Olympic Beach, Greece (Olympiaki Akti): An Honest Review Before You Book

I will always remember how excited I was when I first heard my friend say that we’re going to Olympic Beach in Greece. Situated at the base of Mount Olympus (where the Greek Gods reside), Olympic Beach can be nothing but a bit of heaven on earth where we drink ambrosia and feel like Gods, right? Well… unfortunately, no!

And this true story proves why you should always do serious research about a destination before you actually get there (or, actually, before you book it!) and not trust your friend who “knows better”. Lesson learned!

Why I didn’t like Olympic Beach too much

I definitely had very high hopes before leaving (and no research done). This is usually the perfect recipe for failure and in my case, that’s how it turned to be.

Also known as Olympiaki Akti, and called Katerinoskala by many locals, this is a tiny village in continental Greece, relatively close to Thessaloniki and even closer to Katerini, the closest large city to the West.

The village itself seems to be a man-made resort, especially for tourism. It’s definitely a small place (Wikipedia lists a population of 236, but I doubt there’s anybody there when the season’s over), and as a result, there’s not really much to do except for enjoying the water and the beach, which I know it’s enough for many.

As a fun thing, before going, my friend told me that we have a hotel that’s just 500 meters away from the beach – which was true and indeed sounded good, but the only problem was that our hotel was last in line in Olympic Beach since the resort itself is so small!

We were literally seeing corn fields from the balcony of our room, even though we were indeed very close to the sea. Another lesson learned: never let your friends book important trips/vacations!

The biggest problem with Olympic Beach is that there’s really not much you can do there. A 10-minute walk and you’ve seen everything the resort has to offer. Going to the beach is basically the only thing on the agenda.

Sure, going to the beach doesn’t seem like a bad thing – especially since that’s the reason why you are there, in the first place, but I personally like to have more options and be in a slightly bigger place. Olympic Beach gives you neither.

And mount Olympus itself is pretty far away in reality and not as impressive as you first think, adding to the overall disappointment of this small resort. Or at least that was my case…

The beach itself is wide and nice, while the water – also with some algae here and there – is really good (more on this later). If you want to use the sunbeds, you will have to buy something at the taverns that own them – usually a drink or two, which isn’t that bad.

You don’t have a lot of options for eating out: there are several Greek taverns, but just a few are actually good. It’s easy to see which are, based on the number of customers there: some are empty, some are full. Always go for the full ones!

However, we decided once to risk it and try one of the taverns that had no customers once and, surprisingly, the food was really good and the customer service was even better (they offered us the famous Greek freebies and the servers were extremely friendly and polite).

All restaurants have a cheap feel to them, from the furniture to the food and everything in between. This is a budget resort and you can’t expect luxury for such low prices. But if you want something a bit better, you simply won’t find that option here.

All in all, this tiny resort fails to impress. There are places that I click with instantly, as soon as I get there and others that fail to impress me, even though I really want to love them: it was the same with Prague, it was the same with Olympic Beach aka Olympiaki Akti.

Being so small and created for tourists only, it has no personality. You don’t feel that you are in Greece. You could be anywhere in the world, you could be at home… there’s nothing really to stand out and nothing to click with you when there.

The good things about Olympic Beach

Even though I don’t consider this resort a must for most people visiting Greece, at least not for spending a full week there, I won’t say it’s entirely terrible. Far from it.

Worth noting: the beach now holds an EU Blue Flag certification for its entire sand coastline, which is a quality standard for water cleanliness and beach management. That does matter, even when the overall impression is just “fine”. The algae here and there are real, but the water quality itself is officially certified.

The water is also nice and not very deep, there are small fish in the water and you can spend a few days having fun in the sun and swimming. The water is actually the thing that I liked the most.

The people are also extremely friendly. We didn’t meet a single person who didn’t treat us well or didn’t do their best to make us feel at home.

The host in our small villa – who spoke no English at all – was always smiling and trying to tell use things in German (which we mainly didn’t understand) and came almost daily with treats – a large, fresh fig or other fresh fruits… these are things that really make a difference and surprisingly, very few people actually do them.

Also, the place is very close – a really short bus or car ride – to Paralia Katerini, a larger resort with a lot more things to do and see. You can even walk there along the beach, if you are brave, but expect to spend around 30 minutes walking. The bus gets you there in just a few.

Even though on the small side, the resort won’t lack offers for tours and extra things to do: spending a Greek night on a ship, with traditional food and dances is a great way to break the routine and trips to nearby attractions can also be purchased in the resort.

We didn’t get anywhere, because we wanted to just relax and recharge our batteries – which we did for sure!

Another great thing about Olympic Beach is that it’s extremely affordable. The deal that we got at the villa we stayed at was the lowest we could find in Greece. We only had the room included (and a view of a corn field), but there aren’t many places in Europe where you can spend so little for accommodation in a Blue Flag resort.

The food there was also extremely cheap – and even though the plates were never Instagram-worthy, the food itself was filling and delicious. Not a lot in terms of variety, but you never risked going hungry, on the contrary – prepare to come back with a few extra kilos!

So, Who Is Olympic Beach Actually For?

This is the question I wish someone had answered for me before I booked. The honest answer: it depends entirely on what you want from a Greek holiday.

If you want a culturally rich experience, with beautiful architecture, lively nightlife, a good range of restaurants, and the feeling that you’re somewhere with real character and history, Olympic Beach is not it. Head to Thessaloniki, Halkidiki, or the islands instead.

But if you want a cheap, quiet, genuinely relaxed beach holiday where the water is clean and certified, the people are kind, and you never have to compete for a patch of sand, then it’s a solid and underrated option.

Add day trips to Dion and Litochoro, and the overall value shifts significantly. The same goes if you have your own car and you can drive around to explore the nearby resorts (which is, in my opinion, the way one should experience Greece).

Wrapping up

I didn’t love it when I was there. But many months later, I think about it with surprising warmth: the host with his daily figs, the fish in the shallow water, the empty beach stretching out in both directions.

It’s charming in its own quiet, unpretentious way. Not a destination for everyone, and absolutely not one to visit with high expectations, but a place that can work very well if you know what you’re getting into.

And that, really, is the lesson I took away: do your research before you book. And maybe don’t let your friends do it for you.