Explore Crete island

Sougia - Crete, GREECE

Sougia is a small village located by the Libyan sea, about 75 km from the city of Hania (or Chania). Maybe the narrow winding road which links the village to the north of Crete put off tour operators from offering package holidays there. The fact is that Sougia, despite its long beach and its beautiful sea has remained one of the quietest and most relaxing place to spend a holiday on Crete, away from mainstream tourism.
There are of course tourists and many of them have kept coming back for years to enjoy the friendly and laid back atmosphere of Sougia. Despite being a very small village the facilities are excellent: Sougia has a good choice of accommodation at affordable prices, the restaurants offer well above average food, the long beach is never crowded and the sea was nominated as one of the cleanest in the whole of Greece in a national study made in 1999. Sougia is also quite well protected form the prevalent west winds.
Sougia village is open to visitors from the end of March to the beginning of November. In the winter months most of the hotels and restaurants close down and the village kind of goes into hibernation.

The beach of Sougia is 1,2 km long and is the longest beach in the South-West of Crete. It is also quite wide (up to 70 meters in places). Although it is a pebble beach, these vary a lot in size and there are plenty of places where they are very small and it is not at all uncomfortable to lie on them. The beach has several quite unique features: nudism is tolerated (and practiced but in no way compulsory) in a large part of the beach, there are no beach chairs and umbrellas to disfigure it, the beach never ever feels crowded because it is so long and wide and the sea in Sougia is one of the cleanest in Greece (not only Crete!) according to a water quality survey made in 1999. The pebbles are also worth a mention: they come in different colours and shapes with all kinds of markings and many visitors collect the nicer ones to take them back home. There are no buildings whatsoever on the beach so that you feel really close to nature and the views of the coast are superb and unspoilt. Sougia beach has little shade apart from some tamarisk trees in the eastern area. Small children who cannot swim will need to wear safety swimming aids or be supervised because the water drops quite quickly. There are no currents.

Sougia Crete offers a fair choice of accommodation from simple rooms to more upmarket ones with air-conditioning as well as studios with cooking facilities. Their prices are very reasonable, especially out of the peak season. Many people come to Sougia in order to have a quiet time and enjoy its beautiful beach. For the more active there are a fair number of things to do. A walk to nearby Lissos is almost a must. Lissos was a very significant town in ancient times and there are still many ruins left, particularly an Aesculap (Asklipios) sanctuary. The walk to Lissos and back takes about 3 hours at a leisurely pace.
The atmosphere in Lissos is so peaceful that it is well worth spending time there, wandering around the ruins and enjoying the silence, broken only by the sound of sheep bells. Further afield and if you have a car you can drive up to the ancient city of Elyros (situated close to present day Rodovani). It is located on a hill overlooking the sea and the mountains and there are plenty of ruins to see (although only a few have been excavated). Driving west you can also get to Paleohora if you feel like visiting a more lively village.
Of course, if you haven't been there before, a visit to Hania and its Venetian old town is a must. If you don't have a car you can go by bus in the morning and return with the afternoon bus, although it will not leave you much time to visit Hania.