One of the great things about Sivota is that, although it is only a small village, there are plenty of beaches to go to; some busier than others.
One of the beaches we went to a couple of times this year was one that is a little way out of town. Παραλία Μέγα Άμμος (Mega Ammos Beach), which is out past the village’s petrol station, about 10-20 minutes walk from the Mourtemeno Hotel. There are sunbeds on this beach, which we usually try to avoid, however many places now seem to offer free sunbeds, as long as you buy a drink/lunch.
The taverna at Mega Ammos Beach was doing such an offer; 2,50€ a can, or 4,50€ for something like a hot dog and a drink. Its actually quite an attractive offer, because a lot of the time you have to pay for the sunbeds and then pay more for a drink and a meal.
Greece being Greece, there are no tides and all the beaches are quite safe to swim in; I quite liked Mega Ammos beach, because although there were a lot of sunbeds, it was quite a large beach so people were spread out.
Closer in towards the village is Ζάβια (Zavia) beach; smaller than Mega Ammos. We have been in the past and we like the beach, but because of the time of year we were in Sivota this year (the week of the August 15. bank holiday in Greece), it was busy, so we didn’t go. There is a taverna which is good for getting a drink or lunch, but there is a charge for sunbeds, which is why we preferred Mega Ammos.
On the other side of the hill is Μπέλλα Βράκα (Bella Vraka). It is actually on an island (Mourtemeno Island, the same name as our hotel). But you can walk to it in water no deeper than knee-height, and there are several beaches on that island. Its quite nice, can be busy. There are sunbeds but only for the Nielson clients. Personally, I don’t think there should be any sunbeds there at all, as I think they spoil it a bit, but anyway. Its nice and shallow as well. There are three beaches on the island, two of which we didn’t get to this time round but we got to one when we rented the boat (more about that in a later blog post).
On the other side of the town, beyond the harbor and over the hill is the main town beach. There are no sunbeds here, but if you look at what the locals are doing, they’re keeping well back: that’s because the ferries go past regularly… behind the ferries, come the waves. They can be big sometimes. (Not big in a dangerous way, but I’m imagining that you don’t want your towels getting wet).
Beyond that, below the Torre a Mare waterslide park is Zeri (Ζέρη) beach. This is quite a nice beach, especially on the narrow pebbly bit with no sunbeds. The water seems to be a bit cold there – maybe there are springs! We used to visit Zeri beach quite a lot when we were last at Sivota in 2008 as I used to enjoy sitting there listening to the conversations the locals were having!
Even further along from there, and you’ll find DEI (ΔΕΗ) beach; it is named after Greece’s electricity company, the ‘Public Power Corporation’ – Δημόσια Επιχείρηση Ηλεκτρισμού in Greek, which abbreviates to ΔΕΗ. The beach has been given this name because of the large pylon which sits right in the middle of the beach. That said, the beach is still quite busy!
There are a number of other beaches around Sivota and its islands; some of the ones on the islands I’ll talk about in a later article when I write about renting a boat in Sivota, which I’ll do in a few days time. However, for someone reading this wanting a rough idea of what Sivota is like in terms of beaches, this should get you started.
Here’s a map to show you the location of Sivota’s beaches.
View Sivota 2012 – Σύβοτα 2012 in a larger map
On the blog tomorrow, I’ll be writing more about the village of Sivota itself – the shops, tavernas and other services you’ll find there, and any other stuff about the village you might find interesting.
I’m just about off to be now; I’m still on Greek time and make it 00:40!
FH.
A note about the photo: That shows the view from the village of Perdika (Πέρδικα) towards Sivota and the islands surrounding Sivota.
