Sheltered beaches in Crete
164 beaches in Crete that stay flat when the meltemi blows. Most protected first, and re-ranked live for today's wind.
A beach counts as sheltered here when its sea stays flat in a strong north or north-east wind (6 Bft), the meltemi. We measured the open sea upwind of every beach on Crete: where land lies close to the north and north-east, waves cannot build.
All 164 sheltered beaches on Crete
| Beach | Faces | Surface | Meltemi shelter (0–100) | Lifeguard | Bars | Tavernas | Toilets | Parking | Resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agiofarango | south | Pebbles | 96 | ||||||
| Agios Charalampos Beach | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Agios Georgios | south-west | – | 96 | 22 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | ||||
| Agios Onoufrios | north-west | – | 96 | ||||||
| Aliori | south | – | 96 | 11 taverna or restaurant | |||||
| Ammos | south | Sand | 96 | 1414 bars and cafés | 2525 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | ||
| Ammoudi Beach | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Ammoudi Beach | south-west | Pebbles | 96 | 22 bars and cafés | 11 taverna or restaurant | Toilets | Parking | ||
| Anaskelou | south | – | 96 | 11 taverna or restaurant | |||||
| Anatolika Beach | south-west | Sand | 96 | 11 bar or café | |||||
| Argilos Beach | south-west | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Astropelekita Beach | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Atherina beach | south-west | – | 96 | ||||||
| Beach | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Calypso | north-east | – | 96 | 22 bars and cafés | Toilets | Parking | |||
| Chironisia Beach | east | – | 96 | ||||||
| Damnoni Beach | south | Sand | 96 | 33 bars and cafés | 33 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | ||
| Domata beach | south-west | – | 96 | ||||||
| Dragon’s Beach | south | – | 96 | Parking | |||||
| Dynonissos beach | south | Pebbles | 96 | 11 bar or café | 33 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | ||
| Elafonisi Beach | south | Sand | 96 | 33 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Beach resort | |||
| Filaki | south | – | 96 | 11 bar or café | Parking | ||||
| Finikas Beach | south-west | – | 96 | 11 taverna or restaurant | |||||
| Finikidia Beach | south | – | 96 | 22 bars and cafés | 11 taverna or restaurant | Parking | |||
| Gialopotama Beach | south-west | – | 96 | ||||||
| Gramméno Beach | south-west | – | 96 | 11 bar or café | 44 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | Beach resort | ||
| Hohlakas | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Ilingas Beach | south | Pebbles | 96 | 11 bar or café | |||||
| inofficial beach | south-east | Pebbles | 96 | Parking | |||||
| Kakkos | south-east | – | 96 | 22 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | |||
| Kalami beach | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Kalamia Beach | south | – | 96 | Toilets | Parking | ||||
| Karavostasi beach | east | Sand | 96 | 33 bars and cafés | 44 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |||
| Katarti | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Kedrodasos | south-west | – | 96 | ||||||
| Kefala Beach | south | Sand | 96 | Toilets | |||||
| Kendrodasos | south-west | – | 96 | ||||||
| Keratokambos | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Keratokambos | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Klima Beach | south-west | – | 96 | ||||||
| Kokkines Plakes | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Kokkino Volakas | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Koudouma | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Kouloura | east | – | 96 | ||||||
| Koutalas Beach | north-west | Pebbles | 96 | Parking | |||||
| Koutelos Beach | south | – | 96 | 11 taverna or restaurant | |||||
| Krassas beach | south | – | 96 | Parking | |||||
| Krios Beach | south | – | 96 | 11 bar or café | Toilets | Parking | |||
| Lakki Beach | south | – | 96 | 33 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | ||||
| Leprias | south | – | 96 | ||||||
| Limnionari | east | Pebbles | 96 | ||||||
| Listis | south | – | 96 | Parking | |||||
| Livari beach | south | Pebbles | 96 | ||||||
| Lycos Beach | south | Pebbles | 96 | 44 tavernas and restaurants | |||||
| Macha | south | – | 96 | Parking | |||||
| Maherida Nudist Beach | south-west | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Marathi | south | – | 96 | 33 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | |||
| Marathi beach | south | – | 96 | 33 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | |||
| Martsalo | south-west | Pebbles | 96 | ||||||
| Mikri Triopetra Beach | south-west | Pebbles | 96 | 33 tavernas and restaurants | Parking |
Showing 60 of 164 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 are sheltered from the meltemi?
164 of the 268 mapped beaches on Crete stay flat in a strong north wind. The best protected are Agiofarango, Agios Charalampos Beach, and Agios Georgios.
Are these beaches sheltered every day?
They are sheltered in the meltemi, which blows from the north. With wind from another direction the sheltered side changes, so check the live ranking above: it applies today's forecast to these beaches and is refreshed every 2 hours.
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.