Leave Chania while the harbor cafés are still putting out their chairs, and the island opens in two directions: east along the coast to a Venetian town of minarets and fortress walls, south across the mountains to villages where the road ends at the sea. Western Crete packs a monastery, a palm-fringed beach and a string of gorges into the land around the city. These are the outings that make sense from a base in Chania, and what each one gives you.
What are the best day trips from Chania?
The strongest day trips from Chania go either east to Rethymno and the country around it, or south into Sfakia, the mountain district whose roads lead to the gorges and the southern shore.
- Rethymno, for a Venetian old town, a citadel and a long town beach.
- Arkadi Monastery, for a Greek Orthodox monastery on a plateau and a story central to Cretan memory.
- Plakias, for a village on the south coast with several beaches within reach.
- Preveli, Karavos and Damnoni, the beaches around Plakias, for a palm grove, a rocky cove and a quieter stretch of sand.
- Hora Sfakion and the Askifou plateau, for a mountain road that ends at a harbor village.
- Imbros Gorge, for a canyon walk near Hora Sfakion.
- Agia Roumeli and the Samaria Gorge, for a village reached by ferry and the trek that starts there.
- Kourtaliotiko Gorge, for a stop in the southern part of western Crete.
Most of these sit in the Rethymno and Sfakia areas rather than around Chania itself, which is why each one is worth treating as its own outing.
The best day trips from Chania
Chania sits on the northwest coast of Crete, and the outings below fan out from it toward the neighboring regional unit of Rethymno and into the mountains of Sfakia, which lie inside the Chania regional unit itself. Pair a coast day with a mountain day and you see two very different Cretes.
Rethymno
Rethymno is the third largest city on the north coast of Crete, set between Chania and Heraklion, and it gives you a second old town to compare with the one you left behind. Its palia poli, the old town, was almost entirely built by the Republic of Venice, and it counts among the best-preserved in Crete. You wander lanes with Venetian fortifications, Orthodox and Catholic churches, minarets and old hammams, the bathhouses of the Ottoman years.
Above the harbor stands the Fortezza, a Venetian-era citadel that is open to the public and counts among the best-preserved castles on the island. Walk up to its walls, then come back down to the old streets for a meze lunch at a taverna. The town also has a vast beach lined with hotels, restaurants and cafés, so a stroll along the sand fits naturally into the day.
It also works as the starting point for the monastery and the south-coast beaches below, since both lie in the Rethymno area.
Arkadi Monastery
Arkadi is a Greek Orthodox monastery on a plateau southeast of Rethymno. The church at its heart, the katholikon, dates from the 16th century and was finished in a Renaissance style that mixes Roman and Baroque touches, so the facade looks more like something from Italy than from a Byzantine village. Cretans remember the monastery as a symbol of resistance, and that gives the quiet courtyard a weight you feel as you walk through it.
The visit pairs naturally with Rethymno, either before or after the old town. Come for the architecture, the courtyard and the history, and treat it as one stop in a longer day on the road.
Plakias and its beaches
Plakias is a village on the south coast of Crete, in the Rethymno regional unit and part of the municipality of Agios Vasileios. The village beach is a developed stretch of narrow crushed shell, and its eastern end is largely naturist. The village was first officially mentioned in a census that recorded six fishermen as its permanent residents, a modest start for what is now the base for the south coast.
Three beaches nearby give the day its shape. Preveli Beach is surrounded by one of the few natural palm groves in Greece.
Karavos, also called the Pirates’ fjord, is a small cove ringed by tall rocks and protected from the north, which makes it a good option when strong winds blow. Damnoni is described as beautiful, clean and quiet. Pick one or two rather than all three, and settle in with lunch at a seaside taverna.
Hora Sfakion and the Askifou plateau
Sfakia is a mountainous district in the southwest of Crete, inside the Chania regional unit. The drive itself is the attraction. Halfway from Vryses to Hora Sfakion you cross the fertile plateau of Askifou, ringed by high peaks, and from there the road down to the coast is particularly spectacular as it hugs the western slope of the Imbros Gorge.
Hora Sfakion is a harbor village of about 475 inhabitants and the main village of the Sfakia region. It makes a good place to stop for a meal at the water and watch the boats. Many of the beaches in Sfakia do not see the crowds of the northern coast, which gives the area a different feel from the beach towns near Chania.
Imbros Gorge and Agia Roumeli
Imbros Gorge is an 6.8 miles canyon near Hora Sfakion, and its narrowest point squeezes down to little more than a corridor of rock. It is a walk for people who want to be inside the mountains rather than looking at them from the road.
