Imagine one of the most beautiful beaches in Greece, nestled in a canyon leading out to the sea. Inside the narrow slip between two cliffs, it has white sand reaching out into turquoise waters that turn to deep blue as it joins the sea. Sounds like a dream? Not quite: it’s just Seitan Limania Beach in Crete.
Located just 22 kilometers away from central Chania, this beach is one of Crete’s most beautiful (and the beaches in Crete are some of the best beaches in the Balkans).
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Where to Stay in Crete
The island of Crete is so big and diverse that it’s almost impossible to make everyone happy when It comes to deciding on the best areas to stay on the island.
Since you will most probably be arriving at the capital, Heraklion, or spending some time in the wonderful western town of Chania, we have included here some of the top accommodations in both places. For more places to stay in Crete, check this site.
Here are our top suggestions for where to stay in Crete. In most cases, budget means hotel stays for around $40 a night, mid-range is from about $50-80 per night, and luxury will cost over $100 per night.
Budget: When it comes to Heraklion with a limited budget, check the great comfort of So Young Hostel. For Chania town, instead, we suggest Casa Latina, in the old town.
Mid-range: With a more generous budget, discover the comfortable Lato Annex Boutique Rooms in Heraklion and El Greco Hotel in Chania.
Luxury: Want to splurge in Crete? We recommend a stay at the magnificent Artion City Boutique Hotel in Heraklion and Consolato Boutique in Chania.
How to Visit Seitan Limania Beach
We went on a beautiful, sunny day near the end of April before the high season began — so I’m not sure how crowded it would be at the peak of summer. Other people were enjoying the beach, but it didn’t feel crowded at all when we went.
Though there were a few goats.
How to Get to Seitan Limania Beach (Stefanou Beach)
As with much of Crete, your life will be better off if you have a rental car. There is a decent bus network between all the major towns and cities of Crete, but it’s often hard to find a bus that will take you to some of the beautiful beaches and sights in Crete. For example, when we visited near the end of April, no buses were running yet between Elafonissi (Crete’s pink beach) and Chania.
However, if you are staying in Chania and you have a group of people with you (or don’t mind dropping around 80-90 euro roundtrip in taxi costs) it is possible to arrange a taxi service to drop you off and pick you up again at Seitan Limania beach.
Our taxi cost 45 euros each way from where we were staying in Kalamaki, about 10 minutes outside of Chania. If you’re in Chania proper, I’d imagine your taxi costs would be about 10-20 euros cheaper roundtrip.
Read also:
Where to Stay in Chania: 13 Accommodations & Hotels We Love!
The trip takes about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on where in the Chania area you are leaving from and how terrifying your taxi driver is. Be prepared for your heart to jump out of your chest as your car or taxi reaches the final stretch: a series of narrow switchbacks with little room for error.
Our taxi driver accelerated after every hairpin turn (although we were going downhill down an incredibly steep mountain and there was no need to accelerate, but I digress…). However, if you’re afraid of heights… the real terror hasn’t even begun yet.
See, getting to the parking lot alive is only the first half of the battle. Looking down onto the gorgeous bay below, it’ll quickly dawn on you that you have to get down there somehow.
Looking out at the water, there’s a more well-worn-looking path on your left-hand side. Paradoxically, that’s not the route you want to take, as it soon becomes a cliff. Instead, if you walk towards the beach and veer slightly to the right, you’ll notice a better path down.
Read also:
7 Best Beaches in Crete: Picking the Perfect Cretan Beaches for Your Vacation
The hike down takes about 20 minutes if you’re in good shape and aren’t particularly afraid of heights, longer if you’re more afraid or need to take it slower. It’s not particularly difficult, but you do have to be careful with where you put your feet, and there are a few spots where it is quite narrow on the way down.
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The Goats of Seitan Limania
As we arrived at the parking lot for Seitan Limania beach and tried to quell our respective panic attacks and say our thanks to God for surviving our maniacal driver, we heard a peculiar tinkling sound. Turns out it was the bell tied to the neck of a mama goat and her baby!
Adorably, they lead us down the path to the beach, looking back at us quizzically as if to wonder what was making us take so long.
However, once the goats reached the beach, their reign of terror began. The mama goat ended up stealing the food of someone who was swimming and had unsuspectingly left their food unwatched. Once she exhausted their food stores, she came for everyone else, unabashedly begging for food while her baby goat watched from the rocks (he didn’t seem to like walking in the sand).
