We always associate Greece with the blue color - blue sky, blue sea, blue-domed churches, blue water beaches... But what about red beaches? Yes, there are a few unique places in this country where the sand, the pebbles and even the rocks around vary in different hues of red.
Some of these beaches have dark red pebbles which change the color of the sea, others are in softer tones, and in the island of Crete you can even see pink sand!
Red Beach, Santorini
The most famous red beach in Greece is the one in Santorini. Due to the vertical red rocks and the small reddish pebbles around the shore even the color of the water looks unusual.
Firi Ammos, Kythira
Тhis beach attracts with its red pebbles. There are two beaches in Kythira called Firi Ammos but this one is located in the north part of the island, close to the village of Agia Pelagia.
Tsonia, Lesbos
Tsonia beach is located on the north coast of Lesbos, near the village of Sikaminea. It has reddish sand and pebbles the color of which gets more intense around the shore and in the water.
Kokkinokastro, Alonnisos
Kokkinokastro means ”red castle” which probably comes from the red color of the rocks at the beach. The coarse sand and pebbles are also red but their color is visible in the wet part around the shore.
Balos, Crete
Balos is known as one of the pink beaches of Crete but you can see this amazing color just in some patches of the beach where water touches the sand. The pink color is typical for the west coast of the island and it comes from a marine single-celled organism called Foraminifera which produces pink or red shells. Actually, the pink sand is formed by the these shell.
Xi, Kefalonia
The color of Xi beach is more orange than red but in certain hours and especially at sunset, the soft sand looks reddish. It is located on the southernmost coast of Paliki peninsula in Kefalonia.