Crete in a Week: The Beaches Itinerary

Crete’s coastline is long enough that no single base reaches every notable beach, and its beaches are different enough from each other that stacking them without a plan means retracing the same mountain roads twice. This week is built the other way: two bases, one deliberate move partway through, and beaches grouped by how close they actually sit to each other rather than how they look side by side on a map.

Why this order works

The logic is geographic, not thematic. Days 1 to 4 stay anchored on Chania and cover the far west — Balos and Gramvousa, Falassarna and Elafonissi — because all three are reachable from the same base without a night’s move. Day 5 shifts the base east to Rethymno, which puts Preveli and the Kourtaliotiko gorge within a short drive instead of a return trip from Chania.

Days 6 and 7 continue east to Matala and finally Ierapetra and Chrissi island, on the opposite side of Crete from where the week began. That last point matters enough to say plainly: Chrissi and Balos will never appear on the same day of this itinerary, because they sit roughly 260 km apart at either tip of the island.

Day 1: Settle into Chania

Fly into Heraklion or Chania airport and drive straight to Chania town, the most atmospheric base on the island and the right hinge point for the whole west. Spend the afternoon on the Venetian harbour and the lighthouse, then walk the covered market and the backstreets for an early dinner. Keep the day light — the beach days start tomorrow, and Chania’s old town rewards a slow, unhurried first evening more than a rushed one squeezed in later.

Day 2: Balos and Gramvousa by boat

This is the day to get right, and the choice is the boat, not the road. The land route to Balos runs about 8 km on an unpaved track from Kissamos, followed by a 20 to 30 minute walk down to the lagoon and the same climb back up in the heat. Most rental agreements explicitly exclude unpaved roads from their insurance, which means a scrape, a flat tyre or worse on that track is not covered.

The boat from Kissamos removes that risk entirely and adds a stop most drivers never see: Imeri Gramvousa, a fortified islet with a Venetian fort built in 1579, reachable only by water. a full-day boat trip to Balos lagoon and Imeri Gramvousa from Kissamos covers both in one outing, with swimming time at Balos itself before the return crossing. Drive to Kissamos in the morning, park near the port, and be back in Chania by early evening.

Day 3: Falassarna

Falassarna is a short drive west of Kissamos, so it pairs naturally with yesterday’s route without adding much distance. It is a wide, open sweep of sand facing directly into the sunset, with a stronger and more consistent swell than the sheltered coves of the west coast — good for swimmers who want actual waves rather than flat, lagoon-still water.

Spend the day on the sand and stay for the evening; the light here at sunset is one of the most reliable in Crete, and a sunset wine and food pairing right on Falassarna beach turns the last hour of the day into the event rather than an afterthought. Drive back to Chania after dark; the coast road is well lit and easy at this hour.

Day 4: Elafonissi

Elafonissi is the longest single drive of the west-coast leg — about 76 km and two hours from Chania on a winding mountain road — so it earns its own day rather than being tacked onto another beach. Set expectations before arriving: the famous pink tint comes from crushed foraminifera shells mixed into the sand, and it reads as a subtle, patchy blush rather than the saturated rose of postcard photos. It shows best in the shallow lagoon water in the late afternoon.

Elafonissi sits inside a Natura 2000 protected area, and taking sand or shells away, even a handful, is illegal and fined — treat the beach the way you would a protected reserve, because that is what it is. Anyone weighing the two big pink-adjacent detours of the west can compare them directly in the guide on Balos versus Elafonissi before committing a full day to either. Return to Chania for a final night before the move east.

Day 5: Move to Rethymno, then Preveli

Check out and drive to Rethymno town, roughly an hour east along the north coast — a short transfer that resets the whole second half of the week within easy reach of the south. Drop bags and continue south to Preveli, where the Kourtaliotiko gorge opens onto a river mouth lined with a palm forest. The grove burned in a wildfire in 2010 and has regrown since; the palm is Phoenix theophrasti, a species native to Crete found in only a handful of places on the island.