When mama goat made her way over to us, I didn’t feed her as the other people on the beach were doing (I try not to feed animals human food unless I am pretty sure it won’t make them sick. I have no idea what goats are supposed to eat but I’m pretty sure turkey and cheese sandwiches are not it).
Instead, I attempted a quick selfie with mama goat.
She obliged.
And then she pissed all over my brand new white dress behind me, that I had been using as a pillow in the sand. Here’s a photo of her caught mid-stream.
(You know your friends are friends for life when instead of shooing away the goat peeing on your dress, they are recording every moment for posterity).
Read also:
Advice for Visiting Seitan Limania Beach
Bring proper footwear
Hiking down the mountain from the parking lot to Seitan Limania is tough, but not impossible, in flip-flops. I was wearing Birkenstocks and I was comfortable but would have much-preferred sneakers. My friends who were wearing jelly sandals or flip-flops had a tougher time.
You don’t need hiking boots (though they wouldn’t hurt) but sneakers would be the best bet.
Pack everything you need for the day
There are absolutely zero amenities at Seitan Limania beach… which is part of why it’s so great (and why it’s not that crowded). So, be sure to bring plenty of water (at least a liter per person – and more is better – you’ll need it!) and lots of sunscreen, plus a towel, food, any drinks you want, your headphones or book… basically everything you need for the day.
Leave no trace
Anything you bring, please be prepared to bring back up with you. There are no trash cans on the beach, but there are garbage bins in the parking lot. Be sure to bring an extra bag to pack up all your waste from the day so you can throw it out once you get back up to the parking lot. Keep Seitan Limania beautiful for those to come in the future!
Watch for goats
The goats were walking around with such confidence and assurance that I’m sure this is neither the first nor the last time they’ll terrorize Seitan Limania. They will ravage your food if you keep it unsupervised, so be sure to hide it well or have someone hold onto it if you don’t want them to eat all your beach snacks.
There are no toilets
There is nothing in the way of a toilet at Seitan Limania beach. If you need to go number 1, that’s what the sea is for. All other numbers, please hold.
Get there early
Because the beach is between two canyons, the beach gets darker earlier than other beaches, as soon as the sun sets past a certain point. In mid-April, even though the sunset was around 8 PM, the beach was out of the sun by 5:45 PM.
So you’ll probably want to leave about 2 hours before sunset, as your last hours before sunset will not be getting any sun. if you don’t want to worry about these details, book an organized tour like this one to visit in total comfort.
The water is freaking cold
This may partly be because we went in mid-April, but other beaches we went to in Greece, including more northern beaches on mainland Greece such as Agia Triada, had much warmer water. We were told by our taxi drivers that the water there is always cold because the sun doesn’t get much of a chance to warm up the water because of the cliffs on either side.
5 Things to Bring with You to Crete
If you’re planning a trip to Crete, you’ll want to pack all the normal essentials, but here are a few things we strongly recommend bringing that may not have crossed your mind. For more packing tips, check out our complete Greece packing list.
– A physical guidebook, on paper or Kindle. We love Lonely Planet Greece for this region and strongly recommend it to supplement blogs. Blogs are great, but a combination of a blog and a guidebook is key to having the best access to information easily at your fingertips.
– A water bottle with a filter. While generally, the tap water in Santorini is drinkable, we generally recommend using a water bottle with a purifying filter to reduce your plastic consumption and ensure you won’t drink any funny-tasting water on your stomach that could make your trip unpleasant! There are places on the island where the water tastes like minerals.
We recommend the GRAYL water bottle – it filters water perfectly in an instant so that you can even drink from lakes, bad taps, etc.
– Motion sickness pills. Santorini roads are winding, especially around the coast. If you have a weak stomach as we do, save yourself and bring some non-drowsy motion sickness pills.
– Wet wipes, hand sanitizer, TP & other Balkan transit needs. Bathrooms in the Balkans tend to be… how can we say it?… not so well-stocked. Save yourself the disappointment and bring a mini-rescue pack of wet wipes & hand sanitizer.
– Travel safety items. We think Santorini is very safe to travel to, but at the same time, it never hurts to be prepared! Some people like to carry money belts, but neither Stephanie nor I use these. Instead, we both carry the same PacSafe anti-theft backpack.
It has locking zippers, slash-proof construction with metal mesh hidden in the fabric, and tons of other smart security features — all while being cute and stylish enough to be our everyday bag. We recommend it highly for both male and female travelers, as it’s neutral enough to be unisex. We also strongly recommend travel insurance! Our recommendation is at the bottom of the post.
