Plakias Crete satellite map and resort report on Plakias

Greek island holidays | Plakias Crete

Plakias is a growing village on the south coast of Crete located in an attractive bay. It has grown considerably in recent years, mainly on the back of tourism. A large number of apartments and small hotels have been built. It's about 40km over the mountain from Rethymnon (there is a regular bus service) and not far from Hora Sfakia along the coast road.
There are plenty of restaurants and bars here, with a few shops here with a couple of discos in recent years to cash in on the annual tourist influx. It's main attraction is the large, curving bay with a 1km beach of sand and pebble. It is mainly pebble near the resort but it gets sandier as you head east with decent snorkelling to be had in the shallow waters beneath the cliffs - but watch out for sea urchins. There are showers and sun beds and the beach rarely gets crowded. It's safe for swimming being south facing and well sheltered but winds whip up some big waves occasionally.
To the east are beaches at Paligremnos and further still Damnoni, now quite a popular tourist resort in its own right. About 2km to the west is another small sandy beach called Souda Bay, noted for its palm trees, and before that a small cove at Gavdolimano.
The village of Plakias is a drab affair, without much character and the bout of recent building hasn't helped any. Many use it as a base to explore this part of the island which has a wide coastal plain with pretty villages in the hills behind such as Mirthios and Sellia, framed by the majestic mountains.
Plakias follows the single straight road that runs along the back of the beach. Plakias is an excellent base for walkers and cyclists with lots of paths and tracks through quiet villages. Most of the coastline in this area is easily accessible and you are likely to find many secluded coves.