The red sand
An unusual reddish-brown from the area's clay soils.
Splendid entry โ CC BY 3.0 ยท CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท ChristosV โ CC BY 4.0 ยท Tigerente โ CC BY 4.0
**The beach is public and free**; umbrellas, loungers, a few tavernas and parking. โ **โ The best sandy beach on Kefalonia for children**: **fine sand rather than pebble** (rare here) and **very shallow water** staying knee-deep for dozens of metres. โ **No natural shade** โ an umbrella is essential, and the dark sand **gets very hot** at midday. โ **Exposed to the west wind** on some days, when the swell builds and sand blows โ if it does, move to the east coast. โ **Relatively far**: on the **Paliki peninsula** โ about 40 minutes from Argostoli by road around the gulf, โ **or by short ferry from Argostoli to Lixouri** (20โ30 minutes, carrying cars) and then 10 km โ **which is faster and more enjoyable**. โ **The white clay from the cliff**: people spread it on their skin; **do not dig into the cliff itself** (it erodes and collapses), wash it off thoroughly, and avoid it if your skin is sensitive. โ **No lifeguard.**
**Red sand under a white cliff โ and the only genuinely sandy beach on Kefalonia** โ on the Paliki peninsula south of Lixouri. Kefalonia is **a pebble island**: most of its famous beaches (Myrtos, Antisamos, Platys Gialos) are beautiful shingle that hurts bare feet. **Xi is the exception**: **fine sand of an unusual reddish-brown**, produced by the area's clay soils. Behind it are **white chalky cliffs**, giving a strange colour contrast: red below, white above, blue in front. โ The water is **very shallow**, staying knee-deep a long way out โ **among the island's best beaches for small children**. โ People dig **white clay** from the cliff and coat themselves in it โ a common local habit here. โ It is **exposed to the west wind** at times.
An unusual reddish-brown from the area's clay soils.
A chalky wall behind the beach giving a sharp colour contrast.
Knee-deep for dozens of metres โ rare safety on Kefalonia.
Xi, 28100 Paliki, Kefalonia, Greece
**The forgotten half of Kefalonia โ quieter, cheaper, and holding its best sandy beaches.** โ **What it is**: **Paliki** is a large peninsula west of the gulf of Argostoli, with **Lixouri** as its town โ Kefalonia's second largest. **The 1953 earthquake destroyed it** as it did Argostoli, so it was rebuilt modern. โ **Why visit**: first, **the beaches** โ sandy red **Xi**, **Petani** in its astonishing bay between two cliffs, and long **Megas Lakkos**; **the best group of sandy and semi-sandy beaches on the island**. Second, **quiet and price**: Paliki is **clearly less touristy** than the north and east, and cheaper. Third, **the scenery**: western coasts of red and white cliffs and sunsets straight out to sea. โ **The best way to get there**: **the ferry from Argostoli to Lixouri** โ 20โ30 minutes, **carrying cars**, running regularly โ **far shorter** than driving round the whole gulf (about 35 km). โ **Check the ferry timetable** and the last sailing before you cross.
**Generally yes on healthy skin โ but with three reservations, one of them environmental rather than medical.** โ **What it is**: **white chalky clay** from the cliffs behind the beach; people take it, spread it on their skin, let it dry and wash it off in the sea โ a common local habit, credited in tradition with **benefits for the skin**. โ **The first reservation is medical**: that is **folk belief, not a demonstrated result**. The clay is **untreated and unmonitored** โ so anyone with **a known skin sensitivity**, open wounds or delicate skin **should avoid it**, do not put it near eyes or mouth, and **wash it off thoroughly** afterwards. โ **The second**: **do not apply it and then sit in the sun** until it dries hard โ it increases drying and irritation. โ **โ The third is environmental and the most important**: **do not dig into the cliff** to get it. The cliffs are **fragile chalk** and eroding, **and rockfall is a genuine danger** to anyone beneath them โ use what you find fallen on the ground, do not gouge the wall, **and do not stand directly under the cliff**.
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