Maisons traditionnelles et Villas de vacances à louer en Crète
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The Beaches of West Crete



It is perhaps inevitable that throughout the Mediterranean the "best" beaches, meaning sandy with gentle waters, attract the crowds, which attract the facilities, which attract more crowds and so on.

In north-west Crete, fortunately, this is only really true of the coastal tourism strip running from Chania westwards to Platanias.		   les plages sablonneuses et les eaux douces
After this the scenery gives way to agriculture and apart from isolated outbreaks of commercial tourism most often, farming fields stretch right down to the water's edge. The beach from Gerani through to Kolimbari is shingle and pebbles with patches of sand here and there.

Tavernas and beach bars can be found but generally these beaches are very clean and very quiet. Going west over the Rotherpou peninsula into the bay of Kastelli there is a long fine beach with a mixture of sand and occasional shingle although once in the water it is almost all sand.
On arrive à l’une des plus belles plages de Crète, Falassarna.   Crossing the Gramvousa peninsular takes one to Fallasarna - one of the finest beaches on Crete.
Parts have been slightly commercialised but much of this huge beach remains completely unspoilt.

At Gramvousa itself (the aerial picture on our welcome page) the beaches are like a coral-island fairy story.

It is possible to hike over the peninsular hills to get to the area or you can take a day-trip boat that leaves Kastelli every morning.
We know that many of Crete Direct's clients rent houses from us because they want complete anonymity and privacy, and that many people want to extend this privacy to their sun-bathing and swimming.
Topless sunbathing is fine almost everywhere but naked sun-bathing and swimming is only officially allowed in a few licensed areas although it is tolerated in a number of places such as quiet, remote beaches or coves.

It is accepted that if there are only a few people around then it can hardly be offensive if there is no-one there to see.However, the situation can change at weekends and in August when many Greek families go to the beach.		   Les plages tranquilles
Villa Emilia   If you really want to get a maximum, all-over suntan, then several of Crete Direct's Villas are perfect.

With completely secluded, very private gardens or courtyards, you can do what you want whenever you want!		   Villa Joanna
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