Elafonissi Beach

Beach

Elafonissi Beach

Beach

Kissamos 730 01, Greece

Highlights

A stunning beach with enchanting turquoise waters and stretches of shallow, calm waves, perfect for families, even if it gets a bit busy.

Kissamos 730 01, Greece Get directions

@travelleisure

"Located on the island of Crete in Greece, Elafonissi Beach is famous for its calm, clear turquoise waters and picture-perfect pink sands. It offers hiking trails and abundant sunbathing space, with optimal visit times in May and September." - Stacey Leasca Stacey Leasca Stacey Leasca is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Be a Travel Writer, an online course for the next generation of travel journalists. Her photos, videos, and words have appeare

Greece's Elafonissi Beach Named the Best Beach in the World

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@cntraveler

"The largest Greek island, known for its varied terrain, ancient ruins, and beautiful beaches."

63 Gift Ideas for Women Who Travel

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@travelleisure

"Laid-back beachgoers and adrenaline junkies alike love Elafonissi for its array of activities and spectacular scenery. The pink sand and mountainous backdrop will keep shutterbugs happy, while active types can partake in surfing, kiteboarding, or windsurfing." - Travel + Leisure Editors

20 Best Beaches in Europe

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@afar

"Elafonisi Beach, Crete Crete has an abundance of shoreline, and its Elafonisi Beach is one of the best in Greece . This sprawling piece of pink and white sand opens up to the turquoise sea. Lifeguards keep a constant watch, and so the beach is suitable for all ages. You can come here on a day trip from Chania. Also nearby is the Chrysoskalitissa monastery, and the Agia Irini lighthouse."

The Best Beaches in Greece

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Sue Vogt-Skard

Google

Beautiful spacious beach but even in late October too overcrowded for my liking. On the plus side it’s a beautiful beach and there is a lot of space. The water is also really calm and shallow so brilliant for kids. Easy to wade out to the little island too which is great. Even though it was crowded it was a nice laid back vibe with the people that were there. As to whether the beach is pink this depends on the time of year and also time of day. It’s only the beach at the water’s edge that is pink and on the day we visited it appeared much more pink heading towards sunset around 5-6pm. It’s easy to park and walk down the beach and a cafe/supermarket before you head down which is perfect to get drinks and snacks. Very long winding drive to get to the beach so best as a full day trip. However I wouldn’t be happy to return in the peak season as even at 4pm in late October it really was very busy.

Milos Doderovic

Google

There is a paid parking lot above the beach, but your car will be in a safe place! The color of the water is enchanting, the sand seems to be from another planet... Possible strong gusts of wind, among other things like on the whole island....

Ben Eveling (Ben's fishing adventures)

Google

Really beautiful place, with loads of beach. Off season there was plenty of room even on a Sunday. If you want a bit more seclusion, wade over to the island and walk as far as you fancy towards the end of the Southern end. Swimming in the lagoon is nice if you’re not confident as you’re rarely out of your depth. If you like open water, just go left and you’re in open water, with rocks and fish to peer at. It’s a truly lovely beach, with gorgeous clear water and lots of sandy strand. Only some of the sand is pink though, so don’t expect a shocking beach colour - check the waterline for pink bits.

C Lensby

Google

Very nice beach with white and pink sand. Shallow water. Worth a visit 20euro for at parasol and two sunbeds. Don't take the first parking spot with the guys in the yellow vests. Even if they wave you in. Go all the way down to the Mega parking.

Megan Nicole

Google

We arrived at this beach before 10 am as advised. We got a prime spot right in front of the beach and we had so many options to choose from when it came to where we sit. The beach had the pink sand in 3 areas that I saw. It’s very shallow so you can walk all over the place. Water was chillier than expected but nice!

Gosia Londonerka

Google

Beautiful beach, the best one in Crete. The beach is long, water is warm and shallow. Place is perfect for kids :) Water is turquoise colour and sand is pink in some places. There were some sunbeds available for 20 EUR per day. We left the car at the parking for 5 EUR a day. The you have to walk for about 15 minutes from the parking. We traveled from Agia Marina and it was about 1.5 hours through the mountains but it is definitely worth it 👍😎

Rafael Vieira

Google

Unique and picturesque beach, the water colours are fantastic, super clear, but very shallow waters (max to waist level) and some pink sand. Easy walk of 15min from the car park, which costs from €3 to €5 for the whole day. You can cross the lagoon to the next patch of sand, which is less crowded and has nice views too. There are some kiosks near the entrance to the beach, some tavernas along the path and a mini market beside the car park. There are umbrellas and sunbeds for rent, but when we visited there was plenty of space to put down your own towels and umbrella. This is a beach very worth visiting, and kid friendly.

kirbyli0415

Google

Very beautiful, chilling and nice beach. Sea water is clean. Even though here is a very busy beach, the size is decent so we didn’t feel it was over crowded. The pink sand was visible however not able to be capture with my iPhone.