Beaches

If you walk along the steep shores north of Maridati till Vai palmgrove, you will meet several small coves, totally secluded accessed only by boat or on foot (it takes 2:30 hours to reach Vai).The first beach you meet is called Kokkinos Kavos (Red Cape), named after the reddish soils of the area. The seabed is sandy and pebbly in places.

The very quiet beach of East Tsigounas, mostly known as Petrakis, is located 1km east of Lendas and 76km south of Heraklion. it is located on the foots of the steep and inhospitable slopes of Asterousia Mountains.

At the coast between Panagia Charakiani and the hill Kefali, with the archeological findings, a bit west of Holy 318 Fathers, we meet the area of Propatoumenos. Propatoumenos means the area that can be walked, as there was a trail to the nearby ancient town of Astali, by Bali.

The beach Amoudi is located about 1.5km east of Chora Sfakion and 75km south of Chania, in an area with several adjacent pebbly beaches and very close to the nudists' hotel Vritomartis. It is one of the many unknown beaches around Chora Sfakion, and one of the nicest.The area, due to conglomerate rocks, is full of small pebbly beaches, such as Agios Charalambos, Filaki and Plakakia.

Petres (i.e. Stones) beach is located at the east end of the vast beachfront of Episkopi, 46km east of Chania and 13km west of Rethymnon. It is named after the imposing Petres Gorge that ends here. All around there are some facilities such as rooms, restaurants, a diving school, etc. In the cove of Vythos, which lies north of the others, there are umbrellas and it is less sandy

The small pebble beach Vourlidia is formed at the exit of Flomias gorge, at the west part of Salamias bay and at the base of Oxa cape. This incredible beach can be accessed after strenuous hiking from Agios Ioannis (east) or Tripiti beach (west). The place above the beach can be approached through very bad dirt track from Koumasa or Kapetaniana.

The easternmost beach you come across a dirt road starting from Agios Antonios and heading 1km to the east, to Cape Kenti and close to the wind turbines of Aforesmenos Cape, is called Avlaki. Adjacent to Avlaki, there is the pebbled beach of Xepapadia, which is the only beach around the Mirabello that has purely east orientation and is not usually wavy. Next to Xepapadia there is the scenic chapel of St. Dionysius.

The beach of Lykos is quite rocky in relation to the nearby Finikas and hosts a small pier where the boats stop, but is open to the south winds. Generally, it is not something special as a beach, but absolute tranquility and rich seabed make exploring this isolated place a nice experience.