Elafonissi Beach in Chania
Located on the south western side of Crete, Elafonissi is a fantastic beach with exotic crystal waters. This place is a heaven on earth, with soft white and pink sand and with cedar trees reaching the coastline. Elafonissi means the island of the deer and is a magical place that should not be missed during your trip in western Crete. Part of the beach is organized with sunbeds and umbrellas.
Vai Beach in Lassithi
On the north eastern side of Crete, in the region of Lassithi, is a fantastic beach called Vai. The special thing about this beach is that it is surrounded by the largest palm tree forest in Europe, consisting of 5,000 trees. The soft sand, the crystal water and the natural beauty make this beach an inviting place for families. In the past, Vai was a free camping site but now free camping is prohibited there.
Falassarna Beach in Chania
Falassarna is a large sandy beach on the western side of Crete, in close drive from Kissamos town. This fantastic place is ideal for families with kids due to the organized facilities and the soft sand. It is also nice for windsurfing and in fact, there is a windsurfing station there in summer months. Above the beach there is the archaeological site of Ancient Falassarna.
On the southern side of the prefecture of Rethymno is a place of great natural beauty, Preveli.
This beach is actually where a river flows into the sea, passing through many palm trees and forming a lake close to the sea. There are water sports in this lake to explore the river, while the sandy and unorganized beach of Preveli is a wonderful place to swim.
Matala was famous in the 1960s and 1970s as a hippie place.
In fact, many hippies would come and spend many days or even months in th caves above the beach of Matala. Today the hippies are long gone and the nice seaside village attracts many families for the long, sandy and organized beach. Matala is a convenient place to stay during your holidays in Crete and a nice base for excursions in the region.
Knossos was undeniably the capital of Minoan Crete.
It is grander, more complex, and more flamboyant than any of the other palaces known to us, and it is located about twenty minutes south of the modern port town of Iraklio.
The second largest palace of Crete commands the fertile Messara plain south of Heraklion.
Phaistos palace is not as lavishly decorate with wall paintings, but its architectural plan is exquisite in its design.
The smallest of the four Minoan palaces, Zakros is strategically located at the East shore of Crete.
Many vessels coming from the East probably found it more convenient to unload their cargo at Zakro, than trying to sail around the ever-windy cape Sideros at the north-eastern tip of Crete.