Walk down through the gorge or take the boat shuttle from the small jetty, then swim where the freshwater river meets the sea — a genuinely different feel from any beach earlier in the week. a guided day out through the Kourtaliotiko gorge to Preveli’s palm beach covers the gorge walk and the beach without needing to navigate the access road yourself. Return to Rethymno for the night.

Day 6: Matala

Drive south across the island to Matala, on the Messara plain facing the Libyan Sea. The beach is framed by sandstone cliffs carved with man-made caves, used as tombs in antiquity and later, briefly, as informal shelters by travellers passing through in the 1960s. The bay is compact and calm, well suited to a slower day after the driving of the previous two.

Those wanting to extend the day inland can combine Matala with the Minoan site nearby via a day trip that links the Agia Galini and Matala coast with a guided gorge walk, though a simple beach day here is enough on its own. Stay a second night in Rethymno, or push on to a base near Ierapetra if the drive the next morning feels long — both work, since day 7 starts from the south-east regardless.

Day 7: Ierapetra and Chrissi island

The final day is deliberately the furthest east: Ierapetra, Crete’s southernmost town, and the boat out to Chrissi, an uninhabited islet protected for its rare juniper forest roughly 15 km offshore. The crossing runs on a seasonal boat only, cancels outright in strong wind, and there is no accommodation on the islet — this has to be a day trip, timed around the morning departure and the return sailing in the afternoon. As with Elafonissi, removing sand, shells or plant material from Chrissi is prohibited.

a day trip from Ierapetra combining the southern coast’s history with time on the water is a reasonable way to structure the day if the ferry schedule alone feels thin. This is also the point to say again, clearly, why this beach never appeared earlier in the week: Ierapetra sits close to 260 km from Kissamos and Balos by road, on the opposite coast of the island. Pairing the two in one day was never realistic, and this itinerary does not pretend otherwise. Fly out from Heraklion or Chania the next morning, or add a buffer night if flight timing is tight.

Beach-by-beach pace at a glance

Beach	Day	From base	Drive or crossing
Balos and Gramvousa	2	Chania	Drive to Kissamos, then boat
Falassarna	3	Chania	About 50 minutes
Elafonissi	4	Chania	About 2 hours
Preveli	5	Rethymno	About 45 minutes
Matala	6	Rethymno	About 1 hour 15
Chrissi (via Ierapetra)	7	Ierapetra	Drive plus seasonal boat

Frequently asked questions about a beach week in Crete

Can Balos and Chrissi be done in the same day?

No. Balos sits at the far north-west tip of Crete and Chrissi is a boat ride off Ierapetra on the south-east coast, roughly the full length of the island apart. Treat them as opposite bookends of the week, not a single day trip.

Is the Balos dirt road worth driving?

Most rental contracts exclude unpaved roads, so a breakdown or scrape on the 8 km track to Balos is not covered. The boat from Kissamos, which also stops at Imeri Gramvousa, is the safer and genuinely more comfortable option for most visitors.

Is Elafonissi’s pink sand as pink as the photos?

It is patchy and subtle, made of crushed foraminifera shells rather than a dyed or saturated colour. It shows best in raking late-afternoon light and is easy to miss if you are not looking down at the right patch of sand.

Can I take sand or shells home from Elafonissi or Chrissi?

No. Both are Natura 2000 protected sites and removing sand, shells or stones is illegal and fined. Treat it the same way you would treat a national park.

How do I get to Chrissi island?

A seasonal boat runs from Ierapetra, roughly 15 km each way. It operates only in the warmer months, cancels in strong wind, and there is no accommodation on the islet, so it has to be a day trip from Ierapetra or Agios Nikolaos.

Do I need to change accommodation base during the week?

Yes, once. Base in or near Chania for days 1 to 4, then move to Rethymno for days 5 and 6 before finishing in Ierapetra. One transfer keeps every drive to a beach under two hours.

Is a rental car necessary for this itinerary?

Effectively yes. Falassarna, Elafonissi and Preveli are only realistic with a car, and the Ierapetra-Chrissi leg needs one to reach the port. The KTEL coach network covers the north coast but not these beaches.