Greece
France
Elafonisi is one of the most beautiful sights of Crete. Elafonisi is an excellent sandy beach;lagoon with blue/green, crystal waters and a very colourful sandy beach with a small islet in front of the beach. It is a peaceful place full of colors and light.
It is located at a distance of about 80 km southwest from the city of Chania. You could go there on foot, as the distance from the land is less than 100 m. The white sand, the sandy hills and the various colors will compensate for your time. There are few beach canteens with fast food, sandweeches and soft drinks.
The area of Elafonisi is of special enviromental interest and it is characterised as a "NATURA" area. Here can be found a few endangered species and the small island is home to 110 plant species. For the moment two plans of "LIFE" are running.
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.
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 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.
