The best Crete beaches

Crete has easily the longest summers in Greece, and there are plenty of beaches with which to fill those long, lazy summer days. Whether you’re into watersports, skinny dipping or good old-fashioned sunbathing, the island almost certainly has a stretch of sand to suit your tastes. Take a look at our guide to the best beaches in Crete.

The information in this article is inspired by The Rough Guide to Crete, your essential guide for visiting Crete.

The best Crete beaches

Crete is the largest island in Greece, and consequently has a wealth of beaches to discover, from wide sandy bays to rocky coves with crystal clear water. Aside from beaches, Crete is packed with ancient historic sites, excellent hiking, and of course plenty of cosy tavernas to relax in once the day is done.

Before heading to the best beaches in Crete, check out our list of tips for travelling in Greece.

1. Elafonísi for its pink sands

Elafonísi Beach comes as an exotic shock. The almost tropical waters (sheltered by the islet of the same name) boast white sand tinged pink by coral, aquamarine waters, salt-encrusted rock pools and bright-red starfish. The water is incredibly warm, calm and shallow and the islet itself is a short wade across the sand bar.

2. Koureménos for windsurfing

Koureménos Beach is one of Crete’s top windsurfing spots. Not surprisingly, it can be windy here (a funnel effect creates ideal windsurfing conditions), but it’s a fine, long sand-and-pebble beach, with several tavernas and places to stay along the way. And there's even a bar.

There’s also quite a community of camper vans filled with enthusiastic windsurfers and beach bums in summer. If you're thinking of picking up some lessons there's an excellent windsurf centre, too.

3. Mátala for a romantic beach

While Mátala was once known for its cave-dwelling hippy community, the town now feels rather touristy. That said, the beach is still excellent, one of the best in Crete. The atmosphere here is boisterous and you’ll never be short of somewhere to enjoy a cocktail at sunset. With the caves lit up at night, the beach is an impossibly romantic setting.

If the crowds get too much you can scramble over the hill to Red Beach, which, with its reddish-gold sand, nudists and scruffy, seasonal beach café, does its best to uphold Mátala’s traditions.

Dreaming of going to the best beaches in Crete? Why stop there? Read our list of the best beaches in Europe.

4. Váic for relaxing under palm trees

The palm-lined beach at Vái makes for a thoroughly secular contrast to the spiritual tranquillity of the nearby Toploú monastery. As you lie on the fine sand in the early morning, especially in early spring or late autumn, you could almost imagine yourself being on a Caribbean island instead of a Greek one.

In summer the beach fills to overflowing, but even then, for a couple of hours at each end of the day, you should be able to enjoy Vái the way it ought to be.

As Greece's largest island, Crete's culture and atmosphere is distinctly different from mainland Greece. Thousands of years of unique culture and rich history complement the island's untamed natural beauty. Explore Crete at your own pace with this unique self-drive tailor-made trip along the coast of Crete: from Heraklion to Platanias.

5. Mýrtos for a laid-back atmosphere

Mýrtos is a charming, white-walled Cretan village with a long shingle beach — one of the best beaches in Crete. Even in August, when the place can get pretty full, the pace of life remains slow, and the atmosphere is pleasantly laid back.

Apart from topping up your tan, swimming, renting a boat or lingering over a drink, there’s not a great deal to do here. That being said, the surrounding countryside offers a couple of important Minoan sites, as well as the opportunity for mountain hikes.

6. Stavrós — ideal for kids

Just 3km beyond Horafákia is Stavrós and its near-perfect beach, an almost completely enclosed circular bay. The sea is dead calm with gently shelving sand underfoot, making it ideal for kids. It’s an extraordinary-looking place, too, with a sheer, bare mountainside rising just 100m away from you on the far side of the bay.

Planning your trip to Crete and fully enjoying the local culture and beaches will be helped by our guide to how to spend 5, 7, 10 or 14 days in Crete.

It’s also home to a cave, whose entrance can just about be seen from the beach, in which there is an ancient sanctuary. Stavrós beach is often crowded. Even so it’s a great place to bask for a few hours, and there’s also a far less visited patch of sand facing directly out to sea.

7. Frangokástello — one of the best beaches in Crete

For peaceful lassitude, the beach at Frangokástello is among the best beaches in Crete, with fine sand and crystal-clear water (with good snorkelling opportunities). If you want company, you’ll find it around the castle, where the best part of the sand is sheltered and slides slowly into the water.

For solitude, head west along the shoreline. There are beaches to the east too: follow the coastal path for ten to fifteen minutes and you’ll arrive at the top of a low cliff overlooking perhaps 1km of beautiful, deserted sand and rocks.

