Top 10 beaches you need to visit in Crete !
Crete beaches- look-alike of crystal caribbean water
Crete is full of wonderful landscapes with a natural beauty. Our island is also known for having the most heavenly beaches with white sand and crystal clear water.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACHES
If you planned to come in Crete for your vacations and you would like to visit its breathtaking landscapes we can suggest you many beaches that you will never forget of. Have you packed your swimming suit already ? Let’s go!
The lagoon of Balos is located at 56 kilometers northwest of Chania. Balos happily welcomes nature lovers with its wild and exotic beauty. The clear, warm, bright shades of turquoise and vivid blue waters add to the attraction, whilst its white and pink sand blends perfectly.
Balos is well-known for its turquoise waters, the wild natural beauty and the beautiful fantastic decor. During the summer, it's visited by thousands of people, who arrive substantially by the ferries running from Kissamosport. However, you ’d more avoid to visit the lagoon in July and August, If you don't like crowds. Also, a perfect idea is to arrive at Balos in the morning, before the boats arrive from Kissamos. These few hours of remoteness in such a heavenly place will remain etched in your memory forever.
The exotic beach of Falassarna is located 59 km west of Chania megacity and nearly 17 km west of Kissamos, at the western base of promontory Gramvousa. At the northern end of the beach there are the remains of the ancient Grecoroman megacity of Phalassarna.
Falassarna is actually an ancient settlement built by the Romans, the ruins of which are located at the northern end of the beach. The beach is extremely long. it actually consists of five consecutive beaches with Pachia Ammos being the most popular. The waters are turquoise, perfectly clear and very dense; you will feel like in a swimming pool. Falassarna's sand is white (this is where the water gets its colors), while grains of pink (yes, pink) sand emerge sporadically. The beach offers umbrellas and a few snack bars and cafes where you can get food and water. There are also a few options for water sports and beach volleyball. When there is wind, the windsurfers of Falassarna appear.
Preveli beach is located about 35 km south of Rethymno. It draws attention with its unique landscape of lush palm trees and vegetation where the magnificent meets the sea. Preveli is dedicated and named after the holy monastery located nearby.
The large colonies of palm trees give a picturesque atmosphere to a paradisiacal and tropical landscape.
Preveli regularly hosts thousands of visitors each summer is ranked as the beautiful landscape of Europe.
You can reach preveli by car or you can choose trekking for a little bit more of adventure! You can explore along the palm tree river and gently ascend to the beautiful canyon. Also, swimming in the river is an experience not to be missed.
The area is home to interesting wildlife due to its biodiversity and natural beauty and is under Natura 2000 special protection.
After experiencing the beautiful beach of Preveli, we can suggest a stop to a beautiful taverna near the area in which you could taste delicious traditionals meals.
Stefanou Beach is located at Seitan Limania position, 22 km northeast of Chania and 2 km east of the village of on the east side of Cape Akrotiri.
The wider area is named Seitan Limania, after the rugged landscape, the steep cliffs and strong currents considered dangerous.
Here stand three parallel narrow coves, well protected waves. In the northern cove a tiny beach is formed with deep azure waters.The beach has fine pebbles and sand, from the nearby quarry through the Diplohahalo Canyon.
On the right and left sides of the cove, marble rocks rise high to protect the creek from the weather.
The fame of the beach has seen an increase since 2010, a few years after the paved road reached the spot;the beach is crowded during high season.
You can access it by parking your car and to walk till then, or you can enjoy a canyoning adventure with our experienced guides which at the end will lead you there.
Whether you decide to book an organized trip with Eco events or rent a car and go by yourselves one thing is for sure: you will certainly enjoy it!
Located on the south coast of Crete, 50 km south of the town from Rethymno 13 km south-west of the village of Akoumia.
Triopetra is a cape with 3 rocks. Hence the name "Trio + Petra". It is a fascinating geological structure where it looks like layers of rocks have been piled up.It is absolutely fascinating to explore.
These beautiful rocks separate the large beach Triopetra Beach Little Triopetra, located to the east.
It is rightly considered as one of most the beautiful beaches in all of Greece and certainly among the beautiful beaches of Crete.
Quite long and wide, with coarse sand and clear blue waters, it really is breathtaking and you can certainly spend entire holidays without getting tired of its beauty.
There are a few taverns right near the beach where you could enjoy delicious traditional meals and many villas are in the hills.
Stavros is a seaside village located at 17 km south of Chania, at the northern end of Cape Akrotiri.
A characteristic feature of the region is the steep mountain Vardies in the shape of a camel which rises from the port of Stavros. The mountain is famous, because it was filmed for the movie "Zorba the Greek", where Anthony danced the famous Sirtaki dance in 1964.
Stavros was then a humble little fishing village. Today the region has become an important tourist resort with many hotels and important tourist infrastructures. Indeed,the two beautiful beaches in the area have contributed to the development of the region.
