The village of Makrigialos lies on the southcoast of Crete, 24 km away from Ierapetra, and is the next door neighbour of the village of Analipsi (with a big beach). It's a quiet, friendly place with a cosy little fishing harbour and a couple of beaches. The water is undeep for a bit as you get into the sea. There's plenty of hotels in the area and at least one excellent taverna (we had dinner there ;) - but of course there are more. Yet it's still pretty unspoilt compared to some of the other coastal villages in Crete. The background setting is one of pretty, high hills. A nice place to stop and relax for a while. For the lovers of old stones there's also a Minoan villa on the spot. On both sides of the village beach there are more stretches of sand. On the east side there is the large beach of Makrigialos / Analipsi and on the west side just around the corner from the town beach is the real hidden gem, that nobody seems to know about: a large and beautiful quiet sand beach.