CalmBeach Greece
Family beaches
Family beaches in Chania
24 shallow, organised beaches in Chania: all with easy access, picked for young children. Check live wind & waves on CalmBeach.
- 24beaches
- 24organized
- 14with photos
Travelling with young children in Chania? We picked these 24 beaches because they are organised, not hard to reach, and recorded as shallow. How quickly the water deepens varies from beach to beach, so check wind and waves in CalmBeach before you go.
The beaches
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Paralia Agion ApostolonThe sandy coves with the chapel of the Twelve Apostles — Agioi Apostoloi beach stretches about three kilometres west of Chania town, on the north coast of Crete. It is a series of sandy coves wrapped around…
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StavrosThe bay of "Zorba" — This is where the famous final scene of "Zorba the Greek" (1964) was filmed, with Anthony Quinn dancing the sirtaki against the mountain. Partly…
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Marathi
The fishing harbor with traces of ancient Minoa — Marathi lies on the southeastern shore of the Akrotiri peninsula of Chania, about 17 kilometres east of town, looking across the bay of Souda towards…
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KalathasThe Akrotiri bay with the little islet — Kalathas sits on the west side of the Akrotiri peninsula, about 12 kilometres northeast of Chania town, at the heart of an open natural bay. The…
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Loutraki
The enclosed cove of Akrotiri — Loutraki lies on the southeastern side of the Akrotiri peninsula of Chania, next to Marathi, about 16 kilometres from town. It is an enclosed cove…
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Nea Chora
The city beach with the fishing harbor — Nea Chora is the town beach of Chania, a few minutes' walk west of the Venetian harbour. It takes its name from the namesake quarter, the 'new town'…
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Elafonisi
The pink sand and the lagoon — At the southwest tip of Crete, an islet is joined to the mainland by a shallow lagoon (~20-40 cm) you wade across on foot. The sand takes on a pink…
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KalyvakiThe sandy strand at the mouth of the Almyros — Kalyvaki is the westernmost beach of Georgioupoli, in Apokoronas of Chania, beside the mouth of the Almyros river, which flows all year round. The…
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Paralia Koum Kapi (Kum Kapisi)
The city sands below the Gate of the Sand — Koum Kapi is the town beach of Chania, just east of the Venetian harbour, in front of the historic quarter of the same name. Its name comes from the…
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Chrysi AktiThe golden sands just west of Chania town — Chrysi Akti sits just a few kilometres west of Chania town, in Nea Kydonia, right next to Agioi Apostoloi. It owes its name to the golden colour of…
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Paralia FragkokastellouThe sands beneath the Venetian castle — Fragkokastello beach stretches out in front of the Venetian fortress of the same name, on the south coast of Sfakia, about twelve kilometres east of…
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Agios Onoufrios
The Akrotiri coves with the little chapel — Agios Onoufrios lies on the Akrotiri peninsula of Chania, Crete, about eight kilometres from the city, near Kounoupidiana. The small settlement and…
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Orthi AmmosThe dunes of the Drosoulites — Orthi Ammos stretches beside Frangokastello in Sfakia, Crete, about eighty kilometres south of Chania. It owes its name, 'upright sand', to the tall…
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Photo credits
- Paralia Agion Apostolon: Maurizio Ceol, CC BY 3.0
- Stavros: Roton Piotr, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Kalathas: Jules Verne Times Two, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kalyvaki: Tanya Dedyukhina, CC BY 3.0
- Chrysi Akti: Cretan2014, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Paralia Fragkokastellou: Marc Ryckaert (MJJR), CC BY 3.0
- Orthi Ammos: Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0
- Mavros Molos: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY 3.0
- Pachia Ammos Stavrou: Maurizio Ceol, CC BY 3.0
- Kera: Sorin Craciun, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Kyani Akti: Stegop, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Kalamaki: Roton Piotr, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Pachia Ammos: darkobajic, CC BY 3.0
Good to know
Which beaches in Chania are family-friendly?
Every beach on this list meets three criteria: it is organised, it has no difficult access, and our data records its water as shallow. How fast the seabed drops away underfoot is not something any map can guarantee — for small children, pick a calm, sheltered day as well.
How do I compare sea conditions?
CalmBeach checks wind, waves and exposure, so you can compare less exposed beaches and more comfortable visiting times.
When is the sea calmest here?
Across 24 of the beaches on this page, the open water in front of them is typically 0.55 m in June, 0.58 m in July and 0.60 m in August when the meltemi is at its strongest, and 0.65 m in September. June is the calmest month of the season. We calculate these figures ourselves from European Copernicus wave-model data at 4.2 km resolution. They describe the sea offshore, not the shelter of an individual cove — a bay protected by a headland will usually be calmer than this.
How warm is the water, month by month?
Off 24 of the beaches on this page the sea is typically 19.3 °C in May, 23.1 °C in June, 25.7 °C in July, 26.5 °C in August and 25.2 °C in September — ideal at the height of summer, mild in June. By October it is 23.1 °C. August is the warmest month. Satellite measurements, 1995–2024, from a sea cell about 5 km offshore; shallow bays usually run warmer than this.
Wind and waves change every day. See live conditions for any of these beaches before you drive out.
Open the live map →