Beaches
and sights.

Ask Vangelis which beaches he loves and he names three: Kommos, Agiofarango and Agios Pavlos by Kaloi Limenes. You will find all three below. For tavernas, he tells you what is around and lets you choose: there are plenty in the village, on the coast and in Matala.

His other tip is to walk. The village, the olive groves and the tomb below Kamilari are best seen on foot.

Times are by car from the houses, rounded up.

Kalamaki · about 10 min

The nearest beach, down the hill from the village. It is part of the long stretch of sand along the Messara bay, with tavernas, umbrellas and a lifeguard in front of the village in summer, and quieter sand further along. The sand is coarse and the seabed has some rocks, so water shoes help. It faces west: sunsets over the sea and, on windy summer days, real waves. On foot it takes about 45 minutes.

Kommos · about 15 min

South of Kalamaki the beach continues to Kommos, where the Minoans kept the harbour of Phaistos. The excavation is fenced off, but you can look over it from the path. Near the site there are sunbeds and a canteen; further north the beach gets quieter, and part of it is naturist.

Matala · about 15 min

The famous one: a sandy bay of about 300 m with clear, deep water, closed in by cliffs full of rock-cut tombs. The caves are Roman or early Christian burial chambers, and in the 1960s they were home to travellers from all over the world. Joni Mitchell sang about Matala on her 1971 album Blue. Today the caves are an archaeological site you can visit by day. In July and August the beach is busy: go early or late, and stay for dinner and the sunset. A path leads over the hill to Red Beach, about a kilometre away.

Agiofarango · about 35 min, then a walk

For a day that feels far from everything. You drive to the Odigitria monastery, follow a dirt track for about 4 km to a small parking area, and walk 20 to 30 minutes down a gorge, past hermits’ caves and the little chapel of Saint Anthony, to a cove of fine pebbles with a rock arch. Bring water, shoes for the path and shade: there is nothing to buy at the beach. And don’t park under the trees, because the goats like car paint.

Kaloi Limenes and Agios Pavlos · about 45 min

A small bay at the end of a winding road over the Asterousia hills. Its name means “Fair Havens”, the harbour where the ship carrying the apostle Paul called on its way to Rome, as the Acts of the Apostles tell. The chapel of Saint Paul, Agios Pavlos, stands by the shore.

Kamilari tholos tomb · half an hour on foot

On a low hill in the olive groves below the village, a round Minoan tomb built about 4,000 years ago. Its best-known find, a small clay model of four figures dancing in a ring, is now in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. The walk there and back makes a good morning before the heat.

Phaistos · about 10 min

A Minoan palace on a ridge with a view over the whole Messara plain to the mountains of Psiloritis. The Phaistos Disc, still undeciphered, was found here in 1908. Phaistos is far quieter than Knossos, and in the morning you may have whole courtyards to yourself.

Agia Triada · about 15 min

A Minoan settlement with a large “Royal Villa”, a few kilometres west of Phaistos. It is smaller and calmer than the palace, and the two make an easy half-day together.

Gortyn · about 25 min

A different era: the Roman capital of Crete. Look for the stones of the Gortyn Law Code, the oldest and most complete ancient Greek law code known, set up beside the Odeon, and for the 6th-century basilica of Saint Titus. Legend says Zeus and Europa met under a plane tree here.

For opening hours and tickets, check the Ministry of Culture’s site, odysseus.culture.gr, before you go.

• Friday: the street market in Tympaki, about 15 minutes away.
• Saturday: the market in Moires, about 15 minutes away. The municipality calls it the largest street market in Crete.
• 6 August: the village festival of Kamilari, for the Transfiguration.
• All year: the supermarket in the village (with bread), the pharmacy and the ATM, a few steps from the houses.

The houses are open all year.

• Spring and autumn: mild days, quieter sites and, in October, a sea that is still warm.
• Summer: hot, dry and bright. Visit the sites early and keep the afternoons for the sea and the shade of the courtyard. West winds often bring waves to this coast.
• Winter: tavernas and shops in the area stay open, the fan-coil system keeps the houses warm, and from November to the end of March the price is 20% lower.

The beaches of the Messara bay, Kalamaki and Kommos among them, are a Natura 2000 area where loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) lay their eggs from May to September. Keep away from marked nests, take umbrellas off the sand in the evening, and don’t use lights on the beach at night.