Day trip
Palekastro and the east beaches.
Photo: Nektaria Kleopoulos / Pexels
Quick facts
- Region
- Lasithi
- Start town
- Sitia
- Typical duration
- 4–6 hours
- Type
- Day trip
Palekastro is the village inland of the north-eastern beaches, with Kouremenos and Chiona as the usual swims and a Minoan site nearby if you want the ruin. The day is a village and a beach, not a resort strip. Wind at Kouremenos is famous with people who sail, and it is the reason a swim can be average. Chiona is the more sheltered of the pair when the north wind is up. You do not need a boat.
Drive from Sitia toward Palekastro. The beaches are signed from the village. Morning is kinder if you also want the archaeological site.
It suits a hire-car day from Sitia. Skip it if the group wanted Vai’s palms specifically. That is the next beach north, and it is its own stop.
Palekastro and the east beaches needs 4–6 hours from Sitia. The months that usually work are May to October. The road or the boat is part of the day, not a preface you can ignore. Carry water and shade for the hours away from Sitia, and do not book a sunset table at home until you know the return. Palekastro and the east beaches is one day from Sitia. A beach, gorge or monastery with a similar photograph is a different outing when the route changes.
Is it worth it
Palekastro and the east beaches is worth the hours from Sitia when it suits a hire-car day from Sitia. The day is a village and a beach, not a resort strip. If that is the part your group will fight, leave it for another date.
What to bring
- Water and a hat, because Palekastro is the village inland of the north-eastern beaches, with
- Shoes that match the ground on Palekastro and the east beaches. Drive from Sitia toward Palekastro. The beaches are
- A layer for the start in Sitia. May to October still has cool mornings and wind.
- The return hour written down. Palekastro and the east beaches takes 4–6 hours, and a second plan the same day is how you miss it.
Tips
- May to October is the window to trust for Palekastro and the east beaches. Outside it, ask whether the day is even running.
- Leave Sitia with 4–6 hours clear. Drive from Sitia toward Palekastro. The beaches are signed from the village.
- Search “Palekastro beach day eastern Crete” and check that the meeting point really is Sitia.
Related tours
Day tripKouremenos wind and beach
Sitia3–5 hours
Kouremenos is the beach north of Palekastro where the summer wind is the attraction for windsurfers and kite surfers, and the nuisance for everyone else. A lesson is a real product here. A simple swim is better on a rare calm morning or at Chiona next door. The beach is long and lightly built. It is not Vai. Bring what you need. The village of Palekastro is the backup for lunch. The usual length is 3–5 hours, and the months that usually work are May to September. It suits people who came to use the wind, and beginners taking a lesson. Skip it as a family swim on a typical July afternoon. Drive from Sitia via Palekastro. Schools meet on the beach. If you are only swimming, look at the flag and the whitecaps before you commit the day.
See prices on GetYourGuide
View detailsBook now on GetYourGuide
Day tripVai palm beach day
Sitia4–6 hours
A Vai day without the monastery is a beach day: the palm grove, the sand, and a swim when the wind allows. The water can be rough even under a clear sky. Shade inside the grove is better than shade on the open sand. Facilities exist and get busy. It is not a secret cove, and it is a long way to go for an hour. Stay long enough to justify the road, or pick a beach closer to Sitia. The usual length is 4–6 hours, and the months that usually work are May to October. It suits swimmers who have the day. Skip it with anyone who will not sit in a windy, popular beach, and skip it in a gale. The beach is signed from Sitia and from Palekastro. Arrive earlier than you think in August. The road ends at the car park.
See prices on GetYourGuide
View detailsBook now on GetYourGuide
HistoryMinoan palace of Zakros
Sitia4–6 hours
Kato Zakros holds a Minoan palace at the end of a gorge, on the sea, smaller and quieter than Knossos. The site is the rooms and the setting, not a reconstruction with red columns. You can drive to it or walk the gorge down to it. Doing both the walk and a long palace visit is the full day. The beach beside the site is a simple swim after the stones. Shade is poor on the ruins. The usual length is 4–6 hours, and the months that usually work are Year round, the coast road is the slow part. It suits people who like a site with a landscape attached. Skip the gorge walk if anyone needs a flat path. The palace alone is still a reason to drive down. Drive from Sitia to Zakros and then down to Kato Zakros, or walk the gorge from the upper entrance.
See prices on GetYourGuide
View detailsBook now on GetYourGuide
FAQ
Questions.
- Plan on 4–6 hours from Sitia. It suits a hire-car day from Sitia.
- May to October. Outside those months the day is often closed, cancelled, or a different trip. Ask the day before you leave Sitia.
- Drive from Sitia toward Palekastro. The beaches are signed from the village. Morning is kinder if you also want the archaeological site.
- It suits a hire-car day from Sitia. Skip it if the group wanted Vai’s palms specifically. That is the next beach north, and it is its own stop.
- Palekastro and the east beaches is worth the hours from Sitia when it suits a hire-car day from Sitia. The day is a village and a beach, not a resort strip. If that is the part your group will fight, leave it for another date.