Once more onto the beach, dear friends
"Yabanaki"! This is not a judo move, nor a kamikaze scream before he plunges to his death. This is the hottest beach in the athenian coastline, at the Varkiza Bay, about 40 minutes drive from the center of Athens (mainly due to traffic, in early morning, you can get there a lot faster).
"Ya banaki" is Greek (transribed in latin characters) for "for a swim". It is a sandy beach, with shallow waters, perfect for little kids, but it is also an experience. You can find restaurants, bars, cofee shops, water sports, water games, anything you might imagine for a day at the beach. With 5,5 euro per adult person (6,6 on weekends), you can find a nice umbrella and sunbeds and absorb as much sunshine as you need to get you through the difficult winter months. Children under 6 go for free, and children between 6 and 12 pay 3,5 euro entrance fee (as do students and adults over 65). Parking is ample and free, really important!
There are showers, changing rooms and lockers, and for those of you who want a really luxurious experience, you can rent a bungallow for the whole day (from 8 in the morning until sunset, around 8 in the evening) and feel like a real holiday. You can check out their website, www.yabanaki.gr, but I'm afraid it's in Greek (not much use there, eh?)
If you don't feel like driving, you can take the tram from Syndagma to Glufada and then jump on a bus heading to Varkiza, but I wouldn't advise it. Unless you manage to carry your kids, the towels, the sun lotions, extra bathing suits, the changing bag, the floating mattress, the electric mini-boat, the mini-truck, the Barbie doll and the Action Man doll, in which case you can always join the circus and make some pocket money while you're at it!
