Koutalas Beach and Sea Cave in Crete was our next stop during our fall 2021 trip. When planning this trip, I found this spot on google maps while looking for another beach. On the map I noticed a photo icon with the caption, Descent into Cave. I knew at that moment, I would be finding this place. I saw that it wasn’t very far out of the way from our planned path so I told Steve about it and he was all in too.
Location
Getting There
We tend to enjoy the back roads of Crete and getting to Koutalas Beach and Sea Cave was half the fun. We drove from Chania and then followed google maps. This is a fun drive and includes driving through a small village and onto dirt roads. Our GPS was spotty but fortunately we had a map with us. I also took a screen shot of my google map and directions. I was thinking ahead, as last time we were in Crete we lost GPS frequently. The road to the beach was not difficult but it was dirt and we did have a SUV. We may have made a few wrong turns but it all worked out!
Descent to the Cave
We parked above Koutalas Beach just in front of the spot in the above photo. The plan was to walk to the sea cave. There is a dirt road to the right and we noticed a car driving there. We decided to drive the road and see where it led us. It led us up a little further and then we saw the path to the right, which we assumed was the sea cave. Tthere was an area where a car could pull off safely and park so we did. Of course, there was a goat there!
Down to the Sea
The path is to the right and almost immediately becomes several stairs. These stairs are made of rock and did have a few loose rocks on them. Careful footing was needed but we did not feel they were slick.
I was quite excited and led the way, even though I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, the path and destination were obvious.
The Sea Cave
Once you reach the bottom of the stairs, the cave opens up and is absolutely beautiful. We didn’t go back into the cave but it looks like you probably could. The rocks in the cave were slick.
Back at the Beach
After we took photos and just enjoyed the beauty we went back up and drove to the beach. You can either park on the top or there is a road that goes directly down to the beach. We drove. The beach was beautiful. There were more people than we thought there would be, about a dozen. A few were sunbathing, but most of the people we saw looked like they were preparing to go underwater diving.
Conclusion
I am so glad we decided to add Koutalas Beach and Sea Cave to our Crete agenda. If I were to do this all over, I would have come prepared to swim and to snorkel at the Beach.
Planning & Tips
If you plan on using your cell phone for GPS or taking photos I found this I Walk phone charger to be a life saver. The vehicles we drove in Greece did not have phone charges adaptable to ours. 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.
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.
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Follow these links for more posts of my 2021 Greece Vacay:
Ancient City of Lato, Sept 2021
Aforesmenos Lighthouse, Crete, Sept 2021
Avli Lounge Hotel, Rethymno, Sept 2021
Matala Beach Caves, Crete, Sept 2021
Hike to Martsalos Beach, Sept 2021
The Chapel at Georgioupoli, Sept 2021
Temple of Poseidon, Septs 2021
A Walk Through Chania, Sept 2021
You can also follow my other Crete adventures here:
Elounda Peninsula Hotel, Sept 2019
Knossos Palace, Crete Sept 2019
Seitan Limania Beach, Sept 2019
Katholiko Monastery, 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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