Avlaki, Markopoulo: There Are Actually Two Beaches Called Avlaki Here, and I Picked the Wrong One First

Greece | Avlaki | Markopoulo Mesogaias, East Attica

I drove out to Avlaki expecting one beach and very nearly ended up describing the wrong one entirely. There are, genuinely and confusingly, two separate places called Avlaki in this same bay near Porto Rafti. One is free, low-key, with a couple of seasonal tavernas and a diving centre — and some sources, including a fairly detailed villa-rental guide I came across, actually call that one Erotospilia, with no entrance fee and no remaining beach bar after officials removed it. The other Avlaki, the one I’m actually describing here, is something else entirely: ticketed, fully organised, Blue Flag certified for years running, with a doctor’s office on site. Its full official name is Avlaki EOT Markopoulou, and I’d treat that fuller name as the one to search for specifically if you want to be certain you’re heading to this beach and not its free, quieter near-namesake.

I mention this mix-up upfront because I genuinely think it’s the most useful thing I can tell you before describing the place itself. If you’re after the organised, full-facility experience this article covers, look for Avlaki EOT or Avlaki Markopoulou specifically. If you want the quieter, free alternative nearby, that’s the one some locals and guides call Erotospilia instead, and the two are not interchangeable despite sharing a name.

What’s Actually Here: A Genuinely Well-Run Organised Beach

Once I’d sorted out which Avlaki I was standing on, I found a beach that lived up to its reputation. It’s held the Blue Flag for multiple consecutive years, and the operation behind that award is visible rather than just a sticker on a sign — the water was genuinely clean, the sand well kept, and the whole place run with a level of organisation I hadn’t quite expected from a municipal beach this far from central Athens.

Entry requires a ticket, and the beach can apparently handle up to 6,000 visitors a day in peak season — a number that gave me pause until I actually saw how much space the sand covers, and how efficiently the whole operation seemed to move people through. Sunbeds and straw umbrellas come as part of the ticket price, and a doctor’s office operates on site alongside the lifeguard towers, a level of medical readiness I haven’t found described at most other organised beaches on this coast. SEATRAC access is available for independent sea entry, and disabled visitors get in free, a detail I appreciated finding stated plainly rather than buried.

Getting There: 38 Kilometres From Athens, via the Attiki Odos

I drove out along the Attiki Odos toward Markopoulo, following signs for Porto Rafti and then specifically for Avlaki, the beach sitting about four kilometres south of the main Porto Rafti harbour. A large organised parking lot sits close to the sand, and the whole journey from central Athens took me about forty-five minutes without unusual traffic.

The KTEL Attikis bus runs from Pedion tou Areos toward Porto Rafti, and from the central stop there, a short taxi ride or local connection covers the final stretch to the beach entrance. From Athens International Airport, the drive is genuinely short — around fifteen kilometres — making this a realistic stop either right after landing or shortly before a flight home.

The Beach: Sand, a Gentle Slope, Genuinely Sheltered

The shore is fine, light sand, sloping into the water gradually enough that I watched several families with very young children wading comfortably without any visible concern. The bay sits sheltered by rocky headlands on either side, and the water stayed calm and clear the entire time I was there, even though I’d checked the forecast beforehand and expected some wind given the time of year.

I’d specifically recommend a weekday or an early morning visit if crowds bother you. More than one account I trust describes this as one of the busiest beaches in the area on summer weekends, and having seen the size of the car park fill up by mid-morning on the day I visited, I believe it. Weekday mornings, by contrast, felt genuinely calm and easy.

Avlaki, properly Avlaki EOT Markopoulou, is the organised, ticketed, Blue Flag beach near Porto Rafti — not to be confused with a separate, free, low-key beach in the same bay that some sources call Erotospilia instead, which I covered as its own distinct entry elsewhere. This Avlaki offers sand, a gentle entry, sunbeds and umbrellas with the ticket price, a genuinely staffed doctor’s office, SEATRAC access, and free entry for disabled visitors. Thirty-eight kilometres from Athens, busiest on summer weekends, calm and easy on weekday mornings.

Search specifically for Avlaki EOT or Avlaki Markopoulou to make sure you’re heading to this beach rather than its free near-namesake. Drive the Attiki Odos via Markopoulo. Go early or on a weekday if you want to skip the crowds.