Family Friendly Beaches in Crete

Close-up of sandcastles built on a sandy beach in Crete, showcasing a family-friendly atmosphere perfect for children.

Our Family Friendly Beaches in Crete Guide is here to take the guesswork out of planning your seaside escape. We know that traveling with kids brings its own set of challenges, from finding shallow, safe waters to ensuring there are enough amenities to keep everyone comfortable and entertained. After all, happy kids mean happy parents!

Choosing the right beach can make or break a family holiday. You want somewhere where the waters are calm enough for little ones to paddle, where there’s shade for when the sun gets too hot, and where basic necessities—like toilets, showers, and snack bars—are close at hand. And let’s not forget activities! Beaches with playgrounds, water sports, or ice cream stands can make your day even more magical.

To make your vacation planning as stress-free as possible, we’ve compiled a list of essential “must haves” for a family-friendly beach, along with some insider tips to help you pick the perfect spot. With the right beach, your family holiday will be one to remember for all the right reasons!

Family Friendly Beaches in Crete "must haves"

Easy Access
No scrambling down rocks or steep cliffs with buggy, baby and kiddies in tow!

Warm Shallow Waters
Safe, clean, shallow waters ideal for paddling, playing and simply cooling off!

Baby Soft Sand
The very best sandcastles are made from the very best ingredients – soft, soft sand and clean, crystal clear water!

Great Amenities

Close by showers, toilet, and first aid facilities. And most importantly – ice cream!

Parent Pampering

The perfect beach to stretch out, relax and be assured that the children are happy, safe – and having a great time!

The best news is that we’ve found the most family friendly beaches here in Crete!

Here’s our Family Friendly Beach Guide...

Golden Beach, Chania

Chrissi Akti, or Golden Beach, is aptly named as the soft sand has a warm golden glow to it. There’s no less than three sandy beaches within a short walk from the town of Chania, West Crete.

The beaches here boast clear and shallow waters – perfect for children. One of the beaches has a play area for the kids too, plus great facilities such as umbrellas, sun beds and water sports. It can get quite busy during July and August, particularly at weekends, as many locals cool off in the hottest weather.

Kalyves Beach

One of the most Family Friendly Beaches in Crete, Kalyves (or Kalives) is a beautiful, picturesque village located about 20 kilometres east of Chania on the western side of the island. It has two wonderful sandy beaches with crystal clear waters, and our favourite.

The main beach of the village is the most popular because of its central location. It’s golden sands sweep around the bay, backed by shady trees and tempting tavernas. The beach slopes gently into shallow clear waters, making it ideal for children. It can get a bit choppy at times though, depending on the wind direction

The nearest village to Kalyves Beach is Kalyves village.

Almyrida Beach

Almyrida (sometimes spelt Almirida) is a lovely friendly, fun tourist resort and fishing village. It has a small sandy beach with shallow water perfect for kids. It is well equipped with all the amenities a family would want for a day at the beach.

Again, this beach is on the western side, about 25 kilometres east of Chania, and benefits from being protected from the Meltema – the northern summer winds.

Check out the sweet village of Almyrida with this link.

Rethymno Town Beach

Rethymno Town Beach stretches seemingly endlessly more than 20 kilometres along the sandy shore near Rethymnon on the north coast in the centre of the island. There are plenty of watersports facilities and all along there are beach bars and tavernas. This beach is often busy and bustling but because of its sheer length you’ll always find a quieter spot if that’s what you want.

Click on the link to find out more about Rethymno Town.

Agia Galini Beach

A kids yellow beach bucket on golden sands.

Agia Galini is a popular and picturesque fishing village on the couth coast and is 58 kilometres south of Rethymnon. It has a luxuriously long sandy beach with Aegean blue waters. Great for families. Everything for the tourist is available here with a wide range of water sports on offer. Because of its length, there are quieter stretches too if you want a more secluded beach experience.

The nearest village to Agia Galini Beach is Agia Galini.

Agia Pelagia Beach

Agia Pelagia resort lies 16 kilometres west from the town of Heraklion. The beach is long and has beautiful golden sand.

The water here is almost always constantly calm and crystal clear because it is well protected from the Meltema (northern summer winds).

It is a very well organised beach with plenty of amenities for swimming, sunbathing and plenty of water sport facilities. It is well known as one of the best beaches on the North Coast.

Stalis Beach

Another of our favourite Family Friendly Beaches in Crete, Stalis, also known as Stalida, is around 30 kilometres east from Heraklion Town. Stalis beach is wonderful beach with soft white sand and crystal clear and shallow waters. It is perfect for families with children. The sea can become choppy though so care should be taken on windy days.

The resort itself is fantastic and has everything for the family and is very well organised. The beaches on this stretch of coast are all stunning, some of them sandy and suitable for swimming and others rocky, perfect for snorkelling.

This is a great place and one of our favourites, click this link for more details on Stalis.

Almyros Beach

This beach is just a few kilometres outside Agios Nikolaos, East Crete. easily the best beach in this cosmopolitan and picturesque town, it is long, sandy and set in a beautiful protected bay. The water is very shallow and is very much suited to families with children. Almyros Beach offers the visitor all the comforts and facilities expected of a fully organised beach resort.

The nearest town to Almyros Beach is Aghios Nikolaos

Aghios Panteleimonas

The beach of Aghios Panteleimonas is located in Istron, Kalo Horio on the beautiful Bay of Mirabella. We lived here for a couple of years so we know it well!

It is just a picturesque fifteen minute drive east from Agios Nikolaos. Often named Silver Beach or Church Beach, it is easily accessible with soft sand and just a few pebbles. It is very well equipped and has a tiny sweet church right on the beach.

The shallow waters make it ideal for children. Aghios Panteleimonas is a particular beautiful beach, quiet and isolated. Many locals use it and rate it as one of their favourites. It’s certainly one of ours, and our toddler granddaughter!

The nearest village to Aghios Panteleimonas Beach is Istron.

Makrigialos Beach

The white sandy beach of Makrigialos on the south coast of the Lassithi region is well protected from winds. 'Makri' means long, and 'yalos' means shore.

The beach has clear and clean shallow waters and is ideal for families with small children. You can enjoy swimming and water sports too at this well organised beach. All facilities for swimming and sunbathing such as umbrellas, sun bed rentals are available.

We hope you have got some great ideas from out Family Friendly Beaches in Crete Guide. Don't forget to pack your 50 Factor sun cream for the little ones!