8. Sweetwater Beach for a beach with mountain views

From the sea, Sweetwater Beach appears as a long, extremely narrow slice of grey between sheer ochre cliffs and a dark, deep sea. Closer up, the beach seems much larger, but there’s still an unnerving sense of being isolated between huge mountains and an endless stretch of water.

The beach takes its name from the small springs that bubble up beneath the pebbles to provide fresh, cool drinking water. You can dig a hole almost anywhere to find water (but don't think about bathing here – it's not good to pollute the groundwater with soap).

9. Balos Bay for secluded beaches

Crete’s far west has, to date, attracted surprisingly little attention from tourists or developers, and though that is beginning to change, such development as there is consists of mostly low-key apartments and rooms rather than big hotels. The one town of any size west of Haniá is Kastélli Kissámou, a port with a ferry service to the Peloponnese, very regular buses to Haniá and a fine museum.

To the northwest of Kastélli the long, slender finger of the Gramvoúsa peninsula reaches out into the Aegean with, on its western flank, the fabulous white-sand beach of Bálos Bay. Extending to the south of this peninsula, Crete’s west-facing coast remains remote: there’s little public transport and virtually nothing in the way of luxurious facilities.

10. One of the most famous Crete beaches — Palm beach, Preveli

A sand-filled cove at the mouth of the Kourtaliótiko gorge, where a stream feeds a little oasis complete with palm grove and a cluster of oleanders, Palm Beach certainly looks beautiful. However, for much of the year it’s overwhelmed by visitors, with loungers, sun umbrellas and pedaloes diminishing the natural charm of the place.

Behind the beach, you can escape up the palm-lined riverbanks on foot or take a pedalo through the icy water. Further upstream, before the gorge becomes too steep to follow, are a couple of deep pools nice to swim in. On the beach, a small bar-taverna provides basic food and sells drinks, snacks and a few provisions.

11. Seitan for beaches popular with locals

Much of the south side of the Akrotíri peninsula, and the area around the airport, is a military zone, with naval installations in the bay and the air force on land. There are good beaches at Maráthi, beyond the airport to the south, extremely popular with locals at weekends and hence with some excellent tavernas. This is one of the best of Crete beaches.

A spectacular tiny cove at Seitán, on the peninsula’s east coast, can be accessed via the village of Hordháki followed by a scary scramble down the cliff. Boat trips from resorts across the bay occasionally run to the little harbour at Maráthi, only adding to the crush for space on the beach.

Best beaches on Crete's outlying islands

12. Gaidhouronísi — the ultimate desert island experience

The most popular way to escape southern Crete's stifling summer temperatures (where it can reach 40°C) is to take a boat trip to Gaidhouronísi, some 10km offshore.

A real desert island a little over 4km in length, with a fine cedar forest, some excellent sandy beaches, a couple of tavernas and the fabulous “Shell Beach”, covered with discarded shells from countless generations of molluscs, undoubtedly one of the best beaches in Crete.

13. Kamaréles, Gávdhos — the moust southernly point of Europe

Gávdhos is the largest of Crete’s offshore islands. Its attraction lies in its enduring isolation, by which we mean, it's a little tricky to reach. If all you want is a beach and a taverna to grill your fish, this is the place for you.

Kamaréles – at Tripití, the most southerly point of Europe –is pebbly with little shade, but the water is brilliantly clear and it's a snorkeller’s paradise, with plenty of aquatic life. When you need a break, you can do what everyone else comes here to do: climb the famous three-holed rock, sit in the giant chair, and dangle your feet off the edge of a continent.

Where to stay on Crete:

• For families: Kavos Hotel & Suites
• For mesmerizing location and views: Peninsula Resort & Spa
• For boutique stays: Nostos Beach Boutique Hotel
• For luxury stays: La Mer Resort & Spa
• For rural stays: Costas Inn

Find more accommodation options to stay in Crete

If you are interested in other beach destinations in Greece, check out our guides to the best beaches in Santorini and the best beaches in Greece.

Ready for a trip to Crete? Check out the snapshot The Rough Guide to Crete or The Rough Guide to Greece. If you travel further in Greece, read more about the best time to go, the best places to visit and best things to do in Greece. For inspiration use the itineraries from The Rough Guide to Greece and our local travel experts. A bit more hands on, learn about getting there, getting around the country and where to stay once you are there.

If you prefer to plan and book your trip to Greece without any effort and hassle, use the expertise of our local travel experts to make sure your trip will be just like you dream it to be.

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