Porto Katsiki Beach

Beach name: Porto Katsiki Beach

Our rating: 4/5 about
Our rating is based on our actual visit to the beach. Give your own rating and review it.

Visitors rating:

RATING SCALE

5 = Superb! Best we visited. Worth going far out of our way to swim there again
4 = Very good. We would go out of our way to swim there again
3 = Good. We would choose it for swimming among other beaches if we were in the area
2 = Average. We could go for swimming again if we happened to be in the area
1 = Just OK. The beach was fine for swimming and sunbathing one time
0 = Disappointing. We will not return to this beach

Note that these are our simple (and unscientific) observations based on our subjective experience during our visit

Porto Katsiki Beach
Lefkada island

Beach berm:
Sand, Shingle
Seafloor:
Sand, Shingle
Water rating: 4/5 about
Access:
Poor = Accessible by car, poor road, plus a long walk or climb.

Driving to the beach in the summer is not for the faint of heart. The road is way too narrow to fit two cars side by side most of the time, and the traffic is unbelieavable in july and August. Keep in mind that there are no gas stations between Lefkada town and Porto Kasiki so fill up before you go because you might be stuck in idle traffic for hours. You can expect major traffic jams around the village of Agios Nikitas and after you take the turn from the main road towards Porto Katsiki.
Amenities:
Cantina/kiosk at the beach
RV / Camper Accessibility:
Site is unsuitable for RV parking
Clothing:
Topless is common
Snorkeling:
Not very good for snorkeling. The soft limestone rock dissolves in the water giving it an interesting hue, and making it very difficult to see beyond one or two meters beyond your mask.

Notes:
This was one of our favorite beaches and we considered it to be in the top five beaches of Greece prior to 2000, and Porto Katsiki seems to be riding on the fame of the old days because every tour guide still mentions it as a huge attraction.

Regrettably, the beach has become too crowded, too loud, and too uncomfortable to enjoy swimming any longer. That's thanks in large part to the armada of boats from Nidri and Kefalonia that visit it every day after 10:00 am and unload more visitors than the beach can physically handle. Of course, that's an exaggeration because you can pack thousands of people tightly together in very small spaces, but that's not conducive to enjoying a day at the beach.

Additionally, in the summer so many cars drive down the narrow road that we witnessed a major traffic jam with people waiting in their cars for about half hour. The road is so narrow that at times one or more cars must back-up so cars coming from the opposite direction can go by. Near the beach many cars park on the side of the road making traffic impossible in the 40° C (100° F) heat.

If you go before 11:00 am the entire beach is shaded by the cliff behind it (the beach faces west), and if you go in the afternoon you will find that the large waves take up about half of the beach width leaving a narrow band for sunbathing.

The steps to the beach number maybe about one hundred so getting to the sand is not too bad, but once there you will be hard pressed to find a little spot to nail your umbrella (although you can rent one).

To make the experience more interesting there is a number of travel agents who walk up and down the beach handing out brochures for daily cruises from Nydri and using megaphones to announce them as well! My idea of enjoying the beach includes no guy with a megaphone, so If you feel the same way you might want to skip Porto Katsiki, and instead head for Egremni nearby. The access there is harder (hundreds of steps to climb), but you will really enjoy swimming and sunbathing in one of the best beaches of Greece.

To really enjoy Porto Katsiki, visit the beach early in the summer. Late May and early June is less crowded and easier to get to. If you plan to visit in high season (July and August), with a car, very early in the morning would be the best time to get there, or very late in the afternoon.

Keep in mind that there are no facilities on the site. One of the advantages of Porto Katsiki is that its really out of the way. Unfortunately that means that infrastructure has not reached it yet. Besides a rudimentary road and a few lines of electricity, civilization has been confound to a few make-shift shacks doubling as "restaurants" and a couple of roughly bulldozed plots that double as parking lots (for a fee). Toilets and other such silly necessities are a luxury in Porto Katsiki.

Having said all that, if you are in Lefkada, you must absolutely visit Porto Katsiki because even with it's drawbacks, it's a spectacular beach to swim at.

Visitor's Reports

Beach Report by R Lee
Beach Location Lefkada
Beach Name Porto Katsiki
Year Last Visited 2000-2005
Rating 5=Superb (best we visited. Worth going far out of our way to swim there again)
Beach Sand
Sea Floor Sand
Water 5/5
Clothing Topless is common
Access Poor = Accessible by car, poor road, long walk or climb
Cantina yes
RV, Camper Accessibility Site suitable for parking for the day, but not for camping
Snorkeling Good snorkeling site
Comments Absolutely beautiful beach! was a highlight to our wonderful holiday. We reached the beach by boat, and was pleasantly surprised! a must see!