From Hora Sfakion a direct ferry runs to Agia Roumeli, a small village of two parallel streets along the water, with several restaurants and souvenir shops. This is where the trek through the Samaria Gorge can be started.
The route from Agia Roumeli toward the park entrance is known as The Lazy way, though people call it The Crazy way, because visitors arrive around noon and start walking in the hot sun. Sun protection and water belong in the bag for this one.
Kourtaliotiko Gorge
The Kourtaliotiko Gorge, also known as the Asomatos Gorge, lies on the southern side of the western part of Crete. It fits into a south-coast day as a stop on the way to or from Plakias and the beaches, a place to get out of the car and see the rock walls up close.
Combine it with Preveli or Plakias rather than making it a destination by itself. It rounds out a day that otherwise runs on beach time and gives you a different landscape to remember.
Day trips from Chania compared
| Trip | Where it lies | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Rethymno | About 43 miles from Chania | Venetian old town, the Fortezza, a long town beach |
| Arkadi Monastery | 14 miles southeast of Rethymno | A 16th-century katholikon and the monastery courtyard |
| Plakias | South coast, Rethymno regional unit | Village beach, Preveli palm grove, Karavos cove, Damnoni |
| Hora Sfakion | Southwest Crete, Sfakia | Askifou plateau, mountain road, harbor village |
| Imbros Gorge | Near Hora Sfakion | An 11 km canyon |
| Agia Roumeli | Reached by ferry from Hora Sfakion | Two streets along the water, start of the Samaria trek |
| Kourtaliotiko Gorge | South of western Crete | A gorge, also called Asomatos |
Choose by the kind of day you want. Rethymno is the town day, full of streets, a fortress and lunch. Arkadi adds history and architecture, and it combines with Rethymno because the two lie in the same area. Plakias and its beaches are the sea day on the south coast, with Kourtaliotiko as a stop along the way.
Sfakia is the mountain and gorge day. The Askifou road, the harbor at Hora Sfakion, the walk through Imbros and the ferry to Agia Roumeli all belong to the same corner of the island, so pick one or two of them instead of trying to see everything at once. The Samaria trek, with its noon sun, asks for the most preparation of all.
Tour or on your own?
The answer depends on which trip you pick, because the outings differ in how they work. The south-coast days involve mountain roads, a ferry and gorge walks, while the Rethymno day is built around towns and sites.
Think about what each day asks of you. The drive through Askifou to Hora Sfakion is a long, spectacular road, so the question is whether you want to be at the wheel or looking out the window. At Hora Sfakion, the direct ferry to Agia Roumeli adds a boat to the plan, and the trek from there starts in the heat of the day, so it matters how you arrive and how you get back.
Rethymno and Arkadi are a town and a monastery, with a fortress and an old quarter to explore on foot. Plakias gives you a village and a choice of beaches, and Karavos in particular offers shelter when the wind is up, which can shape which beach you choose.
Before you commit to any arrangement, check what it covers. Does it include the Hora Sfakion ferry to Agia Roumeli? Which stops does it make, and how much time is left at each? Does it return you to Chania after the trek? For a trip on your own, check the same things in reverse: where you start, where you end, and how you return to the city.
Good to know before you go
Chania is a base for day trips because the outings above reach in different directions, and each one has its own character. The trek from Agia Roumeli starts in the hot sun, so sun protection matters on the gorge days.
On the south coast, Karavos cove is protected from the north, a useful detail on a windy day. In Rethymno, the Fortezza is open to the public, and the harbor and old town sit within reach of one another.
Sources
- Visit Greece (GNTO), Chania (https://www.visitgreece.gr/islands/crete/chania/), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikipedia, Chania (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chania), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikivoyage, Chania (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Chania), checked October 12, 2026
- Visit Greece (GNTO), Rethymno (https://www.visitgreece.gr/islands/crete/rethymno/), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikipedia, Rethymno (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rethymno), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikivoyage, Rethymno (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Rethymno), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikipedia, Arkadi Monastery (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkadi_Monastery), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikipedia, Fortezza of Rethymno (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortezza_of_Rethymno), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikipedia, Plakias (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plakias), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikivoyage, Plakias (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Plakias), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikipedia, Kourtaliotiko Gorge (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kourtaliotiko_Gorge), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikipedia, Sfakia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sfakia), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikivoyage, Sfakia (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Sfakia), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikipedia, Imbros Gorge (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imbros_Gorge), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikipedia, Agia Roumeli (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agia_Roumeli), checked October 12, 2026