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Preveli Beach and Plakias: A Full-Day Southern Crete Beach Tour From Rethymno
3.9
58 Ratings
Lefkogia
Discover the stunning beaches of Plakias and Preveli on a full-day tour from Rethymno. Explore palm forests, admire waterfalls, and relax on sandy shores. Don’t miss this unforgettable beach adventure!
Discover the stunning beaches of Plakias and Preveli on a full-day tour from Rethymno. Explore palm forests, admire waterfalls, and relax on sandy shores. Don’t miss this unforgettable beach adventure!
Duration:
10 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
-
Preveli Beach - Discover 3 of the most famous beaches on the south coast of Crete on a journey through the wild Kourtaliotis Gorge. Benefit from hotel pick-up, and then travel to the gorge, where you can walk down to the springs and waterfalls flowing towards the river at Preveli Beach.
Discover a unique mix of sandy beach and green river flanked…
- Preveli Beach - Discover 3 of the most famous beaches on the south coast of Crete on a journey through the wild Kourtaliotis Gorge. Benefit from hotel pick-up, and then travel to the gorge, where you can walk down to the springs and waterfalls flowing towards the river at Preveli Beach.
Discover a unique mix of sandy beach and green river flanked by palm forests and rocky surroundings. Get some time to relax in the sun and take a dip in the sea. Continue to the popular Damnoni Beach at the exit to the valley, protected by high mountains, where you can take a boat trip to Preveli Beach.Then, go to the small resort of Plakias, situated in a natural bay, and get some time to enjoy lunch, do some shopping and go for another swim in the turquoise waters. Return back to Rethymno along a different route to experience the dramatic landscapes of the Kotsifou Gorge.
What's Included
- Convenient hotel pick-up and drop-off service.
- Comfortable travel with in-vehicle air conditioning.
- Guidance from a professional English and German speaking guide.
- Convenient hotel pick-up and drop-off service.
- Comfortable travel with in-vehicle air conditioning.
- Guidance from a professional English and German speaking guide.
What's Not Included
- Boat ticket to Preveli Beach
- Food and drinks
- Personal expenses
- No pickup from remote hotels such as Grand Rimondi (pick up is from Creta star bus stop)
- Entrance fees
- Boat ticket to Preveli Beach
- Food and drinks
- Personal expenses
- No pickup from remote hotels such as Grand Rimondi (pick up is from Creta star bus stop)
- Entrance fees
Additional Information
Discover some of the finest beaches on Crete’s south coast with a guided day trip to Plakias and Preveli Beach. Experience the island’s breathtaking palm forests and relax on its stunning sandy beaches.
During the journey to these beaches, travel through the rugged Kourtaliotis Gorge by bus, pausing to appreciate its spectacular waterfalls and the…
Discover some of the finest beaches on Crete’s south coast with a guided day trip to Plakias and Preveli Beach. Experience the island’s breathtaking palm forests and relax on its stunning sandy beaches.
During the journey to these beaches, travel through the rugged Kourtaliotis Gorge by bus, pausing to appreciate its spectacular waterfalls and the springs of the Preveli River. Next, proceed to the sandy shores of Damnoni, where a boat will whisk you away on a scenic thirty-minute journey to the renowned Palm Beach of Preveli.
After taking in the awe-inspiring Palm Beach of Preveli, the tour continues to the charming village of Plakias for a traditional lunch, with an opportunity for another refreshing swim before returning.
- Take swimming suits
- Seats are assigned by the theater box office and will not be known in advance of the performance date
- At the time of booking please mention your hotel name and location. You will be notified by email about the pickup point and time
- Pickup begins up to 60 minutes before tour starts and is done from central meeting points near the hotels, only in the areas of Panormo, Scaleta, Adele, Platanias, Missiria, Rethymno town, Atsipopoulo, Kavros and Georgioupoli
- Infants will be seated with their parents on the bus and will not have their own seat
Location
Preveli Beach
40 chlm notia apo to Rethymno,
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
3.9
(58 Ratings)
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851guillaumeg
Sep 18, 2025
Beautiful day - Beautiful discovery of surprising landscapes, swimming fresh water (cold) or sea (warm) day nature well organized, nice guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Safari37439372877
Aug 20, 2025
Unique place - Unique place. You feel like in another country. You must see it to understand how beautiful it is. After refreshing in sea take a walk in palm forest near the river. Go as far as you can, tere are great places to see and take pictures. Recomend good shoes because you will need to walk to the beach along a rocky path.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sandra_m
Jul 12, 2025
Great Day Out - Wonderful way to spend the day!
The first part of the tour was the Gorg/Waterfall. It is not recommend if you struggle walking. It is a bit far and step/high/rocky! It is a good idea to wear a comfy shoe! Make sure to bring a debit card or have your phone because the 5euro fee to enter cannot be paid in cash!
