clean sea that makes you want to stay in. For a couple who have grown out of the party resorts, this is the easy, lovely choice.

The honest caveat is simple and physical. Barbati is pebble, not sand, and a white pebble entry that looks beautiful from a daybed is unkind to bare feet on the way in. A cheap pair of water shoes solves it entirely, and once you are floating the clarity pays you back many times over. The pebbles are also why the water stays so clear, so it is a trade worth making rather than a flaw to hold against the place. Pack accordingly and the only thing left to decide is which beach bar gets your lunch.

The romance here is unhurried. Take a daybed at one of the restaurants by the water, let a long lunch slide into an afternoon of swims, and time a final drink for the cool of the evening when the mountain throws its shade across the bay. If you want a wilder day there are quieter coves a short drive north towards Kassiopi, and the green cliffs of Paleokastritsa are within reach across the island, but Barbati itself is the rare beach that gives a couple comfort and clear water in the same place without a single false note.