Baxedes Beach

Baxedes is the beach you go to when you want to feel that Santorini still has wild edges. It sits on the north coast a few minutes below Oia, a long strip of dark sand and stones set against volcanic cliffs, and it has stayed almost entirely undeveloped. There are no rows of matching umbrellas and no music, just space, tamarisk trees for shade and the sound of the sea.

The water is shallow close in, which makes it surprisingly good for a gentle paddle on a calm day, and families with steady children do use it. The trade off is the wind. Baxedes faces north and takes the full force of the summer meltemi, so on a breezy afternoon the waves pick up and the same exposure that keeps the crowds away can make swimming choppy. Locals know to come early before the wind builds.

Facilities are deliberately thin. There is usually a small beach stall for a cold drink and a couple of tavernas back from the sand, but you should treat it as a bring your own water and snacks kind of day. That same lack of development is exactly why it feels a world apart from the busy black sand resorts on the south coast, and why anyone chasing solitude near Oia ends up here.

Who it suits: travellers staying in Oia who want a quick quiet beach escape, lovers of undeveloped shorelines, and surfers and bodyboarders who actually want the north swell on a windy day.

Who should skip it: anyone who wants full sunbed and bar service should head south to Perissa or Kamari, and visitors set on a guaranteed calm swim should check the wind first or choose a south facing beach.