Day 1: Rethymno to Palaiochora
Day 2: Walking around Palaiochora
Day 3: The (Sandy) Beach
Day 4: The Beach Again
Day 5: Walking around the Peninsula
Day 6: The Beach Again
Day 1: Rethymno (Ρέθυμνο) to Palaiochora (Παλαιόχωρα)
It was an easy drive from Rethymno along the north coast highway, then south to the south coast. It was scenic once we turned south. These were more major roads so not too narrow or bumpy. It’s amazing to see obviously planted groves of trees even near the tops of mountains.
Getting gas was a bit of a challenge. Somehow the pump didn’t reset so they had to reboot it a few times. But we were eventually able to fill up the tank.
Palaiochora truly is at the end of the road. You come out of the mountains and the town is just there, along a tiny peninsula and the shore. It took some work to find our place. We had to park and ask people for directions. Turns out the road was temporarily closed because of school and road repairs. So we checked in and then moved the car closer to the hotel once the road opened. There wasn’t much reserved parking for the hotel, but plenty along the street in front. Meanwhile, we explored the town, which looks relaxed and low key like we were wanting.
We also checked out the two main beaches and the waterfront in between. Chalikia, on the east side, is the smaller rocky beach. Pachia Ammos, on the west side, is the larger sandy beach. Both have umbrellas and sunbeds.
We also hit the nearby bakery for chocolate donuts and pistachio croissants for breakfast, and the supermarket for beer, wine, and cider. And water, because they recommend you not drink the tap water here. We had an early dinner at Masasoura, on the main pedestrian street through town.
We have a nice little terrace of our own with a garden view and kind of a reflected sunset view.
Day 2: Walking around Palaiochora
It didn’t rain today but it was windy enough that we decided not to go to the beach and get sandblasted. We did go for a walk along the sandy beach, and over to the pebble beach, since we heard that if one was windy, the other might not be. We decided to just save the beach for tomorrow.
Instead we walked around some more, then spent some time enjoying our terrace and watching the wind.
The statue here is a dolphin and turtle along the waterfront, with the name of the town (in Greek) just below the dolphin.
We went to Methexis for an early dinner. It’s out on the headland away from downtown, and worth the extra walk. The lamb kleftiko and salad were great and so was the view. There’s a quiet little pebble beach of the same name across the road.
On the way back we got to see sunset reflected on the south coast and town.
Day 3: The (Sandy) Beach
Today we went to the sandy beach. It cost €10 for an umbrella and two sunbeds and we were able to pay by card. It was almost perfect beach weather, warm but breezy.
Some of the interesting flowers we’ve seen on this trip include beach daffodils and red plumeria.
We decided to eat in rather than going out.
One nice find on this trip is this Greek cider. It’s tasty and less filling than beer. It’s been our go to “dessert” drink.
Day 4: The Beach Again
Another beach day today. It’s only a couple minutes walk from where we’re staying. The road goes past the supermarket at the end of the street, and by the loading/unloading area. So today we got to see a van full of meat arriving.
Not every set of umbrellas charges the same rates. We discovered the ones next door charge extra based on how close you are to the water. So we moved over to where we were yesterday.
We went to Aristea for dinner. The staff were helping someone pack up his wine and bottles in bubble wrap and plastic. They might survive a plane crash even if he didn’t.
Day 5: Walking around the Peninsula
We took a break from the beach today for a longer walk around the edge of the peninsula. There’s a fortress out at the end but having seen the one in Rethymno we didn’t climb up there. We did get some nice views.
The water is amazingly clear. On our way back around we decided to have a couple of beers at a beach front bar.
Day 6: The Beach Again
One more trip to the beach on our last day. We went for a longer walk again first, so we got there later than usual. There were other Americans on the beach. One was pretty loud.
Pizza sounded good for dinner so we went to Pizzeria Odyssey on the waterfront. We’ve been eating early. We delayed a little today so we could see what the waterfront is like around sunset and beyond. We had a nice view from our table. (And the pizza was good too.)
We got to see the ferry arrive and see some of the lights come on in town. It’s a whole different look at dusk.
Essentials
Sleeping
There (thankfully!) aren’t any monster hotels in Palaiochora. Just smaller ones like the one we stayed in, Nicolas Beach. It’s in a great location near the sandy beach, supermarkets, and restaurants. Then again everything is close to each other in Palaiochora; it’s very compact. We had a one bedroom unit. It was clean and comfy; more quirky than stylish. Our host was very helpful with tips on sightseeing and restaurants, and available.
Read about how we find accommodations
Eating
There was a surprising number of cafes, restaurants, and tavernas to choose from. There are two good sized supermarkets in town and at least one good bakery, Anatoli.
- At Masasoura we had a meat platter and beef stifado with chip. The meat platter was a lot of food, all of it good.
- At Methexis we had Cretan salad (similar to a Greek salad but with local cheese and barley rusks) and delicious lamb kleftico, along with Charma Cretan beer. Really tasty and lots of it. There’s a beautiful view of the coast from the taverna. If you want a front row seat for the sunset book ahead.
- We had souvlaki at Aristea.
- Odyssey pizza was very good. They have a real pizza oven and thin crust pizzas. We had a Diavoli and one with bacon, corn, and peppers. And a nice waterfront view.
Read about how we find places to eat and drink
Getting Around
We had a rental car though we didn’t end up driving it once we arrived. We thought we might want to drive to nearby villages or hikes but we just … didn’t. Everything in town was walkable. The local ferry goes along the coast to Agia Roumeli, Loutro, and Sfakia. We thought about doing a day trip but the schedule doesn’t work out well so we skipped that.