Windsurfing

Stavros (i.e. cross) is a seaside village located 17km northeast of Chania, at the northernmost edge of Cape Akrotiri. One characteristic feature of the area is the very steep camel-shaped mountain rising opposite the harbor of Stavros. The mountain is famous because there were filmed scenes for the film “Zorba the Greek”, where Anthony Quinn danced the famous Sirtaki Dance in 1964. Then Stavros was a small fishing village.

Ammoudara is a long beach which starts 1km west of the center of Heraklion and reaches the mouth of the river Almyros, 7km on the west. Ammoudara is today a suburb of Heraklion, with thousands of visitors every year, mainly because of the vast beach.

Elounda is located 10km north of Agios Nikolaos, near the northwest side of the Bay of Mirabello. It is famous for its expensive and luxurious hotels that host celebrities from all over the world. Apart from its glamorous character, Elounda has to offer visitors some of the most beautiful landscapes in Crete. These landscapes are highly dominated by the majestic small beaches of Elounda.

The beach is the longest in the area with a length exceeding 1.5km, bounded on the north by the Cape Tenta and on the south by the Cape Plaka. It has fine brown sand, shallow turquoise waters, and several tamarisk trees around it. It is slightly organized in some areas with umbrellas, showers, and beach bars.

Here are some sandy bays away from prying eyes, while generally the rocky bottom is maybe the richest in the island, attracting many fishermen from all over Crete. It generally very windy and you will almost always see windsurfers. The west bay is called Tenda and is open to west winds and wavy, while the east is called Eligas and sea surface is usually flat.