Stavros Beach, Crete…”Zorba the Greek”

Stavros Beach in Crete is the beach where “Zorba the Greek” was filmed in 1964. We left Athens on an early flight and arrived in Chania, rented a car and headed to this beach. It looks quite different than the movie. Although the natural sites are the same, there is much more development. The famous dance performed in the movie is called the Syrtaki and the music for the dance was composed by the talented Mikis Theodorakis who recently passed away.

Location

Stavros Beach is Northwest of the Chania Airport in Crete. Located on the Akrotiri Peninsula, less than a 15 minute drive and less than 6 miles (10 km) from the airport. The destination is easy to find and the roads are not difficult to navigate.

Stavros Beach

Stavros Beach is in a beautiful cove with a nice sandy beach. Even though it was mid morning a few people were already swimming and setting up their space in lounge chairs on the beach. I do not know if there is a charge for the chairs. We only stopped to see the area and walk along the beach, though It looked like a great place for a swim and I wish we would have had more time for this. We also attempted our version of the the Syrtaki, although we definitely had no idea how. Regardless, it was fun.

Coffee Time

We stopped for our morning coffee at a place called Mama’s Place, which is very close to the beach. While filming Zorba the Greek, the cast and support staff would eat and drink at this taverna. My understanding is this is the same taverna and is also at the same location as it was in 1964.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed stopping at Stavros Beach, it is one of many great beaches in Crete. All in all, I would have liked to have more time here as the beach and area have a very relaxing vibe and the area looks perfect for swimming. In addition, I enjoyed the movie “Zorba the Greek” and that is what brought me here. Maybe another time!

Planning & Tips

If you plan on using your cell phone a lot for GPS or taking photos I found this I Walk phone charger to be a life saver. None of the vehicles we drove in Greece had phone charges adaptable to our I phones from the US so this lightweight easy to carry charger saved me many times.

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 certainly did help us out! The map is quite large but folds up like a typical map. Half of Crete is on one side of of the map and the other half of Crete is on the other side. I did have a bit of flipping around but it worked pretty well.

While planning our trips to Crete, I found the travel guide Top 10 Crete to be very useful. For one thing, it lists the top 10 places to go, restaurants, and sites. Additionally, it also lists the top 10 by region and area. Given these points, I felt it was a great planning tool, plus it came with a pocket size map which we did use.

True Trips, Greece. A big part of planning is done for us! Each time we traveled to Greece, we let True Greece plan much of our trip! We had them plan our lodging and also our transfers to and from airports and ferry ports. We also had them plan our boat and Temple of Poseidon Tour and a Greek tasting meal this trip. They know the ins and outs that we would never think of. As a matter of fact, they are from Greece. This is invaluable, as it assures for a smooth trip. I 100% recommend True Greece, they are experts and they work hard to plan with you!

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Follow these links for more posts of my 2021 Greece Vacation:

Temple of Poseidon, Septs 2021

You can also follow my other Crete adventures here:

Elounda Peninsula Hotel, Sept 2019

Lasithi Windmills, Sept 2019

Knossos Palace, Crete Sept 2019

Chania Harbor, Sept 2019

Preveli Beach, Sept 2019

Seitan Limania Beach, Sept 2019

Katholiko Monastery, Sept 2019

Balos Beach Sept 2019

Links to our 2018 and also 2019 Trip can be found in this post:

10 Days in Greece Athens, Crete, Santorini 2019

8 Days in Greece, Athens, Milos, Santorini 2018

Diary of a Gen-X recommendations for hotels and restaurants are based on our own experiences. We do not receive compensation for recommending at any of these nor are we affiliates of any hotels or restaurants. The only hotels we recommend are places we stayed which are clean, comfortable, and provided exceptional hospitality.

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