st nicholas beach

We have visited in late October, so almost we were alone. Luckily the wether allowed us to swim. Unforgettable.

St. Nicholas is a quiet, enjoyable beach, with a pleasant bar and (separately) a restaurant serving decent food. Tables at the front are best, but you have to lunch early to get them; otherwise try the back right hand side and watch the lizards doing not a lot on the little cliff beside the restaurant. Always watch the weather: it can be surprisingly wet, windy and cold if you get caught.

Most beaches on Symi are pebbly, whereas St Nicholas is mainly sandy. It's largely peaceful, even when most of the sun beds are occupied; the sea is beautifully clear and sheltered , as is the beach itself. The beach slopes gently - no sudden shelving. Two sun beds and a parasol cost €6, but if you spend €10 in the taverna (welcoming, and serves good food), the sun bed fee is refunded - a good deal! The taverna also has loos, available even if you're not a customer. The beach is backed by tamarisk trees - so good shade even without an umbrella - and there's a beach cafe/bar there too.

We are regular Symi visitors and try to get to St. Nicks at least once every holiday. We're getting on a bit now so no longer do the walk which is quite easy EXCEPT for a very steep scramble down over big rocks at the end. The little taxi boat from Pedi is still cheap (5 euro) and the short trip is a pleasure in itself. Taxi boats from Yialos (Symi harbour) are also available at a cost of 10 euro but take much longer. This is one of the few beaches on Symi where it is possible to walk into the sea without "jelly shoes" as there is a fairly extensive sandy area at the Chapel end away from the Taverna. The whole beach is well kept and very clean. Shade and sunbeds are plentiful under beach umbrellas or the numerous tamarisk trees which line the beach. (3 euro for beds - refundable when spending over 10 euro at the taverna) The little beach bar serves usual drinks plus "slushies?" for the youngsters and is a pleasant place to sit on comfy chairs if, like us, you find sunbeds difficult to cope with. The taverna serves excellent freshly cooked food although, as in many places now, the kalamari is frozen and can be a bit chewy. Menu items can run out and, as all supplies are brought in by boat, once it's gone - it's gone!If you are a beach person (and bearing in mind that Symi isn't really a beachy type place) then St. Nicholas beach, with it's authentic Greek feel and lovely outlook towards the hills on the opposite side of the bay, is hard to beat.

A nice little bay. Sun beds and umbrellas well used and a bit shabby but plenty on the beach. Beach small stones and a bit earthy. taverna family run and food was good. Small drinks and ice cream hut with a few tables and chairs.

The ability to get out of full sun that did not involve a beach umbrella. A row of trees just behind the shore provided shade from the strong Greek Sun. The beach taverna was fine and if you spend 10 Euros for lunch the bed and umbrella are free.

Quite a busy beach, but it can't get too busy as only accessible by boat or a strenuous walk. It has sunbeds for 3 euros a day, some with umbrellas, and plenty of trees for extra shade too if needed. Nice little taverna sells refreshments and food, and if you spend enough at the taverna (10 euros each I think), you get the sunbed free. I wouldn't class it as a sandy beach, more gritty, but normal for a Greek beach

St Nicholas is our favourite beach and although we go to other beaches on Symi we always go back to St Nicks. We often walk over the rocks from Pedi (easy to do as you don't need to be super-fit, but you do need good mobility & decent shoes or walking sandals) and get the boat back when it gets too hot to walk, or when it's super hot we take the little boat from Pedi (5 euros return) or the harbour speedboat (9 euros return). There are loads of sunbeds to choose from (not telling you our favourites or you may want them) which cost 3 euros each; if you eat at the taverna these are deducted from your bill. The taverna offers a good choice of Greek food and, considering all supplies are brought round by very small boat, is very reasonably priced. Michaelis & family run the taverna and a beach bar with cold drinks, coffees and ice creams. We come here by ourselves as a couple for a tranquil day at the beach (no music, jet skis or pedalos) and also with our grandchildren (3&5) who call it the 'secret beach' as it's hidden away in the bay and suddenly comes into view from the boat. There are swings for kids behind the bar and the beach is part sandy, part pebbly. The water is very shallow in the bay so ideal for small children and is a beautiful pale blue colour. Snorkelling is good around the rocks and there is lots of sea life - we saw a lobster ambling along the sea bed & got caught up in a massive shoal of tiny fish, or if you're feeling brave there are good rocks to dive from. Boats run here regularly from mid May to mid October and it's a great place for a beach day on Symi.

Spectacular setting with a large rock behind the beach. You go there with a boat and as I remember there is nothing there so you need to take everything with you.

Accessible via taxi boat from Symi harbour or Pedi Bay, St Nicholas beach is more a family beach as it has plenty of sand. Sunbeds and umbrellas available but also tree shade as well. There is a decent taverna and like all the beach tavernas it is a touch overpriced as you are a captive audience.

This beach is sandy, but the swiming is excellent. The taverna serves tasty food, but is a little crowded. If you want to go to St Nicholas, take the boat! Don´t try to walk over the cliffs.

Our favorite beach! Close to Pedi and you can easily catch the taxi boat for only 5 euro. The restaurant has price worthy meals and the bar makes a great frappé. The sunbeds are included in the price if you eat at the restaurant. If not they will only cost you 3 euro/each.

Can be reached on foot (about 25 rock climbing minutes) or by water taxi which is far better for the heart! There is a bar,a Taverna and loads of sunbeds. Even at weekends it was never too crowded. The staff were absolutely lovely - always smiling and happy to help. We cannot comment too much about the food in the Taverna as we always ate salads. However, these were very good indeed at a very reasonable price. One tip. The water taxi end of the beach is quite pebbly, and it can be tricky to get in and out of the water without rubber shoes. However, the trees this end give by far the best shade from the midday sun. Therefore, get there early, grab the chairs between the second and third tree and, when you want to swim, just wander down to the other, more crowded end of the beach where it is sandy.

A splendid sightseing and a blue water to swim in we staied two days by walking true the hills near it a fine experience!

Easily reached by water taxi from Pedi or from Gialos - lovely quiet beach, very good value taverna and the most wonderful clear, warm water to swim in. Take beach shoes to get over the smooth rocks near the shoreline