Top 10 Places To Visit in Crete – Greece Travel Guide

Crete is one of Greece’s most stunning islands. Enjoy this travel guide featuring the beaches and wonders of Crete. From the crystal clear waters of Elafonissi beach, to the fortress island of Spinalonga, Crete will leave you in awe with its beauty and history. Where is your favorite place in Crete?

My Travel Videos:

Top 10 Greek Islands – https://youtu.be/AKGkbdILcjU

Top 10 Places in Milos – https://youtu.be/w7fTjMc2H20

Top 10 Places on French Riviera – https://youtu.be/6Lg6ZJpB-nI

Top 10 Place in Croatia – https://youtu.be/JuDCQJMMNzs

Top 10 Places on The Amalfi Coast – https://youtu.be/Mupom-sgjAU

Top 10 Places in Bora Bora – https://youtu.be/MJD2NcvYm4U

Top 100 Places in Europe – https://youtu.be/IQzfprW0Yl0

Top 25 Places in Switzerland – https://youtu.be/pfdb6u4HDoQ

Top 25 Places in France – https://youtu.be/qertJXj_oBo

Top 10 Places Faroe Islands – https://youtu.be/VwKSPV45VDM

Top 25 Places in Portugal – https://youtu.be/WMRwGZ6wr8w

Where I get my music from – https://fm.pxf.io/gbYAm9
Great Place for Stock footage – https://bit.ly/38b1EJH
Free stock footage, guides & luts – https://sellfy.com/ryanshirley

Timestamps:

0:00 – Intro to Crete
0:25 – Chania
1:14 – Seitan Limania
1:54 – Lake Kournas
2:25 – Rethymno
2:53 – Spinalonga & Agios Nikolaos
3:31 – Preveli Beach & Hilltop Church
4:14 – Matala
4:40 – Gavdos
5:17 – Loutro & Aradena Bridge
6:09 – Elafonissi Beach
6:31 – Falasarna Beach
6:53 – Balos Beach
7:49 – Outro

