Falassarna
The marvellous sandy beach of Falassarna is located at a distance of about 59 km west of the town of Chania. This is one of the most beautiful sandy beaches of Crete with blue, crystal waters and very long, extended sandy beach, and one of the best of Greece. Three nearby sandy beaches and the blue sea create a perfect place to relax and enjoy yourself. There are provided a few water sport facilities and some small beach bars.
Falassarna is regarded as one of the nicest, natural beaches in Crete and one of the ten best beaches in Greece; it is located 16 km west of Kastelli and about 45 km west of Chania. The road leading to Falassarna village is quite good and during the first 35 km it is part of the National road of Crete.
The Falassarna beach is a long, big, sandy beach with amazing views during the sunset. The sea is always very clear and it tempts you go for swimming. There is plenty of space to play water-sports or beach tennis; there is also a volley field on the beach.
You can visit Falassarna beach for one day as an excursion or stay in the nearby accommodation for longer, since the village is an ideal location to relax, unwind and fill your batteries.
There is a cafe at the start of the beach and umbrellas and loungers at different locations. In the village, the cafe Galasia Thea is an ideal place for coffee and home-cooked dishes and the taverna Sun Set is a nice taverna for fish and classic Cretan food.
The ruins of the ancient harbour-city of Falassarna can be explored during an excursion on the north of the beach. The excavations have exposed some of the walls and buildings of the city. There are no signs of the harbour now.
Paleochora
Paleochora is located at a distance of about 70 km west of the city of Chania. This is a tranquil area with beautiful landscape, where the guests can real and make very quiet holidays. Paleochora is especially famous for the sandy beach "Paxia Ammos" in the centre of the village and various pebble beaches with krystal waters near Paleochora. Cheap and excellent food is offered in the numerous restaurants along the seaside promenade.
Paleochora is the southernmost seaside town in the Prefecture of Chania, located 76 km far from Chania, with about 1,500 people. It has been built on the top of a small peninsula, below the ruins of the Venetian Castle, and it is washed by the waves on three sides.
Some decades before Paleochora was a hippies destination; nowadays it is a preferable touristic village which is visited by many locals every weekend.
There are two beautiful and picturesque bays with fantastic beaches in the village. The Eastern sandy beach is called "Halikia", it is 2 km long and quite crowded and it is an excellent place for windsurfing. The beach to the West is called "Pahia Ammos" and it is a pebble beach. When the wind blows the pebble beach is much more protected. Both beaches have been awarded with a Blue Flag.
Elafonisi
Elafonisi is located at a distance of about 80 km from the small town of Chania. Elafonisi is an excellent sandy beach with blue and green sea and a wide, colourful, sandy beach.
There is a small islet in front of the beach with the same name. The white amd soft red sand, the sandy hills and the various colors will compensate for your time.
It is a peaceful place full of colors and light. You could go there on foot, as the distance from the land is less than 100 m. Please note that there are some small cantines on the sandy beach with fast food and soft drinks as well as many traditional taverns near Elafonisi on the way to it at Topolia village or the town of Kastelli.
The wider district of Elafonisi is of special enviromental interest and it is characterised as a "NATURA" protected area. Here can be found a few endangered spacies such as small sea turtles. For the moment two plans of "LIFE" for the sustainable development of the area are under process.
Gramvoussa islet/Balos
West of Chania (about 40 km far) and north-west of the village of Kastelli there is the wild and remote Gramvoussa peninsula. It is formed by steep rocks and it is covered with thyme, origanum bushes and wild flowers. On the north-west side of the peninsula, opposite to the island of Gramvoussa and the Gramvoussa castle, there is the wonderful beach of Balos. The Balos beach is covered with fine white sand; the same white sand covers the bottom of the sea and grants to the sea an emerald color.
You can get a boat from the Kastelli harbour at about 10 am to visit the Balos beach; otherwise you have to go on foot. The road to the beach stops about 2 km before it and the visitor has to follow a pave road with gorgeous views to reach it. It takes about half an hour and the climbing in the end is much more difficult.
