As part of our trip three week trip to Crete in 2021, we decided to spend the first week based in Chania to give us easy access to the western side of the island, including Balos, Elafonisi and Chania itself. Similar to previous trips, we hired a car as that made it much easier to get around, although most of the places we visited here can also be reached by organised bus and coach trips. Read on to find out what to see and do in the Western side of Crete, some incredible restaurants, beautiful pink beaches and stunning scenery.
We’ve visited Crete several times before- and have visited Knossos Palace and Heraklion, Margarites and Moni Arkadi, Loutro, and much more- check out our blog posts to read more about what to see and do on the island.
During this trip, on our first day we arrived at the airport, and then travelled to our airbnb. After unpacking and taking in the beautiful Cretan scenery, we went to a little restaurant that was recommended to us and happened to not be too far away- Frosinis Garden. Check out the food and drink section below to read more!
Day 2: Phalasarna
On our second day of the trip, we drove to Phalasarna and spent almost a whole day in the area. Located on the North-Western coast, around an hour’s drive from Chania, Phalasarna is a seaside town, and when visiting today you can see the remains of the ancient city and port. This was in fact main reason for our visit, and the nearby beaches were an added bonus!
Remains at the Archaelogical site of Phalasarna
Archaeological site of Phalasarna
Founded in the 7th century by the Dorians, the ruins that remain from the ancient city are impressive: you can see really well preserved cisterns, ruins of a quay and towers.
The city was ideally placed next to the water and according to archaeologists, appears to have been a closed harbour town for protection. There are impressive ruins of what were fortification walls nearer towards the sea, and numerous other ruins dotted around.
Cisterns
Church of St. George
Poseidon’s Throne
Remains of the Channel Entrance to Harbour
Remains of the Rectangular Tower
You reach the archaelogical site by driving down a dirt track (at slow speed), and the first ruin you come across is the throne. Continue along the dirt track, and then upon arrival at the site, there is some space for parking, and then you are free to explore the site. There was no entry fee when we visited, and there were limited, but some information boards dotted around. To read more about visiting and find out the history of the site, check out this link.
Outside the fenced area of the site, there are other ruins to explore, and there are temple ruins, as well as a little chapel to St George above the archaelogical site.
Above and right: maps of the site
Phalasarna’s beaches
Aside from the ancient city, the beaches at Phalasarna are also worth visiting. There are a couple of big beaches, and several other small beaches dotted around, with beautiful golden sand. There are numerous vendors walking around selling fresh fruit etc.
Nearby, you will also find a beach bar- Orange Blue Bar– which is worth visiting and en route from the free parking Small Phalasarna beach. The bar has a good selection of drinks and snacks, including pizza and burgers.
Phalasarna beach
Palaiochora coast
Cobbled streets
Chalikia Beach in Paleochora
Steps leading up to the Castle of Selinos
Day 3: Palaiochora
Having never visited the south side of the island, we decided to do a day trip to Palaiochora. The journey from where we were staying from near Chania took around 80 minutes or so, but the views during the drive were very pleasant, and it was nice to visit a new part of the island.
The town itself is quite small, but quaint. After finding a spot to park, we spent a bit of time walking around and checking out the shops, grabbing a cafe freddo. The town was quite pretty, with cobbled streets, so it was nice walking around and exploring. The beach on the western side of the town was sandy, but the beaches on the eastern side were the complete opposite and had big pebbles, so worth bearing this in mind.
For lunch, we visited Methexis which was delicious and highly recommended- see more in the food and drink section below.
Seafront at Palaiochora
Castel Selino
Located on the southern side of the town, Castel Selino is the remains of a fortress which was found by the Venetians in the 13th century. The castle was almost square in shape and had two main towers. After its construction, over the years that followed, the castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times- by rebels, the Turks after the invasion in 1653 and again shortly after.
If you visit today, you can see the remains of the castle, with stunning views over the sea and the town below.
Entrance was free, but do bear in mind that the castle is perched on top of a headland and there are some steps to climb, but this makes for an incredible view across the sea and the town below.
Views towards the sea from the Castle of Selinos
Olive oil tasting at Anoskeli
On the drive back from Palaiochora to Chania, we stopped by Anoskeli– an winery and olive oil producer. Open to the public between April and November, you can pop in for olive oil tasting, and this includes a tour of the facilities, tasting of several of their olive oils, some snacks.
The tour was led by an experienced tour guide and it was very interesting to find out more about how olive oil is made, what to look out for when buying olive oil.
Overall it was a very informative and relaxing experience, with nice view over olive groves. There is also an option to do a wine tour- but we decided to save that for another day later in the trip. To find out more and to book, click here.
Views towards the olive trees
Olive oil tasting
Day 4: Elafonisi
The day trip to Elafonisi was perhaps one of the highlights of this trip- not only because of the stunning beaches but also because of the incredibly scenic drive (although with numerous tight roads and hairpins), the beautiful Chrysoskalitissa Monastery and the Cave of Agia Sophia. Given there are quite a few photos to share, we have put together a separate blog post on this day trip here.
Elafonisi beach
Chania harbour
Day 5: Day trip to Chania
Having spent quite some time in Heraklion and Rethymnon on previous trips, during this trip we decided to spend a whole day in Chania to explore the city a bit more than we did on previous occasions.
Click here to find out more about what Chania has to offer- including markets, museums and Minoan ruins- and amazing restaurants.
Boat trip to Balos and Gramvousa
Day 6: Balos and Gramvousa
On our last day in Western Crete, we took a boat from Kissamos Port to Gramvousa and Balos for the day. This was a great day out, with great views, so we have also put together a seperate blog post on Balos and Gramvousa here.
Our favourite food in Western Crete and Chania
Frosinis Garden- Voukolies
Frosinis Garden was recommendeed to us by our airbnb host- and it was located not too far where we were staying so decided to have dinner there. The place was incredible, full of various trinkets dotted around on display. The place was full of locals when we visited- so we immediately knew the food must have been good, and everything we ordered was delicious.
One point to note is that the place only takes cash- we only found out after ordering drinks so had to drive to a nearby village with a cash point which was slightly frustrating! So do bring cash with you if you visit.
Methexis - Palaiochora
Whilst walking around the town, we came across numerous cute restaurants, some with great menus. We settled on Methexis for lunch, located on the seafront, and were not disappointed! We had some starters to share including dolmades and stuffed courgette flowers, and fried squid which were just delicious. We would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Palaiochora.
Moutoupáki- Chania
Whilst exploring the cobbled alleys of Chania, we stumbled across Moutoupáki, a small Greek restaurant almost on the edge of the old town. We were sat outside, and were able to enjoy a variety of dishes, including snails and fresh octopus. Whilst the restaurant was busy, it is slightly tucked away from the main road so is rather secluded and a great place to sit and enjoy lunch or dinner.
Achilleas Fish Restaurant- Chania
This place was recommended to us by our airbnb host, and it certainly did not disappoint. Predominantly having a seafood menu, the restaurant offered a good selection of dishes. Our favourite dishes were squid in black squid ink and grilled local oyster (pleurotus) mushrooms- which were just delicious!
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