CalmBeach Greece
Sandy
Sandy beaches in Heraklion
14 sandy beaches in Heraklion: with sand underfoot rather than pebbles. Check live wind & waves for each beach on CalmBeach before you go.
- 14beaches
- 11organized
- 8with photos
Looking for sand rather than pebbles in Heraklion? These 14 beaches are recorded as sandy, so they are easier on bare feet and better for children playing. Check wind and waves in CalmBeach before you go.
The beaches
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Potamos MaliasThe wetland sands beside the Minoan palace — Potamos lies east of Malia town, on the north coast of Heraklion prefecture, a long stretch of fine sand beside the Malia wetland. Its name, meaning…
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Kommos
The Minoan harbour below Phaistos — A long (~2 km) golden beach with dunes, tamarisks and carob trees, on the south coast. At its edge lies a Minoan settlement that served as the…
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KarterosThe shore of the general and ancient Amnisos — Karteros stretches about 7 kilometres east of Heraklion, on the western part of a long front of fine sand, where the river of the same name meets the…
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GouvesThe farm plain that became a seaside resort — The beach at Gouves stretches along the north coast of Heraklion, about 18 kilometers east of the city, in front of the seaside settlement of Kato…
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StalidaWhere the flocks once paused to rest — Stalida spreads along Crete's north coast, about 30 kilometers east of Heraklion, between Hersonissos and Malia. Its name is said to come from the…
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Photo credits
- Potamos Malias: rene boulay, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Karteros: Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0
- Agia Pelagia: Karel Macalik from Prague, Czech republic, CC BY 2.0
- Gouves: pepanos, CC BY 3.0
- Stalida: Jan M, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Analipsi: Wouter Hagens, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Malia: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0
Good to know
Which beaches in Heraklion are sandy?
The beaches listed here are recorded as sand rather than pebbles or rock. Shorelines shift with storms and seasons, so the mix can change from year to year.
Does sand mean shallow water?
Not always. Sand describes the shore, not the depth — some sandy beaches drop away quickly. Open a beach to see its recorded depth, and check live wind and waves before you swim.
When is the sea calmest here?
Across 14 of the beaches on this page, the open water in front of them is typically 0.72 m in June, 0.83 m in July and 0.84 m in August when the meltemi is at its strongest, and 0.77 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 14 of the beaches on this page the sea is typically 19.6 °C in May, 23.0 °C in June, 25.4 °C in July, 26.1 °C in August and 25.3 °C in September — ideal at the height of summer, mild in June. By October it is 23.2 °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.
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