Beaches

Karave beach has round pebbles and heads south to Korfos bay. It is not organized, but is the only choice for those who want to swim near the port. The water is crystal clear and quite deep. Karave is not very special about swimming, especially if you compare with the rest beaches of Gavdos.

Katarti is a tiny beach that is formed in the exit of a small gorge, 73km south of Heraklion city, at the base of Oxa Cape. This secluded beach is located amidst the wild and majestic landscape of Asterousia Mountains, southwest of the summit of Kofinas.

Faflagos is located 89km southeast of Iraklion, near the village Arvi. It is a small seaside settlement at the exit of a small valley, which is crossed by the river Blavaris or Blavopotamos, which has no water in summer and starts from Kato Symi. In front of the village, stretches a very long shore with beautiful and tranquil beaches. Nearby, there are many greenhouses with crops of bananas and fresh vegetables.

The secluded gulf of Korakia is located 48km east of Rethymno and 39km west of Heraklion, near the village Sises and close to Fodele beach. There are three adjacent beaches, which are mainly sandy and large pebbles, open to northwest winds. The beaches are very secluded and almost unknown to everybody. Korakia is totally unorganized, thus you should have anything you need with you.

Ammoudares is located 8km west of Ierapetra and 45km south of Agios Nikolaos. It close to the settlement of Nea Anatoli and Stomio, which all share actually the same beachfront. Ammoudares beachfront consists of sequential long beaches with coarse gray sand. All beaches are unorganized and secluded. They are not popular, mainly because the area is surrounded by thousands of greenhouses. The locals avoid swimming in the area due to pesticides and drugs, but still the water is clean.

Gylisma (or Kambos beach) is located 69km southwest of Chania and 29km south of Kissamos, close to Kambos village. The beach is also known as Afratolakoi.

If you head east of Fylaki beach, you will soon (100m only) reach the exit of the Sfakiano Gorge, with a nice pebbly beach formed. The area is called Plakakia and hosts some of the most spectacular beaches in Crete, formed on small narrow fjords. Indeed, some of them are formed inside small caves! There is a tricky dirt road leading close to the beach.

Gra Ligia is a seaside village located just 5km west of Ierapetra and 39km south of Agios Nikolaos. It is situated at the exit of a large fertile valley, which is full with greenhouses with early vegetables. Locals were the first to grow vegetables in greenhouses and this was later extended throughout the area of Ierapetra. There are so many greenhouses, that locals call Gra Ligia as “Silicon Valley of Greece”.