KatatopisiΕλληνικά

IslandΚρήτη

Crete

Crete: location in Greece

The island has airports (CHQ, HER, JSH) and 23 ferry ports. It has 155 official bathing-water sites; of the 155 with a classification in the 2024 season, all were Excellent (EEA). At the municipal seat the weather is most comfortable for walking and sightseeing from April to June, and in October, and the sea reaches 22 °C from May to September.

Open on the map

Highest settlement
637 mVatos, altitude in OpenStreetMap
Settlements
1,398135 with a page of their own
Official bathing-water sites
155YPEN register, EEA
Excellent in 2024
155 of 155100% of classified sites (EEA)
Sea at 22 °C or more
May–SepNOAA, near the main town
Airport
CHQ, HER, JSHlist of commercial airports
Ferry ports
23terminal groups in OpenStreetMap

Getting there

The airport and ferry ports of the island as our sources record them. We do not copy timetables or fares, because they would go stale; where an official source exists it is linked below.

Airports
AirportIATA
Chania International Airport "Ioannis Daskalogiannis"CHQ
Heraklion International Airport "Nikos Kazantzakis"HER
Sitia Airport "Vitsentzos Kornaros"JSH
Ferry ports with the most mapped terminals (10 of 23)
Port, at the nearest settlementTerminals in OSM
Finikas5
Rethymno4
Heraklion4
Trachilos3
Sougia2
Agia Roumeli2
Souda2
Kali Limenes2
Schisma Eloundas2
Elafonisi Beach1

The number of terminals shows how closely the harbour is mapped, not how large it is or how many ferries call.

Official travel information

Routes and connections can change by season. Confirm times and service directly with the operator before travelling.

When to go

This section is about Heraklion, the municipal seat, not the whole island.

  1. Jan13°16°
  2. Feb13°16°
  3. Mar14°17°
  4. Apr16°19°comfortable weather
  5. May20°23°comfortable weather, warm sea
  6. Jun24°25°comfortable weather, warm sea
  7. Jul26°25°warm sea
  8. Aug26°25°warm sea
  9. Sep24°23°warm sea
  10. Oct21°20°comfortable weather
  11. Nov18°18°
  12. Dec15°16°

The weather is most comfortable for walking and sightseeing from April to June, and in October (average temperature around 20.3 °C, little rain).

The sea is 22 °C or warmer from May to September (up to 25.4 °C).

Monthly rain reaches 80 mm or more in December and January.

Day length is 9 h 46 min at the winter solstice (07:24 to 17:10) and 14 h 33 min at the summer solstice (06:04 to 20:37), Greek time.

Temperature and rainfall by month. The same values are in the table.0102030050100°CmmJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Temperature and rainfall by month
  • Mean temperature °C
  • Rain (mm, right axis)
  • Sea °C
  • Sea 22 °C or warmer
Monthly climate figures
MonthMean temp. °CRain mmSea °CDaylight h
Jan12.98815.610.0
Feb12.97415.810.9
Mar14.34216.811.9
Apr16.42319.113.1
May (sea 22 °C or warmer)20.01522.514.0
Jun (sea 22 °C or warmer)23.7524.714.5
Jul (sea 22 °C or warmer)25.9225.414.3
Aug (sea 22 °C or warmer)26.2424.613.5
Sep (sea 22 °C or warmer)24.31822.712.4
Oct21.14620.311.3
Nov17.95917.810.3
Dec14.78616.19.8

Temperature and rain: NASA POWER (MERRA-2), period 2001–2020, model cell about 22 km away. The temperatures are monthly averages from a regional model. Sea: NOAA OISST v2.1, period 1991–2020, nearest cell about 4 km away (0.25 degree grid). Daylight: calculated for the 15th of each month. These are regional model values and typical conditions, not a forecast.

Beaches

The 15 of 155 official sites with the most seasons of Excellent water since 2011; ties are settled by the latest classification (2024 season). It is the EU's classification by season, not a reading on the day.

Beaches with the most consistent water quality
BeachLatest classHistory
Agia VarvaraExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agia GaliniExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agia Marina – StalosExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agia Pelagia BeachExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agia PelagiaExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agia FotiaExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agioi Apostoloi – Eot AnatolikaExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agioi Apostoloi – Eot DytikaExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agios GeorgiosExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agios DimitriosExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agios IoannisExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agios Nikolaos 1ExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agios Nikolaos 2ExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agios Nikolaos 3ExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons
Agios OnoufriosExcellentExcellent in 14 of 14 seasons

The other 140 beaches of the island, in the region's beach list

Also mapped, not officially monitored

Named beaches in OpenStreetMap that are not on the official bathing-water list. They have no water class in our data, which says nothing about how clean the water is.

Towns and villages

The settlements of the island that have a page of their own (40 of 135), larger ones first. Population only sets the order and is never shown.

Cities and towns

Villages

Other settlements on the island

Without a page of their own; the names are from OpenStreetMap.

and 1,223 more

Municipalities on the island

The municipalities whose seat or most of whose settlements are on the island.

Things to see

Named places on the island from Wikidata and OpenStreetMap, merged when they are the same place. Up to 4 per group, those with a page of their own on this site first, then those with a Wikidata item. Not a ranking of importance and not a guide; coverage is uneven.

Archaeological sites

Castles and fortifications

Museums

Monasteries

Viewpoints and natural landmarks

Other attractions

Nature and land

Natura 2000 sites that overlap the island (8 of 46)
SiteType
Giouchtas - Farangi Agias Eirinis, GR4310002Site of Community Importance (SCI)
Dytika Asterousia (Apo Agiofarango Eos Kokkino Pyrgo), GR4310004Site of Community Importance (SCI)
Asterousia (Kofinas), GR4310005Site of Community Importance (SCI)
Dikti: Omalos Viannou (Symi - Omalos), GR4310006Site of Community Importance (SCI)
Krousonas - Vromonero Idis, GR4310009Special Protection Area (SPA)
Oros Giouchtas, GR4310010Special Protection Area (SPA)
Koryfi Koupa (Dytiki Kriti), GR4310011Special Protection Area (SPA)
Ekvoli Geropotamou Mesaras, GR4310012Special Protection Area (SPA)

The land of the island

Woodland or shrubland 50%, Open/natural land (grassland, bare ground) 45%, Water 5%.

Source: ESA WorldCover 2021, a 10 m satellite classification generalised to a ~1 km grid and counted inside the island's outline. Shares are rounded to 5% and describe what covers the ground, not land use or building rights. On small islands the grid is coarse and coastal cells may read as water.

How the numbers were counted

The island is a place=island outline in OpenStreetMap and its area is computed from it. Settlements, beaches, airports and ports belong to the island when their point lies inside the outline (or, for beaches and ports, up to 250 to 500 m outside it).

A municipality counts as being on the island when its seat or main town is there, or when at least half of its settlements are. A port is a group of ferry terminals mapped in OpenStreetMap within 1 km of each other; the name is the nearest settlement.

The page exists because the island has a city, town or village (or a hamlet with an official bathing-water site or a ferry port) and at least two of: an official bathing-water site, a port or airport, a settlement with a page of its own, a Wikidata item.

Places nearby

Pages of this site, in a straight line and on the same side of the water, nearest first.

Towns and villages

Beaches

Sights

Nearest airport

Nearest ferry port

Other islands in the same unit

See also

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from the sources below, with the date each was updated.

Page updated .