West Crete, as far as we are concerned, covers the area from the Akrotiri peninsular, east of Chania, to Sfinari on the north west coast, and from Sfakia to Elafonisi on the south coast. To view a map of the area in a separate window, click here

West Crete is much more green than the east coast and is much less developed for tourism, hence the term 'the real Crete' used by a lot of travel agents and tour operators. Unlike the east coast, there are hundreds of beaches in north-west Crete which are virtually deserted, even in the height of summer! Quite a few of the people on these beaches are likely to be locals coming for a swim in the heat of the day.

The further west you go, the less undeveloped the area is for tourism, but tourism is working its way westward.

The Akrotiri peninsular is where most of the new homes are being built and there is a very large ex-pat community living here. Some of the views over Souda bay are breathtaking, but houses with this type of view are very hard to get and attract a premium price.

Chania is the second city of Crete and boasts a beautiful Venetian harbour surrounded by bars and restaurants.

Travelling along the coast west of Chania (from east to west) are the tourist areas of Aghia Marina, Platanias, Gerani, Maleme, Tavronitis and Kolymbari. The further west you go, the less the area has been developed for tourism. Beware of some of these places if you intend to live in Crete all year as they close down when the tourists have gone. If you want to buy-to-let for rental potential, investment, or just use the house or apartment during the summer months, then that's OK, otherwise, look more inland where the real villages are.

Going further west past Kolymbari will bring you to the bay of Kissamos, flanked on one side by Cape Rodopou and on the other by Cape Gramvousa. This is a beautiful bay, with a very long sand and pebble beach which is largely undeveloped for tourism, with just a few hotels and camping areas along the whole stretch. Inland you have the ancient city of Polyrinnia with ruins dating back to Roman times.