Is free camping in Crete allowed?
There is something extremely appealing about sleeping under an open sky next to the sea, and waking up when the first rays of sun appear. The island of Crete presents a wide range of alternatives to people that prefer camping to the more traditional hotel style of tourism.
Camping outdoors is forbidden by Greek laws, but there are camping sites all over the island where you can stay overnight. Apart from the camp sites, there are many beaches where you will see many people camping outdoors, illegally. All secluded beaches in South Crete are popular to those campers. The most popular of them provide natural shade (trees or caves), but some people do not bother about it. Police raids are quite often, especially in natural reserves or inhabited areas, thus staying in tents is your risk. What is not considered illegal is staying overnight on the beach in a sleeping bag, not a tent.
If you decide to camp outdoors, we do not prevent you from doing that, but we demand that you respect the nature. Thus, it is essential to remind you the gold standards that you have to follow when camping. Of course the most important of all is not leaving any garbage behind, even organic food remains. The surrounding area of any place is not a toilet, thus you should collect any waste you produce or bury it deeply. There are several beaches with endogenous trees, especially cedars that are very fragile and are protected. In any case, do not break cedars, not even small branches, because they grow just 1cm per year! Thus, do not use cedars for tying your tents and hanging your stuff. You can enjoy their shade but keep away from touching them. Continuing, setting fire outdoors and camping in Natura areas are strictly prohibited.
