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A climb to the ancient Castle of Navarino (which actually is closed to visitors because the crumbling site is treacherous to walk around) gave us this superb panoramic view of Voidokilia (left), the environmentally protected Gialova lagoons (center) and part of Navarino Bay (upper right)

 

Voidokilia views from the Paleokastro (Castle of Navarino):

I stood on one of the castle’s crumbling walls to take this shot of Voidokilia 

 

A great view of the beach’s Omega shape

 

Steep cliffs and rock faces bookend the mouth of the bay

 

Looking down on the eastern end of Voidokilia

 

People on the beach look tiny so far below us

 

Voidokilia is not an organized beach, so visitors must bring their own umbrellas and chairs if they don’t want to sit on the sand

 

The giant ring of soft golden sand is encircled by dunes dotted with shrubs and grasses

 

The curve of sand near the center of the beach

 

A shot of me enjoying the views from the castle wall

 

 

Ground-level views of the beach:

The sandy path from the parking area to the beach

 

Our first view of Voidokilia from ground level, just a few meters from the cliffs at the western end of the beach

 

The sheer rock face at the west end of the semicircular strip of sand

 

View toward the eastern end of the beach. The Castle of Navarino sits atop the peak behind it.

 

Looking toward the midpoint of the beach

 

Sunbathers and swimmers near the midpoint of the beach

 

Clouds gather around a mountain peak in the distance

 

A peak on Sphacteria Island rises to the east of Voidokilia

 

Direct view toward the mouth of the bay

 

Me standing at the midpoint of Voidokilia — acknowledging my eagerly-anticipated arrival at the first beach on my bucket list 

 

This couple found a good spot to read and relax

 

View across the turquoise water to the cliffs on the west end of the bay

 

View across the bay to the east end of the beach

 

People enjoying the eastern end of the beach

 

Approaching the eastern end of the strand

 

A man and woman at the east end of the beach

 

A panoramic view of the bay and the east side of the beach

 

The shallow water at the east end of the beach felt much warmer than the water at the opposite end. 

 

The cliffs at the eastern end of the beach and bay

 

A telephoto view of the cliffs on the east end of the bay entrance (left) and the rock wall on the west side

 

Mountains in the distance behind the east side of the beach

 

Retracing our steps back to the other end of the beach. It was only May 24, but the sun felt extremely hot — I wished I had not forgotten my hat in the car. 

 

From the west side of the bay, a view of the long ribbon of sand curving around the water

 

Sunbathers and dunes on the east side of the bay

 

The panoramic function of my iphone camera distorted the curve of the sand when I shot this image from the midpoint of the beach. But the photo does give a sense as to how long the strip of sand extends.

 

Another panoramic photo I shot on my phone from the midpoint of the beach, looking toward the mouth of the bay. Waves pulled sea grass toward the shore at this part of the beach, but the water was clean and crystal clear everywhere else. This was the only area where I didn’t walk in the water.

 

Looking toward where we had started our beach walk –at the east end of the bay

 

 

We’re almost back to where we started. It took us about an hour to walk from one end of the beach to the other, and back, at a very relaxed pace

 

A panoramic view from the west end of Voidokilia

 

More aerial views of Voidokilia, as well as a quick look at nearby Glossa beach, in a video by Panagiotis Chatzitzanos

 

This amateur video by Jovica Bogdanovic shows exactly how the beach, bay and dunes at Voidokilia look from eye level

 

 

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