Schinias Bay | Luxury Villa Rentals in Athens

Schinias sits on Attica's northeastern coast just north of Marathon, about 45km from central Athens — a 5km sweep of golden sand backed by dense pine forest with the Marathon mountains behind. The bay has three distinct characters along its length: a quiet northern section near the Olympic rowing centre, a busier organized stretch in the middle, and a windsurfer-favored south end. It's protected as part of the Schinias-Marathon National Park, home to nesting loggerhead sea turtles and diverse birdlife.

Schinias sits on the opposite coast of Attica from the Athens Riviera proper, facing the Euboean Gulf near the town of Marathon rather than the Saronic or Aegean coastline south of Athens. The bay is best known for Schinias Beach, a long stretch of fine sand backed by a protected pine forest and wetland that forms part of a national park, and for the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre built for the 2004 Athens Olympics, which still hosts national and international rowing events on its still-water course. This combination of natural pine forest, protected coastal wetland, and Olympic-era sporting infrastructure gives the area a character unlike anywhere on the Riviera south of the city, quieter, more ecological in feel, and shaped by its proximity to the Marathon plain, site of the 490 BC battle that gave the modern marathon its name. The beach itself is less commercialized than Glyfada or Vouliagmeni, with a more natural shoreline and fewer organized beach clubs, appealing to visitors who want sand and pine shade over a resort-town atmosphere. Marathon town and its archaeological museum and burial mound are a short drive away, adding a historical dimension to a stay here beyond the coastline itself. Schinias is roughly 40 minutes from central Athens and a similar distance from the airport, positioning it as a genuinely different base from the southern Riviera suburbs, better suited to travelers interested in nature, quieter beaches, and Marathon’s historical sites than to those seeking the marina and nightlife scene of Glyfada or the beach-club culture of Vouliagmeni. For a villa stay, it offers a rare combination on this coastline: protected pine forest, open sand, and genuine quiet within reach of Athens.

Schinias is the only genuinely protected, national-park beach among Attica's coastal towns — pine forest and wetland conservation status that no other Riviera location shares.

Browse our curated Schinias Bay villas — pine-backed homes within a protected national park near Marathon. Our team will help you find the right property for your dates and group size.