What could possibly make a beach a unique and interesting experience? At a typical beach, you’ve got sand, you’ve got ocean, you’ve maybe got some decent beach amenities like lounge chairs and food options.
But Preveli Beach is not your typical beach.
Preveli is special because a freshwater river dumps into the sea there. This river also flows its way through one of Crete’s largest, most beautiful palm forests! If that weren’t enough, Preveli Beach has crystal clear water with a perfect area for snorkeling.
All of this combined makes Preveli one of the most adventurous, diverse, and unique beach experiences I’ve had in a long time!
The Way To Preveli Beach
We drove about 1.5 hours Southeast to the southern coast of Crete. We entered the Rethymnon region of Crete and traveled over mountains and through farmland to get there.
Soon, we made it to the first sign that we were near Preveli Beach—the river Kissano Faraggi.
We crossed the river on a low bridge and came upon a taverna on the other side where we parked. A pedestrian-only walkway arched over the river for a nice, elevated view toward the gorge below.
Back in the car, we made our way along the mountain sides to get to an adjacent beach where we would park. This way was quite treacherous—a one-lane road with rarely a spot to pull over for cars coming the other way and a sheer drop-off to the left side.
We could tell who the locals were right away by how quickly they drove and took advantage to pass us by on wider turns! This was not a drive for the unskilled driver or faint-of-heart.
Palm Beach was where we were planning to park. It is on the East side of Preveli Beach and is the preferred entry point if you want to avoid a steeper, longer climb to Preveli.
Apparently the Western side has the real parking lot for the beach but its a long and very challenging way down.
As we learned previously, Crete will surprise you with unexpectedly difficult hikes down to its beaches. So we made sure to listen to the reviews and take the easier way this time!
The path took us up along the cliff edge from Palm Beach. The views of crystal clear, turquoise and blue water below was already enticing us. Under the hot, noon-day sun, we were ready to get in that water!
As we came upon the stairs that would bring us down to Preveli beach, we could see the beach speckled with visitors below.
This beach is actually more frequented by locals than tourists. So although it looked populated, this was a much less crowded beach than others like Balos and Elafonissi (which we skipped on this trip). I’m glad we went here instead of adding on another touristy beach because this one had such different elements to explore!
For example, we could already see the river to the right dumping into the sea. The river flows down through a gorge that you can access from the beach, in between a beautiful, protected palm forest!
Preveli Beach Amenities & Overview
On the beach itself, there is lots of shade offered by the surrounding forest. This was the perfect spot to perch ourselves to avoid too much sun in the middle of the day.
Since this is more of a local spot, there is only one taverna on the whole beach and no beach chairs for rent or anything else like some of the other popular beaches. This was perfect for a quick snack or drink, although we brought a lot of our own groceries to munch on!
Carolina decided to rest while I set out to explore a bit of the beach on my own.
I went to the farthest side of the beach to get a lay of the land. I ended up finding a huge rock to climb and stand on for some elevated views of the beach.
This was a really great little walk with some interesting things to see along the way. For one, I crossed the cold, fresh river water on my walk over. There was actually a pretty strong current from the river as it rushed out to the sea.
I also spotted some rusted pipes and things left over from I’m-not-sure-what! But it made for a nice photographic moment looking out to sea.
Additionally, I found in this area a small lagoon of rocks and shallow waters that looked perfect for snorkeling! After taking some photos above water here, I made my way back to get Carolina.
Snorkeling At Preveli Beach
This spot on the Western side of the beach was a hidden snorkel lagoon. The water was clear and lively with small fish and some colorful rocks.
We could swim in between large rock walls and explore in between even larger ones.
Carolina and I had fun diving down to get a closer look at the sea floor. Meanwhile, we took photos of each other as we both explored. The water was so clear, we could easily capture one another snorkeling some 20 or more feet away.
Upriver Palm Forest Trail
After our snorkel session, we were ready to check out the river for a short hike. Many people visiting the beach were walking upstream. I wasn’t sure how far it would go until we’d turn back but that wasn’t about to stop us! Turns out it was about 400 meters (1300 feet) one-way.
This walk was fairly deep at the start, requiring us to swim a bit. Then we were able to touch and tippy-toe our way along until the water reached hip height.
I enjoyed views of the palm forest here. These are the endemic Cretan date palm. The Preveli palm forest is unique and the second largest in Crete. The largest is the Vai in the eastern, Lasithi region of Crete.
Uniquely, this forest caught on fire over 10 years ago but quickly regenerated just some 4 months lately. It’s a tough and hearty forest!
The river got shallower and shallower as we walked.
Eventually my weight was heavier on the river bottom and my bare feet could feel every round pebble pressing into them—ouch! I tried to pick spots where soft algae covered the river bottom but it wasn’t always possible to find.
This was one of those rare moments where I wish I had packed water shoes!
It definitely took me extra time to walk up the river because I didn’t have the right shoes. Nevertheless, I made it!
The point that we decided to turn around was after a small, rocky, rapids portion. It was fun trying to pick a way up that wouldn’t just lead to us getting washed right back down again!
Around the bend in the river, we could glance up into the Kourtaliótiko gorge.
The pink flowers that speckled the greenery here were a beautiful touch to the overall scenery of the river and gorge ahead.
There are many trails that come down into the gorge from the other direction. Or, hikers can choose to continue up the river from Preveli.
We decided to head back down. We went through the rapids portion again, having a ton of fun floating down like a slide in parts.
We chose to walk along the pathway on the sides of the river for parts of it—mostly to relieve my feet! And then we headed back into the water at the deeper parts where I could swim the rest of the way.
One of the benefits of this entire little trek up the river was that we were able to wash off the salty sea water in the fresh river water. It was cleansing and revitalizing!
But now we were both ready for naps!
At this point, many people had left for the day. We could spend the rest of the late afternoon closer to the sandy portion of the beach. Still in the shade, we had the perfect spot to look out at the sea.
From here, we could observe the distant mountains of other nearby islands, like the Paximadia, two small uninhabited islands to the South.
Fun fact: According to Greek mythology, gods Apollo and Artemis were born on Paximadia.
In Conclusion
I really enjoyed visiting and exploring Preveli Beach. While Balos had the big “Wow," jaw-dropping beauty, Preveli’s perks were that it was less touristy and had diverse natural elements to explore.
The snorkel spot, the freshwater river, the palm forest, the natural shade, and the smaller, more relaxed crowd made this a top-notch beach experience! I highly recommend not missing it while exploring the beaches of Crete.
