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Beaches with bars in Crete
101 beaches in Crete with a bar or café close by. Re-ranked live, so the flattest sea comes first.
These beaches have at least one bar, café or pub mapped within 300 m of the sand, so you can stay for a drink after the swim. The number in the table is how many OpenStreetMap shows; there may be more than are mapped.
All 101 beaches with bars on Crete
| Beach | Faces | Surface | Bars | Tavernas | Toilets | Parking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammos | south | Sand | 1414 bars and cafés | 2525 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Plakias | south | Pebbles | 1212 bars and cafés | 2020 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Kitroplatia | east | Pebbles | 2020 bars and cafés | 3131 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Matala Beach | west | Sand | 1111 bars and cafés | 2929 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Plakias | south-west | Sand | 1616 bars and cafés | 2121 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Schisma | east | Sand | 1717 bars and cafés | 2222 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Skinos Beach | south-west | Pebbles | 99 bars and cafés | 1515 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Aelos Beach | north | Sand | 1717 bars and cafés | 1313 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Agia Marina Beach | north | Sand | 1313 bars and cafés | 4848 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Georgioupoli | north-east | Sand | 2020 bars and cafés | 2222 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Georgioupolis Beach | north-east | Sand | 1212 bars and cafés | 99 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Limni Beach | north | Sand | 1111 bars and cafés | 2525 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Nisos Beach | north | Sand | 1010 bars and cafés | 1111 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Palm Bay Beach | north-east | Sand | 1313 bars and cafés | 1818 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Paralia Koum Kapi (Kum Kapisi) | north | Sand | 1515 bars and cafés | 1111 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Rethymnon Beach | north | Sand | 3333 bars and cafés | 5555 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Mirabello | north | Sand | 88 bars and cafés | 22 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Kalyves | north-east | Sand | 99 bars and cafés | 1212 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Agia Pelagia Beach | east | – | 77 bars and cafés | 2121 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Mononaftis Beach | east | – | 88 bars and cafés | 77 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Nea Chora beach | north | Sand | 88 bars and cafés | 2222 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Stoney Beach | south-east | – | 66 bars and cafés | 1313 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Ammoudi | east | Sand | 66 bars and cafés | 44 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Kalivaki Beach | north-east | – | 77 bars and cafés | 88 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Star Beach | north-east | – | 77 bars and cafés | 1111 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Máleme Beach | north | Pebbles | 66 bars and cafés | 77 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Katalyki | south-west | – | 44 bars and cafés | 66 tavernas and restaurants | ||
| Palm Beach Vai | east | Sand | 44 bars and cafés | 22 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Ammoudara Beach | north | Sand | 55 bars and cafés | 77 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Beach of Telonio | north | – | 55 bars and cafés | 88 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Rapaniana Beach | north-east | – | 55 bars and cafés | 1818 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Peninsula Private Beach | east | – | 55 bars and cafés | 44 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Vrisi | south-west | Pebbles | 33 bars and cafés | 99 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Sougia Beach | south | Pebbles | 33 bars and cafés | 1212 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Plaka | east | Pebbles | 33 bars and cafés | 1818 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Karavostasi beach | east | Sand | 33 bars and cafés | 44 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Damnoni Beach | south | Sand | 33 bars and cafés | 33 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Karterou | north | – | 44 bars and cafés | 44 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Gianiskari sandy beach | south-east | Pebbles | 33 bars and cafés | Toilets | Parking | |
| Anidri Beach | south-east | Pebbles | 33 bars and cafés | Toilets | Parking | |
| Paralia Fragokastellou | south-east | – | 22 bars and cafés | 55 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Golden Beach | north-east | Sand | 33 bars and cafés | 55 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Ammoudi Beach | south-west | Pebbles | 22 bars and cafés | 11 taverna or restaurant | Toilets | Parking |
| Finikidia Beach | south | – | 22 bars and cafés | 11 taverna or restaurant | Parking | |
| Vlihi Nero beach | north | Sand | 33 bars and cafés | 77 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Red Beach | south-west | Sand | 22 bars and cafés | 11 taverna or restaurant | ||
| Analipsi | north | – | 33 bars and cafés | 77 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Livadi beach | north-east | Sand | 33 bars and cafés | 1010 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Mavros Molos | north | – | 33 bars and cafés | 55 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Platanias beach | north | – | 33 bars and cafés | 3030 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Sunset Beach | north | Sand | 33 bars and cafés | 88 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Methexis | south-east | – | 22 bars and cafés | 11 taverna or restaurant | ||
| Calypso | north-east | – | 22 bars and cafés | Toilets | Parking | |
| Palaria | south | Pebbles | 11 bar or café | 55 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Sandy Beach | south-west | Pebbles | 22 bars and cafés | Toilets | Parking | |
| Falasarna beach | west | Sand | 11 bar or café | 66 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking |
| Gramméno Beach | south-west | – | 11 bar or café | 44 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Lygaria Beach | north-east | – | 33 bars and cafés | 33 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Polyrizos Beach | south | – | 11 bar or café | 44 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |
| Geropotamos beach | north-west | Sand | 33 bars and cafés | 33 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets |
Showing 60 of 101 beaches. Use the beach finder above for the full ranked list.
Crete: how busy is it, month by month
Crete is busiest in August. In May and October there are about half as many visitors, or fewer. For a flat sea and fewer people, the best months are May and October.
Visitor levels are nights spent in tourist accommodation in the Crete region (Eurostat, average of 2023–2025), compared with its busiest month. They show when the area is busy, not how many people are on a given beach.
Frequently asked questions
Which beaches in Crete have a beach bar?
101 of the 268 mapped beaches on Crete have a bar or café within 300 m, for example Ammos, Plakias, and Kitroplatia. The ones with the most are listed first.
Are these all bars on the sand?
Not always. We list bars and cafés within 300 m of the beach as mapped in OpenStreetMap: some are on the sand, some just behind it. Opening times change with the season, so check before you go.
How do you know which beaches are sheltered?
For every beach we measured how much open sea lies in each of 16 compass directions, using OpenStreetMap coastlines. Waves build over open water, so a beach with land close by in the direction the wind comes from is sheltered. Today's wind forecast from MET Norway is then applied, and the result is refreshed every 2 hours.
Are the forecasts reliable?
They are estimates. The model does not include swell from distant storms, and local gusts can be stronger than forecast. Always follow lifeguard flags and local warnings.