Beaches

The beaches in Crete's popular north coast are monitored by The Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature. The nearest beaches to The Mill, at Rapaniana, Tavronitis and Maleme, tend to consist of coarse grey sand and pebbles, and are not suitable for the serious sand castle builder. As a general rule, the further west you are from Hania the less sandy are the beaches, whereas the further east you are from The Mill, the sandier the resort beaches become.

Resort Beaches By the term resort beaches, I mean those beaches from which water sport facilities (jet skis, pedal boats, paragliding, surfboards, banana boats and the like) are available. Driving east from The Mill along the old coast road towards Hania, you will pass through the resorts of: Platanias (15 minutes) Agia Marina (30 minutes).  Driving times given above are from The Mill, and are for guidance purposes only. The above beaches have been awarded The European Blue Flag. Along the 4km of coast line between Gerani and Agia Marina there are numerous low-rise hotels with swimming pools and pool-side bars offering facilities to both residents and non residents, providing of course the non residents purchase the occasional fresh orange juice and toastie from the bar.

Secluded Beaches Those Guests not wishing to avail themselves of the facilities of the resort beaches can explore the north west coastline of the Gramvousa Peninsula, or the south west coast around Elafonissi, where unexplored coves and inlets abound.