More Crete Travel Resources
Most people who come to Crete explore different parts of this beautiful island. Here are additional Crete travel resources to help you with your trip. Start getting ready by checking what Crete is known for!
We have some great travel resources to help you with your trip. First read our guide to planning a trip to Greece, which covers visas, budgets, vaccines, and much more. We also have a Balkan currency guide that explains how money works in Greece and local tipping customs.
Since you’ll be in Rethymnon, check out our Instagram guide to Rethymnon next, our guide to things to do in Rethymnon, and the best Rethymnon hotels.
We also have Chania, Heraklion, and Rethymnon itineraries.
If you’re still trying to work out where to go on the island, check out our guide to the best places to visit in Crete and our favorite Crete beaches.
If this will be one of your first trips to the Greek islands, check out our massive Greek Island hopping guide as well as our recommendations for where to go in Greece and when is the best time to visit.
We publish new content about the Balkans almost every day! For more information about traveling to Greece and the Balkans, bookmark our Greece and Balkan travel pages so you can find out what’s new before your trip.
Planning a Trip to Crete? Don’t Forget Travel Insurance!
Make sure you always travel to Crete with a valid travel insurance policy. Travel here includes outdoor activities and travel to highly touristed sites. You need to be covered in case you have an accident or fall victim to theft. Travel insurance will help you recover your expenses and continue to enjoy your trip.
For travel insurance, I use World Nomads. I’ve been a happy customer of theirs for almost three years, and I’ve never had an issue when making a claim. I’m happy to refer them to anyone I meet.
Pin this Guide to Visit Seitan Limania Beach in Crete!
Originally from California, Allison has been living in Bulgaria for the last two years and is obsessed with traveling around the Balkans. She has been published in National Geographic, CNN Arabic, Matador Network, and the Huffington Post. She loves befriending dogs, drinking coffee, geeking out about wine, and cooking food from around the world.
Wonderful blog on a beautiful beach! I will be visiting in July and imagine it will be much more crowded, but hopefully the water will be warmer! Lovely pictures with creative, humorous, descriptive, well thought out words! Thanks for the tips – will be sure to bring plenty of water and proper shoes!
Thank you Mary! I definitely imagine it will be more crowded but hopefully much, much warmer. And yes, definitely do, you’ll be grateful… signed someone who did the hike in flip flops 😛
hey there,
did you ladies opt for taxi becasue it was far easier, or is thre just no public transportation option to this beach at all???
Thanks!
Hi Keegan, theoretically, there is public transportation from Chania only in the summer season, but we visited in late April so I’m not sure. Let us know if you are successfully able to take public transit and we’ll happily update the article to help future travelers!
Hi there!
My cruise ports in Chania – and i was thinking its much cheaper to hop in a can and go to Seitan than to go on a tour through the ship. Do you agree? And also how long will it take by taxi? How do you compare this beach to two of the others i am thinking about, Elanfonsissi or Balos lagoon? I hae seen all 3 in pictures and they look amazing. Can you give me the pros and cons from my cruise port of each one? Thank you
Hi Karen, I would assume if you were traveling with others than a cab should be cheaper than a tour. It should take about 40 minutes by taxi. I haven’t been to Elafonissi or Balos so I have no personal experience with these. But both are much further from your cruise port so I would pick Seitan Limania if you want a more relaxing day.
How long will you be in the area? If you have to pick only one, this would be my first choice. Elafonissi is gorgeous, fairly easy to get to, and you will not be sorry if you choose to go. It’s a bit of a drive, but definitely less challenging to get to than the others. We had our hearts set on Balos, but there was actually a clause in our rental car agreement preventing us from taking the car there. Apparently it’s quite rough on vehicles, and we were told by locals that a boat trip is the best way to get there. Unfortunately, we ran out of days and had to cross that off of our list. Seitan Limania was by far the most unusual and scenic beach I’ve ever been to. Just getting to it is an awesome adventure between the steep, windy road and the climb down the mountain! It was honestly my favorite beach in Greece. If you want a nice relaxing day at a beautiful beach, go to Elafonissi and you won’t be disappointed. If you want an adventure and a great story for when you get home, go to Seitan Limania. It doesn’t matter how you choose to get there.
Thanks for this comment Mindi! It was very helpful 🙂
I have visited it last week. It was veryy nice. Very nice blog!!
Glad you enjoyed, Mike. Thank you!