Nimborios bay

Nimborios sits round the headland from Gialos, reached in about thirty minutes on the coast track — a level, easy walk that leaves the town noise behind within five minutes. The bay is small: pebble and flat rock rather than sand, water that goes from clear to deep blue within a couple of metres, and a handful of tamarisks for shade.

It is the antidote to the harbour. Where Gialos is architecture and colour, Nimborios is horizon, rock texture and reflected light off the water, and it stays usable in the middle of the day because the water carries the frame instead of a white facade. Late afternoon light comes in low across the bay and the rock warms up.

Bring shoes you can walk the track in and change at the bay; there is no road-side parking to lean on and only a couple of tavernas. If the meltemi is blowing from the north the bay chops up — on those days the harbour side of the island is the calmer option.