Top 5 Beaches in Crete

My happy place is a good beach. And Crete happens to be an island littered with happy places. I stayed in the city of Chania, down the road from the courthouse and a short walk to the water and the historic city center. There are plenty of beaches within town, so if you happen to be staying in Chania without the luxury of a car, you can visit one of the many beaches the city offers. But if you can explore the island more, you are in for a treat with some of the most fantastic beaches. I visited in late May 2022, not quite the high season for tourism, but the weather was great while I was there, and the beaches weren’t very crowded just yet. July and August see some of the largest crowds flocking to these shores.

Except for Kedrodrasa, all the beaches mentioned, and most beaches I saw when there, are equipped with changing stations and restrooms as well as a cafe/ bar or restaurant to purchase snacks and drinks. Balos charges a Euro per person, but every other beach mentioned was free to enter.  This trip was my first time swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, and I was not expecting to be able to float so easily. There’s a higher salt content in the Mediterranean than in the ocean, making it so you almost don’t even have to tread water to stay above.