⭐ Travel Guide for Island Crete ⛵, Greece❗

Chrissi island or Gaidouronisi is located 8 miles south of Ierapetra city, in the open South Cretan Sea. It is a flat islet very famous for its tropical blue water that cover all possible palette hues of blue and green, the protected forest with large juniper trees and the thousands of broken shells that make the sand pinkish. The residents of Ierapetra love this island and call it simply "the Island". It is said that years ago by Gianni Agnelli, the chairman of Ferrari, wanted to buy the island to make it a tourist attraction.

Chrissi takes its name (golden in Greek) after the white sand that covers the entire island and comes mainly from shell debris. The tropical beaches are crowded by many visitors who come by the excursion boats that leave Ierapetra in the morning and return in the afternoon. Chrissi has been declared as an area of natural beauty and it is strictly prohibited to camp and spend your night here. You must keep away from the fragile juniper trees and avoid not collecting sand or shells.

Map of the isle

Vages beach

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At the eastern part of the island of Chryssi and on the south side of the island the large beach of Vages is formed. Vages generally has a rocky bottom, except for the eastern edge where there is sand.

Juniper Wood of Chrissi

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The dunes of the central narrowest part of the island of Chryssi, we meet one of the most important juniper wood (sp. Juniperus macrocarpa) in Greece, which has prevailed (erroneously) with the name cedarwood. In other parts of the island, such as west and east, we encounter vegetation with Juniperus phoenicea being the main plant.

Kendra Beach

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At the western end of the island of Chrissi, the small Cape Kendra is formed and right next to we meet the southernmost beach of the island. There is no high vegetation for shade, while the bottom, as in the whole island, is mainly rocky. You can combine your visit to the lighthouse and Agios Nikolaos with a walk to Kendra.

Fragou Mnima Beach

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At the eastern end of the juniper wood of Chrisi we meet the small beach at Fragou Mnima. The area hosts a small saltpan, which the locals call Kaki Alyki and in winter it turns into a small swamp.

Hadzivolakas beach

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The longest beach on the island of Chrissi is Hadzivolakas, which extends west of the central beach of Belerinna. The beach has mainly rocky seabed and is ideal for isolation as most of the island's visitors are limited to Belegrina.

Agios Nikolaos church at Chrissi island

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The church of Agios Nikolaos is located on the northern side of the island Chrissi, at the site where Tyrian purple was produced and graves are located. It dates back to the 13th century, although it has undergone more recent interventions. The temple is built on the site of an ancient building.

Saltpan of Chrissi

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Next to the only house of Chrissi island, at position Spilios, we meet the old saltpan where salt was produced in the past. In winter the spot turns into a small pond with brackish water and it attracts many migratory birds. This is not the only pond on the island, as a smaller one is formed in the location of Kaki Alyki.

Chrissi

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