The main beach is located east of the village, foot of Vardies mountain, and next to the scenic. A semi-circular lagoon forms, entirely protected by blowing in the area. The small bay has wonderful white sand and shallow turquoise water that you must enjoy to swim in !
7. Matala beach
Matala is located 68 km southwest of Heraklion, where the Messara plain meets the Asteroussia mountains.
It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in and certainly the most famous beach in southern Heraklion prefecture.
It is famous for the caves dug in the and the hippies of the 70s. It is located near Phaestus, the second great palace of the Minoan civilization. Matala served as the port of Phaestus, and in Roman times it became a port of Gortyn.
Matala is located at the exit of a small valley, forms a closed bay with a beautiful view of the islands of Paximadia. There is a beautiful 300m long sandy beach, with gravel and crystal clear deep water. In addition, the seabed is quite rocky in places and the waves are frequent, due to frequent westerlies.
Moreoever, there is a huge cave on the northern part of the beach, from the top of which people dive.
Matala became so popular with hippies that it attracted several celebrities such as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Joplin and Joan Baez.
However, this all came to an abrupt halt during the dictatorship when the local Church expelled the "shameful" hippies. Then the "children of the flowers" moved to regions of Crete, but most of them moved to the island of Ios, in the Cyclades, and continued happy lives. Matala has been abandoned for a long time and archeology has the area with the caves.
Over the past decades, the region has undergone rapid development and bears no resemblance to the atmosphere of the past. Today you will see thousands of people enjoying swimming on beach, surrounded by modern hotels and talking about lost times.
The caves are open to visitors as an archaeological site, but overnight stays are prohibited.
8. Chrissi island and its beaches
With its area of 4,743 km2, 7 km long and 2 km wide, the island of Chrissi is a protected nature reserve covered by the European Natura 2000 initiative.
This important ecosystem includes a natural habitat for snakes, worms, rabbits, loggerhead turtles and the monk seal that often visit the island.
A rare cedar forest of 200 to 300 covers 70% of the island, making it Lebanon's largest naturally formed cedar forest in Europe;
The trees reach 7 to 10 meters in height up to 1 meter in diameter.
Chrissi Island is Europe's largest natural park.
This is why you will probably have the impression, by putting the here, of having arrived in Bali or on a Caribbean island rather than on one of the Greek islands of!
Today, it is the tourists who appreciate the beauty of this idyllic islet, although there are now facilities to make the life of visitors a little more.
Elafonisi is located 76 km west of Chania and 5 km south of the Chrysoskalitisa monastery, at the southwestern tip of Crete.
Elafonisi is an oblong peninsula, which often breaks into two parts by water giving the impression of being an island. It is a Natura 2000 protected area.
The island is full of sand dunes with sea walls and junipers. The endangered Loggerhead Sea Turtle and several rare animals and plants find refuge on the island; It is strictly forbidden to remove plants, animals, shells and sand from the area.
Exotic beaches with white sand and water reminiscent of the Caribbean, form on both sides of the peninsula. The sand is pink in many places, drawing the color of millions of crushed seashells.
Near the breaking point of the peninsula, the sea water does not exceed 1m in depth, creating a lagoon, ideal for children.
It is not only the geological explanation to understand the phenomenon of the pink sand of Elafonisi. Legend has it that a massacre perpetrated by the Turks in 1824 is the cause.
At that time, while Crete was at war with the Turks, 850 Cretans chased by the Turks found refuge on the island of Elafonisi. The Ottomans, with their horses, crossed the ford and massacred the Cretans, with the exception of the young women sent to Egypt to be sold there as slaves.
The sand of Elafonisi would then have turned pink because of the blood shed during this tragic episode.
Be careful, on Elafonisi beach as on the island opposite it, you are in a protected natural area. It is then strictly forbidden to bring back from your day at Elafonisi a handful of pink sand as a souvenir. Checks are frequent.
Vai is found 94km east of Agios Nikolaos and 24km east of Sitia. It is the most popular ocean side in east Crete, as its principle includes the enormous palm forest with the Cretan Date Palm (Phoenix theophrasti). Its name gets from the word vai, which means palm in Greek.
The palm woods is the biggest in Europe with around 5000 trees, while there are more modest settlements in different pieces of Crete and in Southwest Turkey.
As per the legend, the trees have developed from disposed of date stones tossed into the ocean by Saracen privateers. In any case, the palm woods is over 2000 years of age and the privateers are later. Along these lines this speculation has changed and the Saracens have been supplanted with Phoenicians, who administered the Mediterranean Sea 20 centuries prior.
This exceptional timberland turned into a famous fascination in the last part of the 1970s when the last Hippies began coming to Crete. By the mid 1980s, Vai palm backwoods had turned into an awful camping area and a dump region.
Luckily, this ocean side was cleaned and has now been proclaimed as a safeguarded region, with rare flora and fauna.
Now that you have the names of the most beautiful beaches of our island,put on your bathing suit and be ready to explore ! :)
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