Pefki Beach, Evia: The Departure Point for Islands Named After a Servant Heracles Threw Into the Sea

Greece | Pefki | Istiaia-Aidipsos, Northern Evia

The Lichadonisia islets, the cluster of small volcanic islands reachable by boat from near Pefki and often described as the Greek Seychelles, carry a name rooted in one of the more violent episodes of Greek mythology. According to the story, Deianira, the wife of Heracles, sent her husband a robe poisoned without her full understanding of its effect, delivered by her servant Lichas. When the poison took hold and Heracles could not bear the pain, he seized Lichas and hurled him into the sea. His body was scattered around Cape Kinaio, where Poseidon is said to have transformed the pieces into the small islands that bear his name today. It is a genuinely dark origin story for a destination now marketed primarily for its turquoise water and white sand, and one I had not expected to find behind such a relentlessly cheerful nickname.

Pefki itself, whose name simply means pine tree, sits on the northernmost stretch of Evia’s Aegean coast, the shoreline running for somewhere between four and five kilometres depending on the source, backed by the pine forest that gives the resort its defining scent and shade. I should note, since it is not always mentioned in promotional descriptions of the area, that northern Evia suffered serious wildfires in 2021, affecting parts of the wider region; the landscape has been recovering since, and the destination has subsequently been highlighted in international coverage encouraging more conscious tourism choices in the area.

Getting There: Three to Three and a Half Hours From Athens, by Road or via the Arkitsa-Edipsos Ferry

The drive from Athens takes three to three and a half hours by either of two routes: crossing the bridge at Chalkida and continuing north through the inland mountain pass at Prokopi, or taking the Arkitsa–Edipsos ferry, a crossing of approximately forty-five minutes, after which Pefki is a further thirty-minute drive. KTEL buses run from Athens’s Liosion station to Istiaia, with local connections continuing on to Pefki.

Free parking runs along the long coastal road parallel to the beach.

The Beach: A Stony Shore, Sunbeds Free With a Purchase, a Moderate Drop-Off

The shore at Pefki is more accurately described as stony than sandy, according to several visitor accounts, though the water itself is consistently praised for its clarity. The seabed drops off at a moderate rate, neither dangerously abrupt nor entirely shallow, making it reasonably suited to both casual wading and more serious swimming. A common arrangement along the beach, as I have found at other organised stretches of Greek coast, allows free use of the sunbeds and umbrellas with the purchase of food or drink from the bar that owns them, an informal exchange most visitors seem to find genuinely fair value.

Pefki is not, by its own visitors’ accounts, a destination built around nightlife — a handful of bars stay open into the evening with music and drinks, but the resort’s character leans toward families and a quieter pace rather than the louder scene found elsewhere in the Aegean.

Boat Excursions: Lichadonisia, Skiathos, and the Shipwreck Along the Way

Daily boat excursions to Lichadonisia typically depart from the nearby port of Agios Georgios, reached by a short bus transfer organised from Pefki, with the round trip including several hours on the islets’ beaches and, on the way, a sunken Second World War shipwreck visible through the clear water, along with the occasional sighting of seals in the surrounding bays. Separately, boats departing more directly from Pefki’s own harbour run to Skiathos, and on occasion to Skopelos and Alonissos, for visitors wanting to extend their day into the Sporades proper rather than confining it to the Evia coast.

Nisiotissa and the Wider North Evia Coast

A short distance along the same stretch of coast, Nisiotissa Beach Neos Pyrgos Evia Greece, offers its own islet and a tower of disputed origin, while the harbour town of Oreoi displays a six-tonne Hellenistic-era marble bull near its port. Together with Pefki, these destinations form a connected stretch of northern Evia coastline that rewards a slower, multi-stop exploration rather than a single fixed base.

Pefki Beach in northern Evia is the departure point for boat trips to the Lichadonisia islets, whose name traces back to Lichas, the servant Heracles threw into the sea while dying from a poisoned robe sent by his wife Deianira. A four-to-five-kilometre stony shore with clear water and a moderate drop-off, sunbeds typically free with a purchase, a quieter family-oriented atmosphere rather than a nightlife destination, and boats running both to Lichadonisia via Agios Georgios and more directly to Skiathos. The wider region recovering from serious 2021 wildfires. Three to three and a half hours from Athens, by road or via the Arkitsa–Edipsos ferry.

Take the ferry from Arkitsa, or drive via Chalkida and Prokopi. Book the Lichadonisia excursion in advance. Ask about the shipwreck on the way.