Beach Report by Chris
Beach Location Lefkada
Beach Name Porto Katsiki
Year Last Visited 2000-2005
rating 4=Very Good (would go out of our way to swim there again)
Beach Small Pebbles
Sea Floor Small Pebbles
Water 5/5
Clothing Topless is common
Access Fair = Accessible by car, poor road condition
Cantina yes
RV, Camper Accessibility Site suitable for parking for the day, but not for camping
Comments Totally overcrowded during August ; no possibility to leave the beach during early afternoon, as hundreds of cars are blocking the road.

BEACH REPORT BY lazos
BEACH LOCATION lefkada
BEACH NAME porot katsiki
YEAR LAST VISITED 2005-2010
RATING 5 = Superb (Best we visited. Worth going far out of our way
to swim there again)
BEACH Sand
SEA FLOOR Sand
WATER 5/5
CLOTHING Topless is not common
ACCESS Good = Paved road all the way to the beach. Parking near the
beach
COMMENTS lefkada is a destination mainly for its beaches(And
food),it has one of the very best beaches in greece(an perhaps of all
the world).I think if lefkada had a beatiful town like corfu would be
the top destination in europe.

Beach Report by	George T.
Beach_Location	Lefkada
Beach_Name	Porto Katsiki
Year_Last_Visited	2000-2005
rating	5=Superb (best we visited. Worth going far out of our way to swim there again)
Beach	Sand
Sea_Floor	Sand
Water	5/5
Clothing	Topless is common
Access	Good = Paved road all the way to the beach. Parking near the beach
Restaurant	Yes
Cantina	yes
RV,_Camper_Accessibility	Campers explicitly forbidden
Snorkeling	Good snorkeling site
Comments	Worth the drive despite a small carpark.Most inviting crystal cool water in Lefkada on a hot day.

Beach_Report_by	rhon
Beach_Location	Lefkada
Beach_Name	Porto Katsiki
Year_Last_Visited	2005-2010
Rating	5 = Superb (Best we visited. Worth going far out of our way to swim there again)
Beach	Small Pebbles
Sea_Floor	Sand
Water	5/5
Clothing	Topless is not common
Access	Poor = Accessible by car, poor road, long walk or climb
Restaurant	Yes
Bar	yes
RV,_Camper_Accessibility	Site suitable for parking for the day, but not for camping
Snorkeling	Good snorkeling site
Comments	Amazingg!!!!Best Beach in the Worldd!!!! I loved it!

Visitors' Reports

Beach Report by	George T.
Beach_Location	Lefkada
Beach_Name	Porto Katsiki
Year_Last_Visited	2000-2005
rating	5=Superb (best we visited. Worth going far out of our way to swim there again)
Beach	Sand
Sea_Floor	Sand
Water	5/5
Clothing	Topless is common
Access	Good = Paved road all the way to the beach. Parking near the beach
Restaurant	Yes
Cantina	yes
RV,_Camper_Accessibility	Campers explicitly forbidden
Snorkeling	Good snorkeling site
Comments	Worth the drive despite a small carpark.Most inviting crystal cool water in Lefkada on a hot day.

Beach_Report_by	rhon
Beach_Location	Lefkada
Beach_Name	Porto Katsiki
Year_Last_Visited	2005-2010
Rating	5 = Superb (Best we visited. Worth going far out of our way to swim there again)
Beach	Small Pebbles
Sea_Floor	Sand
Water	5/5
Clothing	Topless is not common
Access	Poor = Accessible by car, poor road, long walk or climb
Restaurant	Yes
Bar	yes
RV,_Camper_Accessibility	Site suitable for parking for the day, but not for camping
Snorkeling	Good snorkeling site
Comments	Amazingg!!!!Best Beach in the Worldd!!!! I loved it!

Write your own review below

RATING SCALE

5 = the sea water was some the best for swimming. We would go way out of our way to swim there again
4 = sea water was excellent and inviting for swimming. We would go out of our way to swim there again
3 = very nice and clean sea. We would go swimming there again if we were in the area
2 = nice sea, we had a nice swim but we did not notice anything special about the water
1 = the sea water was not very inviting at the time we visited. We did more sunbathing than swimming
0 = the water did not seem suitable for swimming

Note that these are our simple (and unscientific) observations based on our subjective experience during our visit. We enjoy the water when it is crystal clear, and cool instead of warm. We don' like visible floating particles of any kind or algae settled on the beach.