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Sunset beaches in Crete
24 beaches in Crete that face west over open sea, where the sun sets over the water. Ranked live for today's wind.
A sunset beach here looks out between south-west and north-west and has at least 8 km of open sea to the west, so the sun does not set behind another island. Check the live ranking to pick one that is also sheltered this evening.
All 24 sunset beaches on Crete
| Beach | Faces | Surface | Open sea to the west | Lifeguard | Bars | Tavernas | Toilets | Parking | Resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afrathia | south-west | – | 50 km | 11 taverna or restaurant | Toilets | Parking | |||
| Ammofolos Beach | south-west | Sand | 50 km | 11 bar or café | 11 taverna or restaurant | Parking | |||
| Falasarna beach | west | Sand | 50 km | 11 bar or café | 66 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | Beach resort | |
| Kommos Beach | west | Sand | 50 km | 11 bar or café | 77 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | ||
| Melissa Sandhills | west | Sand | 50 km | 11 bar or café | 11 taverna or restaurant | Parking | |||
| Platanakia | west | Pebbles | 50 km | ||||||
| Stomio beach | west | – | 50 km | 11 bar or café | |||||
| Triopetra Beach | south-west | – | 50 km | 11 bar or café | 22 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | ||
| Triopetra Beach | south-west | Sand | 50 km | 11 taverna or restaurant | Parking | ||||
| Red Beach | south-west | Sand | 38 km | 22 bars and cafés | 11 taverna or restaurant | ||||
| Matala Beach | west | Sand | 38 km | 1111 bars and cafés | 2929 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | ||
| Schinaria Beach | west | Sand | 37 km | 11 taverna or restaurant | Parking | ||||
| Falassarna | west | – | 34 km | 55 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | Beach resort | |||
| Ammoudi Beach | south-west | Pebbles | 34 km | 22 bars and cafés | 11 taverna or restaurant | Toilets | Parking | ||
| Katalyki | south-west | – | 34 km | 44 bars and cafés | 66 tavernas and restaurants | Beach resort | |||
| Mogli's Beach | west | Sand | 27 km | ||||||
| Paligremnos Beach (Nudist) | west | Sand | 21 km | 11 bar or café | Toilets | Parking | |||
| Plakias | south-west | Sand | 19 km | 1616 bars and cafés | 2121 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | ||
| Sandy Beach | south-west | Pebbles | 19 km | 22 bars and cafés | Toilets | Parking | |||
| Onerock Beach | south-west | Pebbles | 17 km | 22 bars and cafés | 11 taverna or restaurant | Toilets | Parking | ||
| Trahili Beach | west | – | 17 km | 11 bar or café | 11 taverna or restaurant | Parking | |||
| Kalimera Beach | west | Sand | 12 km | 11 taverna or restaurant | |||||
| Kalathas | north-west | Sand | 11 km | 33 tavernas and restaurants | Toilets | Parking | |||
| Aghios Pavlos Beach | north-west | – | 9 km |
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 face the sunset?
24 beaches on Crete face west over open sea, for example Afrathia, Ammofolos Beach, and Falasarna beach.
Can I see the sunset from a beach that faces north-west or south-west?
Yes. The sun sets towards the north-west in midsummer and towards the south-west in midwinter, so a beach looking anywhere in that range sees it over the water at some time of the year.
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.