Falasarna, Crete Island

A long and big beach with fine white and pink sand and a wonderful water situated in the North West corner of the island. According to the wind direction the sea can be incredibly calm as you see in my photo or VERY agitated with high waves crashing on the shore. Both situation worth a visit, fight with the high waves can be a lot of fun but be careful!!

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Falassarna is the westernmost village in Crete, located approximately 20km from Kissamos in the neck of the Gramvoussa peninsula.
The name Falassarna is pre-hellenic and is derived from the nymph "Falasarni".
Extraordinary beach with shale-like rock platforms and some stretches of smooth gentle sand. When it is windy, Falassarna feels it, but this is a rarely-crowded and spacious beach area. Combining a few neat and appealing small modern hotels with some casual relics, a handful of separated beachfront cafes and tavernas.

2006: The magical beach of Falassarna became rather dirty with plastic bags floating next to you when you are swimming....

Lovely sandy beach in Western Crete. All Greek beaches are public so you can access them free of charge.

Falasarna is very popular among tourists although this picture doesn't show that. It was taken in early May so there were not many people there.

Enjoy clean sand, warm water, clear sky with high sun in this lovely place.

AND enjoy topless sunbathers ;-)

Almost as remote and peaceful as Frangokastello is Falasarna, a small town on the northern end of the west coast. Considering how crowded almost the entire north coast is, it's remarkable that this place has remained as tranquil and isolated as it is, especially considering how much easier it is to reach than many other coastal towns. The attraction in Falasarna is the beach. Actually there's more than one here. On the southern end of town is a huge expanse of sand, but farther north it's more scenic, there are no beach umpbrellas, and the sand is better. There are just a few places to stay here, and it looked like even fewer places to eat. I found only a couple mini-markets, both of which were more expensive than other places we visited, but it's not difficult to find reasonably priced accommodations very close to the water.

Unfortunately it was very windy on Crete when I visited Falasarna, making the beach less enjoyable than it would otherwise be. For that reason alone, I stayed only one night and decided to explore the ruins at Ancient Falasarna and then travel around the interior of the island while waiting for the wind to die down. In retrospect that turned out to be a good thing because it gave me more time in Paleochora, but I stil wish I could have spent more time on Falasarna's wonderful beaches.

The ancient city of Falasarna, located just about 1.5 km north of the modern village of Falasarna on a rough dirt and gravel road is still being excavated. The excavations have exposed some of the walls and buildings of the city. The geographical rise of Crete has put the ancient harbour on dry land. Falasarna was a commercial naval power during the Hellenistic period and also the harbour of Polirinia. An interesting throne, carved out of rock (see my photos), is on the dirt track as you enter the ancient city. The acropolis of the city was on the peninsula in front, on top of the hill. The fortification walls around the hill are still visible. The harbour was just below the fortifications, on the south side of the peninsula. There are no signs of the harbour now, since it is above ground. There were two towers, one on the north and one on the south side of the harbour dating from the fourth century BC. A second channel allowed an exit from the harbour on the bay at the north side of the acropolis, 100 meters further on. It is assumed that this was a pirate stronghold at one time.

Part of this site is excavated and clearly visible. This is another part of the Minoan complex that used to be here. There are areas where boats would tie up to the walls and docking points. The water was up on the land a lot farther than it is today.