Detailed review by magdadh
magdadh
Perth, United Kingdom93%
Although Western Crete is not the most touristy of the island's regions (in fact, it is said that it's the ''real Crete''), it has what is often considered to be the among the most beautiful, or even THE most beautiful beach on Crete.
Located almost exactly at the south-western tip of the island, Elafonissi (Elafonisos) can be reached along a torturous but stunningly beautiful road that leads along the whole western coast of Crete alternating between narrow serpentines rising from and descending into valley villages and breathtaking corniches skirting the red hills above the blue blaze of the sea.
There is also a slightly faster (about 1h drive if you don't stop) and quite a bit straighter inland route to Kissamos and the main north-coast road as well as one that leads to the south-coast resort of Paleochora.
If you are staying in the western part of the north coast, the most attractive option is an anti-clockwise loop taking you down the coastal road and back up through the inland route (this has also noticeable attractions including the Topolia gorge) or the other way round.
The last part of the road is still a bit rough (it used to be a poor dirt-track for quite a few miles but recently it has been metalled- considering the Greek debt crisis one can expect reappearance of Romanian-proportion potholes in a few years' time, but as for now the road is fine for everything but the very last stretch.
At the end of the road is a vast, potholed car-park that at the time of our visit (around 4pm in the beginning of August) was chock-full of cars. This didn't bode well and the Other Adult, who has a strong demo-phobic streak, started to makes loud ''turn back now'' noises but as it was your reporter driving, we parked and decided to explore anyway, with the Other Adult staying in the car with a bottle of cold water and a packet of fags behind one of those silver windscreen anti-sun mats that look fanciful when you first see them but become a necessity the first time you burn your hand to blisters on your steering wheel.
We walked down a boardwalk to the edge of the sea and there it was, the famous silver and pink coral sand, a lagoon of crystal-clear, turquoise water and a series of smaller and larger coves separated by rocky outcrops of miniature headland lining the coast for a few hundred meters. Across the water was the islet of Elafonissi after which the whole location got its name, and more of the same shallow, crystal water gleaming in shades of blue and green.
And the crowds. The main part of the beach, encrusted with regimented lines of beach parasols was hoaching with what from the slight distance seemed like a solid crowd of people. Bizarrely, though, even one cove away the crowd thinned down a bit and hundred meters left the density of sunbathers was much more acceptable.
Luckily for us, a large family with a lot of beach kit including cabanas, hammocks and many mats were leaving just as we arrived so we managed to bag a pitch that our meagre few towels didn't quite warrant. Soon it became unimportant though, because by 4.30pm many people were leaving (although the main cultivated beach remained very busy) and we had, in fact, our little cove for ourselves for quite a while.
The sand at Elafonissi is lovely indeed, clean and nice to touch, glimmering in a range of colours from pink through silver to cream to white. The sea is also fabulous and the swimming is among the best I experienced in Greece, with lost of colourful fish to see. Wading out to the islet for more snorkelling provides a nice diversion for those who get bored just frying on the beach.
We enjoyed our couple of hours at Elafonisi, although I would say that the place is too busy in high season to warrant a whole day's trip by itself(though many people obviously disagree). As a part of a long day's tour of the western reaches of Crete it worked very well for us, and if you came in low season (but with water still or already - warm enough for swimming) it could be an absolutely amazing day.
Elafonisos7
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