Five Greek beaches are among the 100 in the world that, despite their natural beauty, are the ones that disappoint their visitors the most, according to a study by Cloudwards.
The study was based on reviews written by travelers using the world’s largest travel platform, Tripadvisor, and concerns the 200 most popular beaches in the world, highlighting those that garner the most negative reviews for the level of cleanliness, overcrowding, queues and noise or other obstacles. From these, the 100 most beautiful with the worst ratings emerged.
Thus, in the overall assessment of the 100 worst beaches in the world, the most disappointing Greek beach, according to the Cloudwards survey, is Elafonisi, which is in 7th place in the global ranking and has a complaint score of 60.3 out of 100. Most of its visitors complain about the overcrowding (73.4% of reviewers mention this as a complaint), followed by dissatisfaction with queues (14.4%), cleanliness and noise.
Balos follows in 26th place, with a complaint score of 42.2 out of 100. Most visitors complain about cleanliness (47.3%), overcrowding (40.4%) and queues (10.2%).
Lower down, in 49th place, is Anthony Quinn beach in Rhodes, with a complaint score of 31.7 out of 100, with complaints mainly focused on overcrowding (77.2%), in 53rd place is Myrtos in Kefalonia with a complaint score of 29.7 out of 100, mainly for overcrowding (58.4%) and cleanliness (26.8%) and, finally, in 57th place is Porto Katsiki in Lefkada with a score of 27.7 out of 100, and complaints mainly for overcrowding (62.6%) and noise (62.6%).
At the same time, Balos makes its appearance in the 10 worst beaches in the world in terms of cleanliness. Balos Lagoon is ranked as the 8th dirtiest beach destination in the world, with 47.3% of travelers complaining about it. The level of cleanliness is determined by the presence of trash, polluted water or strange odors. As the survey points out, cleanliness issues are not just an aesthetic problem but represent serious environmental concerns for public health. Visitors often report disappointment when they see natural paradises marred by human negligence.
Porto Katsiki Beach is also among the 10 noisiest in the world, ranking 6th in this ranking, with a complaint rate of 20.3%. The nature of noise complaints often reflects the unique character of each beach and the development of the surrounding area. Destinations that have become synonymous with entertainment generate complaints about loud music and noisy behavior, while beaches near transportation hubs suffer from noise pollution from traffic and aircraft.
Waikiki Beach in Hawaii takes the negative title of the most disappointing beach in the world, with the most complaints filed worldwide, with a score of 100/100. While its main problem is overcrowding (67.3% of complaints), it also receives criticism for its cleanliness (15.9%) and, to a lesser extent, for long lines and noise.
Venice Beach in California followed with a score of 89.7/100, largely due to concerns about cleanliness (60.6%), while Playa Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica, which received a score of 56.2% for complaints about overcrowding, rounded out the top three with a score of 73.5/100.
American beaches dominated the top ten, taking four spots, including Clearwater Beach (65.5/100) and La Jolla Cove (64.3/100). Magens Bay Beach in the U.S. Virgin Islands scored 58.1/100.
