Where to stay in Crete? 6 Best Areas + a Warning!

Crete is a grand holiday island, but it’s also a surprisingly large island (it’s Greece‘s largest) and choosing a place to stay can seem overwhelming.

In this guide, I tell you all about the best areas to stay in Crete as a tourist and come up with specific travel tips that you can use on your trip to Crete.

At the bottom, you will also get a warning about a holiday town you should only stay in if you are looking for something particular…

Where to stay in Crete? Let’s get into the guide.

1. Chania – an exciting city close to the airport ✈️

There are two main airports in Crete, one of which is located near the large town of Chania in the western part of Crete.

Chania is an exciting Greek city with both tourists and a local atmosphere.

I have already written quite a bit about Chania in my guide to the best things to do in Crete, so I easily and elegantly skip over mentioning a lot more about the city here.

I don’t really recommend staying inside Chania, as here you miss out on the fantastic beaches that Crete is so well known for.

Unless you travel to Crete in winter, it would be a shame to stay inside the actual city of Chania. I wanted to mention Chania in this guide as it’s a brilliant city.

If you travel to Crete in the colder months, you can see the best hotels in Chania and book online here.

2. Agia Marina – best place to stay for families 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Agia Marina is the perfect area when you travel to Crete with children. I was here a few times in my very young days when I was with the family on a classic charter trip, which was perfect.

On my most recent trip to Crete, I could wander around Agia Marina as an adult. Now, my adult brain can also approve of the area as a good place in Crete.

It is perfect for families with children because there are many good hotels, beaches and entertainment.

This is a classic summer holiday area with many restaurants, souvenir shops and excursion opportunities.

For the slightly older clientele, there are quite a few walking-in-town options and, among other things, a beach club that looks quite nice.

Staying in Agia Marina on a trip to Crete is a good choice.

Here you are close to the airport, can go on all the excursions you want or just enjoy the relaxation at your hotel with a few detours into Chania town.

See the best deals on hotels in Agia Marina here.

3. Platanias – stay right by the beach 🏖

I stayed in Platanias on my trip to Crete in the summer of 2021, and it was absolutely perfect.

Platanias has gradually merged entirely with Agia Marina, where the latter is a little closer to Chania town.

In Platanias, many families with children also seemed to have a great time during my trip. 

The beach in Platanias is very similar to the one in Agia Marina. Also, it has a view of the beautiful rocky island out in the sea.

On the main street, restaurants, bars and souvenir shops lie side by side, with countless opportunities to do something.

There is a very steep hill right by the ‘central square’ in Platanias, where you get up quickly and thus get a phenomenal view of the whole area.

Plenty of restaurants allow you to sit with a sea view and enjoy your dinner while the sun goes down.

I highly recommend staying in Platanias on your trip to Crete – it’s like Agia Marina, easy and convenient and many good hotels when I check the selection from home.

See the best hotels and book online here.

4. Rethymno – beautiful city with plenty to do

Then we have to go a little further away from Chania and east to Rethymno, located about halfway between Chania and Heraklion (the central city on Crete and where we will get to in a bit).

Rethymno, like Chania, is a port city that is the ‘capital’ of its own province on Crete, so this is one of the island’s larger cities.

I stayed in Rethymno (there, by the way, can be spelt several ways ) on a trip to Crete maybe 10 years ago and was very happy about it; just like in the areas mentioned above, it is a classic summer holiday area with all that entails of restaurants, bars and amusements.

However, Rethymno is slightly more laid back than Platanias and Agia Marina, where you are never far from the nearest Scandinavian tourist :D.

Rethymno town is extremely cosy ala Chania and has this classic Greek atmosphere with narrow streets and cosy restaurants.

In the area around the city, there are several good sandy beaches, and it is a tourist area, so there are plenty of good hotels.

See the best hotels in Rethymno here.

5. Heraklion – stay in the largest city in Crete

Heraklion is the ‘capital’ and the largest city in Crete.

In other words, it is a European metropolis with all that it entails, and it is thus not immediately an area where you, as a tourist, would choose to stay on a summer holiday to Crete.

Like the rest of Crete, Heraklion has a tumultuous history with many takeovers by the Arabs, the Venetians and the Turks.

You can still feel the history in Heraklion, so it’s a place I recommend stopping by when you travel to Crete.

But not immediately if you travel to Crete in the summer – because it gets boiling there, and it can be a bit of pressure to walk around the big city when it’s 35 degrees.

The city deserves a place on the list of where to stay in Crete, as it makes good sense to stay here if you travel to Crete outside the high season.

At the same time, you will be pretty close to Knossos, which for many, is the main reason for travelling to Crete outside the high season 😉

See the best hotels in Heraklion here.

6. Eastern Crete – many hidden gems

I must admit I fall short here – I have never been further east in Crete than Knossos.

When I researched where to stay in Crete this summer and which areas would be interesting to drive to in our rental car, I found an incredible number of places in eastern Crete.

That’s why I mention it here – to draw attention to the fact that Crete is a massive island and that the eastern part of the island is also packed with beautiful sandy beaches and unique nature.

I have wondered about areas like Agios Nikolaos, Elounda and Sitia, but unfortunately, I have never been there.

However, it could be an excellent offer for those who want to go to Crete but don’t need to ‘meet the neighbour’ down at the restaurant in town.

Warning: Malia is a party destination! 🍻

And then just a warning for those who want to go to Crete and relax. You shouldn’t to travel to Malia – it’s Crete’s answer to Sunny Beach or Agia Napa in Cyprus, where the music throbs and the drinks flow 😀

Here, the famous main street is packed with bars and discotheques, filled with young Brits who like to party all night long.

So if you want to go on a party trip to Crete, then Malia is, on the other hand, the right area to stay in 😉

I hope you can use this guide to where to stay in Crete and that you are ready to book your trip to one of the island’s best areas.

If you have any questions for Crete, please comment below, and I’ll do my best to help.

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