Beaches on Níssyros are in even shorter supply than water, so much so that tour agencies here occasionally peddle excursions to a sandy cove on Áyios Andónios islet, opposite the Yialí mines. Closer at hand, the short, black-rock beach of Hokhláki , behind the Knights' castle, is unusable if the wind is up, and the town "beach" of Miramáre at the eastern edge of the harbour is merely a lido filled with sand in high season, a last resort in any weather. It's best to head east along the main road, passing the refurbished spa of Loutrá (hot mineral water only by doctor's referral) and the smallish "White Beach" (properly Yialiskári), 2km along and dwarfed by an ugly hotel. The Loutrá spa, though itself sporadically shut for restoration, is well worth a stop for its "snack bar" at the far end of the building, really an ouzerí with generous portions of reasonably priced salads, fried appetizers, seafood and meat.

 

A kilometre or so further, 4km in total from Mandhráki, the fishing village of PÁLlI makes an excellent hangout at lunchtime, when the port fills with trippers. Tavernas are multiplying, but stick with the two long-term favourites: the less expensive Ellinis , with spit-roasted meat by night, grilled fish in season and simple rooms upstairs (tel 02420/31 453; ¬24-33), or the adjacent Afroditi (aka Nikos & Tsambika ), with big portions of grills and mayireftá , Cretan bulk wine and excellent own-made desserts. They've also a house to rent, all or in part (tel 02420/31 242; ¬41 for the entire house). The scooter-rental outlet, an excellent bakery cranking out brown bread and fine pies (branch in Mandhráki), and modest nightlife make Pálli also worth considering as a base. A tamarisk-shaded, dark-sand beach , kept well groomed of late, extends east of Pálli, to the abandoned Pantelídhi spa, behind which the little grotto-chapel of Panayía Thermianí is tucked inside the vaulted remains of a Roman baths complex. To reach Níssyros's best beaches, continue in this direction for an hour on foot (or twenty minutes by bike along the road), past an initially discouraging seaweed- and cowpat-littered shoreline, to the delightful cove of Liés , with a snack bar, Oasis (June 15-Sept 15). Just beyond here the now-dirt road ends at a car park. Walking a further fifteen minutes along a trail over the headland brings you to the idyllic, 300-metre expanse of Pahiá Ámmos , with grey-pink sand heaped in dunes, limited shade at the far end and a large colony of "freelance" campers in summer.