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Sandy beaches in Gavdos
7 beaches in Gavdos with sand underfoot. Re-ranked live, so the one with the flattest sea today comes first.
These are the beaches on Gavdos tagged as sand on the map: soft underfoot and easier for children and bare feet than pebbles. Sand says nothing about the sea, so the live ranking checks today's wind for each of them.
All 7 sandy beaches on Gavdos
| Beach | Faces | Surface | Meltemi shelter (0–100) | Lifeguard | Bars | Tavernas | Toilets | Parking | Resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pyrgos | west | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Pyrgos nudist beach | west | Sand | 95 | ||||||
| Potamos nudist beach | north-west | Sand | 90 | ||||||
| Lavrakas nudist beach | north | Sand | 2 | ||||||
| Agios Ioannis Naturist Beach | north | Sand | 0 | ||||||
| Agios Ioannis nudist beach | north | Sand | 0 | ||||||
| Sarakiniko | north-east | Sand | 0 | 44 bars and cafés | 77 tavernas and restaurants |
Gavdos: how busy is it, month by month
Gavdos is busiest in August. In May and October there are about half as many visitors, or fewer. For a flat sea and fewer people, the best months are June and October.
Visitor levels are nights spent in tourist accommodation in the Crete region (Eurostat, average of 2023–2025), compared with its busiest month. They show when the area is busy, not how many people are on a given beach.
Frequently asked questions
Where are the sandy beaches in Gavdos?
7 of the 15 mapped beaches on Gavdos are tagged as sand, for example Pyrgos, Pyrgos nudist beach, and Potamos nudist beach. The ones best sheltered from the meltemi are listed first.
Is a sandy beach also a sheltered beach?
Not necessarily. Sand tells you what is underfoot, not what the sea does. A long open sandy bay can have waves when the wind blows onshore. The live ranking above shows which sandy beaches are flat right now.
How do you know which beaches are sheltered?
For every beach we measured how much open sea lies in each of 16 compass directions, using OpenStreetMap coastlines. Waves build over open water, so a beach with land close by in the direction the wind comes from is sheltered. Today's wind forecast from MET Norway is then applied, and the result is refreshed every 2 hours.
Are the forecasts reliable?
They are estimates. The model does not include swell from distant storms, and local gusts can be stronger than forecast. Always follow lifeguard flags and local warnings.