It sits just two hours by ferry across the Aegean Sea from the ominous round-the-clock tremors on the island of Santorini, but Elafonissi in Greece has been named the world’s best beach by Tripadvisor.
On the western tip of Crete, Elafonissi’s pink-looking sand and clear warm water made it this year’s winner, according to the travel company. It listed Banana Beach in Thailand in second place and Aruba’s Eagle beach in third.
The rankings were based on reviews and ratings submitted to Tripadvisor during the 12 months in 2024, up to Dec 1. Covering 100 beaches across 50 countries, the 2025 edition saw last year’s poll-topper, Praia da Falésia in Portugal’s Algarve, drop to fourth.
However Elafonissi’s accolade has arguably been overshadowed by concerns about seismic activity around the huge 12km Santorini caldera to the north, with more than 20,000 tremors and earthquakes recorded in the area over the past few weeks.
Seismologists cannot predict whether or not there could be a major earthquake imminent in the region or whether Santorini could blow. Again.
In or around 1600 BCE, a massive volcanic eruption at Santorini covered the island in a 60m-thick layer of volcanic deposits.
Thought to be one of the biggest in history, the cataclysm likely destroyed the Minoan civilisation on Crete, around 150km south, with an apocalyptic barrage of ash, earthquakes, fire, rocks and tsunamis.
The Greek government has warned that Santorini is unlikely to have as busy a tourism season this year as in the past. That downbeat assessment could in turn affect footfall to neighbouring islands, resorts and attractions, including the world’s best beach.
Seismologists in the United States recently warned of magma movement in another of the world’s so-called supervolcanoes – the 50km caldera under Yellowstone National Park.