We didn't have lunch until after 3oclock so it's a good idea to have a big breakfast or snack along the way. I would have liked more time at the first beach although the Palm Beach was pretty the water was not so clear and it was rocky. Gorgeous views. Barbara and staff were great. Wonderful coordinator and communication.
Review provided by Viator
Mattt245
Sep 17, 2025
Worth it for Preveli, could have done without Plakias - I really enjoyed Preveli and the kourtaliatiko gorge. Damnoni was more of a stop for a meal and where we got the boat, I didn't have time to swim there. Plakias was fine but felt like it was mostly for the sake of having us stop at a touristy restaurant they probably have some deal with.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Getaway01211976370
Sep 9, 2025
Wonderful tour! - The stops and the guide were very interesting and pleasant. Many beautiful places visited and everything was well arranged.
Only it was very windy with us in the Gorge, which made the feeling of security a bit less. However, no one can do much about this..
Perhaps it is better to be informed about the clothing. For the Gorge, wear a light sweater and sturdy shoes, while you'll be better off with swimming gear and slippers for the rest of the day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anneke
Aug 27, 2025
Day trip - With the shuttle bus to Plakias, there we visited the falls .By climbing a mountain for 20 minutes you will reach the falls , beautiful views (not suitable if you have difficulty walking)
Then on to Prevelie beach.
beautiful palm trees forest , where you can take beautiful pictures , looks like you are walking in the jungle 📸. You can walk through the water surrounded by palm trees.
The beach (in August) is very busy) .
Nice tavern where you can eat and drink.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Xaviert623
Aug 8, 2025
Overbooking , very nice place , mediocre services . - Disappointing , very strong to sell tickets , but the person affected was completely and simply ineffective.
Ironically, she forgot two people on the port to return.
When you get off the bus , you get the tickets , you don't know what to do , where to go , and especially who to talk to once you get off the bus .
The setting is nice, but this organization leaves something to be desired.
On the boat, not enough seating compared to the tickets, aging condition of the boats, not very pleasant crew on board
Review provided by Tripadvisor
John
Jun 25, 2025
Setback - It already started that you were promised to be picked up at the hotel
We had to walk more than 10 minutes for the bus
First beach was nice but there we were only momentarily
When the boat to preveli
You couldn't get a seat there because you could walk over the heads
Beach was downright filthy
Boat back and we had to go to a restaurant where the tour guide has shares because she advised us to eat there 40 times and if you paid you could also use a bed on the beach for free
You can guess
The cots were all taken
Return trip to Rethymno was the most fun but we had to walk that stretch again after arrival
All in all
If you as a Tripadvisor put in the description that you will be picked up at the hotel do it also
Have already done several trips with Tripadvisor but next time I will think twice
Greetings Angelique and john Steeghs
Ideon hotel
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Thomas
Sep 9, 2025
Do not book via tripadvisor - Got a time and place for pickup at the booking, we were there well before we were supposed to be picked up. But then they apparently sent a new time and place for pickup the day before, but that information never came to us.
Very reluctant to help with rebooking for a new day or getting a refund.
They just close the case very quickly.
Will never book through you again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Giovanniprimo
Aug 15, 2025
Avoid if you can - Very badly organized hike. Already from the description of the site it is almost impossible to understand the stages, it would be enough to make a very simple roadmap instead of writing a very complex and poorly written description.
The very unpleasant driving, I understand that you have to respect the times but with small children you know that you can lose a few more minutes, especially if the stages are so tight, she seemed a dictator always ready to chase and scold. On the other hand I must say that she was very good at explanations and exposition in English.
I openly advise against it with small children but in all honesty I would not even do it as an adult as it is really badly organized.
Everything is understood from the first stage to the gorges, scarce 1 hour to visit them. But how do you do it? It takes 25 min to get down and 25 min to get up, basically get down, take 2 photos and you have to get back up with the fear that they leave you walking in the desert, it should be at least 2 hours.
Waiting for the ferry they stop you at damnoni beach to swim or coffee break. It was the only thing that saved the excursion as damnoni beach is really beautiful.
Once you take the ferry you land at preveli beach in a murky river and sea that resembles the worst Italian beaches, horrible. I don't know how she's so contentious. Maybe it's worth walking the entire river, if you dare, to get to some pretty little waterfalls.
Then you resume the ferry trip to get to damnoni and then immediately by bus to go to plakias. And I'll tell you why we stopped to buy a bottle of water and they threatened to leave us on foot.
We arrive at plakias and it would be better not to comment: murky sea, beach full of very annoying stones. There of course the guide had suggested us to have lunch (at 15:00) in one of the premises in the area where he had a strong friendship with the owner.
We leave again, bus, we get to rethymno and they stop us at a place other than the pickup.
In short, I have made excursions but this totally to forget.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