Thanks for watching 🙂

What’s up guys, my name is Ryan and I recently 
returned from exploring the Greek island of Crete and I want to share with you my favorite places. 
So here is my Crete top 10. Located in the Mediterranean Sea, Crete is the biggest island in 
Greece from towering mountains, historic cities, and prime cliff jumping spots. Crete has so many 
incredible places to visit. Let’s start this video off at Chania. Located on the Northwestern 
side of the island, Chania is a scenic city full of history and beautiful architecture. If 
you’re flying into Crete or also taking a ferry, Chania is a great option. The city dates back 
to 3,000 BC where ancient Minoans resided here. Throughout the centuries it was ruled by Romans, 
Turks, and Phoenicians and today it’s one of Crete’s most famous cities. What I particularly love about 
Chania was its harbor it’s full of Venetian and Turkish architecture and its crowning feature is 
the lighthouse that overlooks the sea. The original Lighthouse was first constructed in the late 1500s 
by the Venetians but after the Turks took over it slowly degraded until it was restored by the 
Egyptians in 1824. There’s a causeway to get out to the lighthouse and it was just fun to walk 
on I also really enjoyed exploring the boardwalk along the harbor. There was beautiful buildings 
and restaurants on the water, it was just fun to check out. A incredible place to visit near Chania 
is Seitan Limania. It’s located about a 30 minutes drive from Chania, it’s this beautiful little beach 
situated at the bottom of this fjord like cove. The hike down wasn’t too bad, it took us about 10 
minutes and there were these super pretty pink flowers along the path. When we got down to the 
bottom there’s this little Bbeach area and the water was so freaking clear I saw some people 
jumping off the cliffs so I had to join. I swam over to the spot and had to climb up the rocks 
and there was a few places you can jump from. The cliffs weren’t too high, making it a perfect spot 
to throw some jumps and flips into the sea. After I decided to go swimming in the cove and the water 
was just so freaking clear. This beach was just so much fun and easily was one of my favorite places 
I visited during my time in Crete. After we’re going to head Inland to visit Lake Kournas. When I think 
of Crete and just Islands in general, lakes don’t typically come to mind but Lake Kournas was really 
something special. Located about a 45-minute drive from Chania, Lake Kournas is nestled at the base of 
the mountains and it’s the only freshwater lake in Crete. I couldn’t believe the color of 
the lake it had this light green color near the shore and then a dark blue towards the center. 
One of the most popular activities on the lake is renting a paddle boat to explore the water. I 
really enjoyed just walking along the shore and marveling at the beauty here. After we’re going 
to head back to the coast to visit Rethymno. Loated about an hour from Chania, Rethymno is a scenic city 
full history. It started as a Minoan civilization and during medieval times it was occupied by the 
Venetians. One of my favorite features of the city is the Fortezza. It was built by the Venetians 
in the 16th century and today it’s one of the best preserved fortresses in Crete. Rethymno also has 
a beautiful harbor, there’s a lighthouse at the end that was built back in the 1800s. Rethymno 
reminds me of a smaller version of Chania. Afterwards we’re going to visit Spinalonga. Located 
about an hour’s drive from Heraklion, Spinalonga is an island that was turned into to a fortress 
by the Venetians in the late 1500s. In the 20th century the Island was used as a leper colony 
until 1957 it was later abandoned but today it’s one of Crete’s more popular attractions. You can 
reach Spinalonga by taking a boat ride from nearby cities such as Plaka. I just can’t believe 
the Fortified walls that surround the island, I definitely would have felt protected here 
during Medieval Times. A beautiful Town nearby is Agios Nikolaos, it’s located about 30 minutes south 
and it’s this really scenic port town and one of my favorite features of it is this little Lake 
that connects to the sea. After we’re going to head to the southern side of Crete to visit Preveli
Beach. Located about an hour and a half drive from Chania, this is one of the most unique beaches 
in Crete. You can access the beach from two ways. On the western side there’s a good parking lot and 
it’s a steep walk down with about 400 stairs. You could also go to the Eastern side and it’s 
an easier walk to the beach. What I think is so interesting about the area is the Palm Forest. 
It’s in this Gorge behind the beach and just lines the river that flows into the sea and you can swim 
in there and then also just jump into the sea. Crete just has so many incredible beaches. Nearby 
is a scenic church called Ekklisia Timios Stavros. It’s built high on the top of this mountain and it’s 
possible to hike to. It offers a panoramic 360 view of Southern Crete. The churches of 
Greece never disappoint. Another notable place in southern Crete is Matala. It’s located about 
an hour and a half from Preveli Beach. Matala has this incredible beach area. One of my favorite features 
of Matala is the artificial caves that were carved thousands of years ago during Roman times. It’s 
believed that people either lived in the caves or they were also tombs. During the 1960s the 
caves became a popular place for the hippies to live. Today you can explore the caves for 
yourself or just relax on the beach. It’s such a unique place. If you really want to 
go and adventure you can visit the small island of Gavdos. It’s the southernmost Island in Greece 
and also the most southern point in Europe. If you exclude places like the Canary Islands. To reach 
Gavdos you can get there by ferry from either the town of Palaiochora or Hora Sfakion and it takes about 2 to 
4 hours to reach the island depending where you depart from. Probably the most famous place on 
the island is Cape Trypiti, it’s the southernmost point in Greece and it has this rock arches you 
can kayak through. There’s also this giant chair that marks the most southern point in Europe. 
you can reach Cape Trypiti by making an hour hike from the neighboring village. While this place is 
very remote it’s worth the effort to get there. After we’re going to head back to Mainland Crete 
to visit another somewhat remote place called Loutro. Located on the southwestern side of the 
island, Loutro is this beautiful little village that can only be accessed by boat or foot. To reach it 
you can take a 20-minute boat ride from Hora Sfakion or if you want a more adventurous route you can hike 
down from the town of Anapolis. It takes about an hour each way and it’s a steep descent. When You 
reach Loutro, time really slows down here. There’s no cars or mopeds and you just spend your time 
relaxing or swimming in the sea and it’s just wild to me that places like this exist. While you’re in 
the area you could visit the Aradena Bridge. It’s located about 30 minutes from Hora Sfakion and it’s 
this bridge that spans over the Aradena Gorge. It was built in 1986 and connected the nearby village 
to the the rest of Crete. The bridge sits 138 m above the gorge and if you’re afraid of heights 
maybe this place isn’t for you, but regardless it’s such a beautiful area. After it we’re going to 
head to the western coast to visit Elafonissi Beach. Of all the beaches in Crete, this might be one of the 
most well-known. It’s located on the southwestern side of Crete about an hours drive from Kissamos, its 
famous for its crystal clear waters and pink sand. There is a main beach area with umbrellas but if 
you walk over the sandbar to the island you can find more secluded spots it’s also a great place 
to wait around to watch the sunset. After we’re going to head up the coast to visit Falasarna Beach.
Look at about 20 minutes from Kissamos, Falasarna has been named one of the best beaches in Crete and 
after visiting it, I understand why. There’s a long beach area and the water is just so clear. It’s a 
perfect place to relax and enjoy the sea I had a good time just chilling and exploring the area. 
If you love beaches and you’re on the western side of Crete you got to give Falasarna a visit.
For our final destination we’re going to visit Balos Beach. This was one of the main reasons I 
wanted to come to Crete and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a somewhat remote beach area that can only 
be accessed by boat or foot. Now to get there we drove on this dirt road that rides up this narrow 
Peninsula, it’s about a 40 minutes drive from the nearby town of Kissamos, there’s a parking lot and 
we started the hike. It’s a downhill climb to the beach and you get astounding views of the water 
on the way down. It took us about 20 minutes to get down to the beach area and we saw a few goats 
along the way. There was tons of places to relax on the beach, we found this secluded spot 
and I decided to go for a swim. I couldn’t believe the clarity of the water it didn’t
get too deep and it was just so nice to swim around. If you do take a boat here you can explore 
the other nearby island such as Gramvousa. Overall the scenery of this place was amazing. I just love 
how remote it is and the surrounding landscapes are next level. It’s definitely worth the hike 
and drive to get here. If you do decide to come here later during the day, it’s also an incredible 
place to enjoy this sunset. Well that is it for my Crete top 10, there’s still so much to see on this 
incredible Island and I got to come back for part two. Let me know where your favorite place is in 
Crete in the comments below. You can find me on Instagram and Tiktok @shirley.films – It’s 
Ryan and we will see you later! [Music]