Seitan Limania Beach was another must see for us on our September 2019 trip to Crete. After hiking to the Katholiko Monastery in the morning, we decided a trip to the beach would be perfect. Seitan Limania Beach, translated to Satan’s Harbor, was our choice. It is a beautiful beach hidden in a cove on the Northeast side of the Akrotiri Peninsula in Northern Crete. A little less than a half hour drive from Chania.
Directions to Seitan Limania Beach
The Beach is Southeast of Katholiko Monastery and takes about 30 minutes. Seitan Lamania is about 45 minutes from Domes Noruz, the hotel we were staying at in Chania. From Katholiko Monastery, you drive South for about 15 minutes until just before the airport, and then you turn east. Drive for about 10 minutes and you will see a small food shop and a church, the parking is just beyond this area.
From Chania area, there are a few different ways to get there, depending whether you want to avoid driving through Chania or not. Basically drive east to Souda, then Northeast to Pithari and then further Northeast to the beach.
Parking
The parking lot is easy to find, and we arrived about 1:00 in the afternoon and there was plenty of space to park. Make sure you use your parking break to avoid your car following you down the cliff. We saw many people put large rocks in front of their tires so their car did not roll down the cliff. This is basically the Trailhead as well.
The Hike Down
The climb down is short, but you definitely need to watch your footing. It appears that there are two different trails down, one on each side of the cove. We took the trail right in front of the parking lot, on the North side of the inlet. The trail is steep and the path is loose dirt, gravel and rock. There were plenty of people going up and down so it was easy to follow. I wore my Keen water shoes and felt they had enough traction for this hike. Being honest here, I was a bit intimidated by the hike down the cliff and was extra careful about my footing. It was slick, for lack of a better word.
Once at the bottom, the path to the beach is fine. The total time from parking lot to beach was about 15 minutes. We found out what can happen when a car rolls down the cliff. Right along the path was a car, obviously crashed from above. There was actually a crew with a crane from above, working to raise the car while we were there.
Seitan Limania Beach
The beach is amazing! Soft sand and beautiful blue waters! Plus lots of goats trying to be your friend!
We picked a spot right in front, and headed on in to the water. It was cold! Felt so good on such a hot day.
Cliff Jump!!
We noticed people jumping/diving into the water from various areas and heights off the cliffs. We chatted with a guy after he had dived, and next thing you knew, I followed him out to jump off the cliff. Not sure what is wrong with me, a few years ago I said I would never cliff jump again after bruising my leg in a jump. Yet here I was, following some young man up a cliff.
The cliff was slick, but we went slowly and not up too high. I watched him dive in, happy that there was someone in the water, and then when he cleared, I jumped!! It was awesome!! So very invigorating. I had forgotten the thrill of jumping in the water! Admittedly, I thought about doing it one more time but decided it was too early into our vacation to push my luck!! I was so filled with gratitude that this young guy would patiently show me where to jump from, help me to the right spot and then wait in the water and swim back with me! Made my day!!
Hike Back Up
We hung out at Seitan Limania Beach for about an hour or so and then hiked back up. The hike up was no problem, went quicker than the way down. Our timing was good as shortly after we passed the car, the crane started pulling it up, unfortunately it flipped so we never did get to see it come up. No one seemed to know what had happened, just hope no one was in the car or injured.
This is one beach I would not miss if you get the chance and don’t mind the climb in and out. It was fun, relaxing, and beautiful.
Planning
While planning our trip to Greece, I found the travel guide Top 10 Crete to be very useful. It lists the top 10 of places to go, restaurants, and sites. Then it also lists the top 10 by region and area. I felt it was a great planning tool, plus it came with a pocket size map.
I also bought a National Geographic Map of Crete and this was priceless as we lost our GPS several times. The map is pretty accurate and durable. It really did help us out!
Where We Stayed in Chania, Crete
While in Chania we stayed at the Domes Noruz, a beautiful seaside resort with wonderful amenities. Our room, which overlooked the pool, was comfortable and spacious with a plunge pool and soaking tub. The staff was welcoming. I will write more in a future post on where we stayed and ate during this trip. In the meantime, if you want you can click here for more information on Domes Noruz in Chania.
Follow me Daily on Instagram while I am in Greece!!
You can find my other Greek Adventures by following these links:
Chania Harbor and Gallini Restaurant, Sept 2019
Preveli Beach and Palm Grove, Sept 2019
Katholiko Monastery, Sept 2019
Sunrise over Athens, Sept 2019
3 Days in Milos Greece, Oct 2018