Kalives Crete

holiday report and Kalives Crete map

Kalives beach Crete

KALIVES or KALYVES is on the north coast about 20km east of Chania and is blessed by a pleasant beach and lush countryside behind.
Kalives has two beaches> The main village beach is an arc of golden sand that sweeps around the bay backed by trees and tavernas. The sand slopes quite sharply into the sea so children must be watched.
The sand is soft and taverna tables line Kalives beach between shady tamarind trees. Sunbeds have been provided free for patrons of the tavernas, a practice that unfortunately appears to be dying out.
At the eastern end of Kalives beach is a dinky harbour, recently rebuilt, and topped by a huge and monstrous cement building surrounded in wire that both mars the headland and prevents walks around it - only in Greece.
At the western end a small river runs through the Kalives Beach Hotel. If you approach the beach from this end you must weave your way through sunlounging guests and cross a silly carpeted bridge (I kid you not) to get across the river and onto the sands.
The hotel has a couple of twee wooden boats moored in the river, a few ducks and a faintly ridiculous mock lighthouse.
Further west is another beach, over the bridge and along a narrow road that separates a string of apartments from the sea. The west beach at Kalives is a long narrow affair, much quieter than the main beach and backed by a sea wall with a few choice tavernas.
Kalives is a working village, not just a tourist resort but it boasts 17 tavernas (some no more than a few tables in the street). Meals are consistently good and consistently cheap, which makes full board at the local hotel a dubious luxury.