Plakias

Plakias is a village in Rethymno region of Crete. Plakias has grown from a fishing jetty and a few houses in the 1960s to a tourist resort today. Plakias has a 1300-metre-long sandy beach and there are several other beaches within walking distance.

Understand
The first official mention of Plakias was in 1961, when it was recorded in a census as the permanent home of six fishermen. The recorded history of surrounding mountain villages like Myrthios and Sellia goes back to the 10th century, when the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (961 AD) built roads and bridges in order to link those villages, and there are some fragments of wall remaining from a fortified area on a hill top just northeast of the present main town. The local area is geographically suitable for a settlement, having plenty of agricultural space, and there may well have been a settlement there since Minoan times.

Get in
By road, several buses daily from Rethimno and Ayia Galini, one in high season from Sfakia.

Get around
Walk; bicycles, cars & scooters for hire; taxis available; local bus service.

See


Plakias has a stunning, long, gently shelving largely sandy beach. The eastern end is backed by dunes and is largely naturist. A number of other beaches, including the nearby coves at Mikro Amoudi (or Amoudaki), are easily reached. Strong swimmers can pass between the two coves by swimming through the underwater arch, or round the pinnacle that divides them.
 * The sunset from Panarama taverna in the village of Mirthios on the hill above Plakias.

Do



 * Walk in the surrounding countryside. Local bookshops have walking guides. One of the best is the series from Marengo Publications
 * Swim, snorkel & sunbathe, getting an all over tan if you wish. Plakias has one of the best nudist beaches in the world, with an easy-going atmosphere, loungers, umbrellas, and a doughnut seller who wanders up and down the beach.
 * Scuba Dive.
 * Visit the southern-most lending library in Europe which is behind the village towards the Youth Hostel.

Sleep
Plakias has no shortage of rooms and hotels. It is featured in a number of package holiday brochures. If you want to avoid crowds, just five minutes away by car in the town of Myrthios on the hillside, you will find some family-run apartments and tavernas.