Of the many beaches of Gavdos despite the small size of the island, Sarakiniko is one of the only two that are accessible by car. It is ideal, therefore, if you have a vehicle or you do not want to go there on foot. It is only 2 km away from the port of the island, so if you want to easily walk for about half an hour, you can also visit it from there. The beach is mostly quiet as there are no facilities while you will find 1-2 taverns and some rooms for rent, along it.
The name of the beach has been given by the Saracen pirates who used it as a base from the 9th century, in order to control the small but strategically important island of Gavdos. In fact, the densely populated Gavdos until that time was deserted after the arrival of the pirates. Today the beach of Sarakiniko attracts many campers, who can find shade under the cedar and tamarisk trees.
During the dictatorship of Ioannis Metaxas, Gavdos was used as a place of exile for communists (1936-1940). The locals gave a piece of land of the bare and deserted Sarakiniko of that time to a group of exiles in order to build their residence. Among them was Aris Velouchiotis, the founder of The Greek People's Liberation Army. The exiles faithfully followed the local architectural design and tradition. Therefore, this house constitutes an excellent example of this style and has now been classified as a listed historic monument. The wider area around Sarakiniko is of great archaeological interest, as prehistoric tools and ruins of prehistoric and Roman houses have been found there.
