The beach and the village of Makrigialos, southeast Crete

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.