Islets
Crete is surrounded by about 80 islets. Gavdos, the southermost land and islet of Europe, is inhabited and has many amazing things for you to discover. Chrissi is the most exotic islet of Crete, with crystal turquoise water and white sand, reminding of Carribean. Koufonissi also has very nice beaches and important archeological sites and, fortunately, is totally unknown to visitors. Apart from them, there are other islets such as Thodorou (where cretan wild goat is sheltered), Dia, Paximadia, Dionysades and many more.
Paximadia Islets
The two small islets of Paximadia are located opposite Agia Galini, in Mesara Gulf. The islets look as one from Tymbaki or Matala, but they are separated. According to the legend these are the islets Dionysi where Godess Artemis used to hunt, together with Vritomartis.
Gavdos island
Gavdos is the amazing island where the shipwrecked Odysseus was welcomed the Calypso, the anchorage of travelers and traders from Africa and the pirates, the place of thousands of summer visitors. Gavdos is one of the last heavens of Europe, where life flows slowly and steadily, as it used to be in the past. The civilized world is far away and let’s hope that it will stay there.
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Chrissi islet
Chrissi or Gaidouronisi is located 8 miles south of Ierapetra. The residents of Ierapetra call it simply "the Island" as there is a special relationship between them, a relationship that is lost over time. For five months, from mid May to late September, there are daily cruises with vessels departing from the port of Ierapetra to Chrissi.
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Spinalonga islet
Spinalonga is a small island with a history that still inspires awe. It has been a Venetian fortress, a castle colony, a rebel refuge, a place of exile for lepers, a communication link with Cairo during the Second World War. The island has been well fortified by the Venetians during their presence in Crete. From structural and architectural point of view and from an aesthetic view of the whole landscape, the island still retains an unsurpassed beauty.
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Dia island
Dia is an uninhabited island with 5 km maximum length and 3 km maximum width surrounded by small rocky inlets. It is located 6 miles north of Heraklion. It is one of NATURA's protected areas due to its status as a biotope for endemic plants and for plants with low dispersal within the Southern Aegean.
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Koufonissi Island
Koufonissi island or Lefki (White) is located in the Libyan Sea, in south Lasithi. The island is uninhabited now, but is full of ruins that indicate human activity from the Early Minoan times to post-Byzantine years. The locals like to call Koufonisi as Delos of Crete, because of the significant antiquities that have been found.
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Gramvousa islets
The two uninhabited islands of Gramvousa, the Imeri (Calm) and the Agria (Wild) Gramvousa, are located close to the homonymous cape of Chania prefecture. They are very close to Balos lagoon, which is famous for its exotic beach, reminding of the Caribbean. Imeri Gramvousa is famous for its fortress, the nice beach and the old ship wreck.
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Souda islet
Souda is the name of the small island that stands like a guard in the entr ance of the gulf of Souda., a natural harbor protected by the high mountains the east of Chania, on the northeast side of the port of Chania. Souda has been one of the most important fortresses of Crete.
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Thodorou islet
The island of Agioi Theodoroi or Thodorou and located just opposite of the beach of Platanias in Chania, just half a mile northern. The history of the island and its ecological importance in preserving the protected species of the Cretan wild goat, make this small dot on the map very important.
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