Chrissi & the islands around Crete

Imeri & Agria Gramvousa

Ήμερη & Άγρια Γραμβούσα

Imeri Gramvousa and Agria Gramvousa are two different islands near the northwest point. On Imeri lies the Venetian fortress; Agria has a much rougher rock character. If you read on a boat program .Gramvousa , you must therefore see which island is really meant.

The fortress shows how a small island could play a major role in controlling sea routes. The area also has a nineteenth-century story of rebels and piracy. The wreck at Imeri adds a younger layer of shipping. Together they form a landscape of coastal shipping, defense and human risk.

A combination with Balos connects two different places: an island visit and a lagoon on the Cretan peninsula. Divide your attention between fort, coast and landscape. A climb to the fort requires different shoes and more effort than time on a boat deck. The current construction and visitor scheme is part of the day program, not the name of the excursion.

Thodorou · an island with borders

Άγιοι Θεόδωροι

Thodorou is located just off the coast near Agia Marina and Platanias. However, proximity does not make it a free beach. A municipal announcement before 8 June 2026, explicitly states that public access to the protected island was only allowed on that holiday. That is a concrete arrangement for that date, not an annual automatic right.

The island is particularly interesting as part of the coastal landscape and nature. Ask if you can only go on a tour by boat, make a stop outside the coast or actually deship. . To Thodorou . To Thodorou . The northern rock is located separately in the register; it is not a second name for the large island.

Souda, Leon, Paleosouda and Lazaretta

Σούδα · Λέων · Παλαιόσουδα · Λαζαρέττα

The island of Souda in the bay of the same name is different from the harbour or the city. The municipal historical description calls the Venetian fortress, built from 1571 to guard the entrance of the bay. Leon is next to it; Paleosouda, also called Marathi, is located elsewhere in the same bay. For example, small names on the map are readable as a coherent maritime landscape.

Lazaretta is located in front of the town of Chania and is geographically part of another coastal strip. Do not confuse an island name on a tour map with a confirmed opening. From the coast you can already see a lot of the islands' location in relation to estuaries, peninsulas and open sea. Read more for the hinterland Aptera.

Elafonisi · where beach and island touch each other

Ελαφονήσι

Elafonisi is both a famous beach name and the name of the low island in the lagoon landscape. The connection to the mainland can be experienced as a sandy strip or shallow passage. This makes the dividing line between the beach and the island of the island much less sharp than when crossing Gavdos.

Just notice the transition from water to dunes and vegetation. It makes the landscape special. The small rock Artemis, also called Prasonisi, has its own mention in the register. More about beach, nature and visit is in our existing Elafonisi chapter.

Gavdos · more than a day trip

Γαύδος

Gavdos is the inhabited island world south of western Crete. Villages, small accommodations, taverns and beaches give it a different character than the usually uninhabited islands along the coast. Sarakiniko and Agios Ioannis are well-known beach names; Trypiti belongs to the southern end. The island is a destination to take time for.

It is precisely the distance that makes the crossing part of the journey. Official tourist information calls connections from Paleochora and Chora Sfakion. That is a geographical departure point, not a timetable for every day. Check port, sailing time, transfer and return trip on the date of your trip with the carrier.

If you stay overnight, you will have a different perspective on the island: the silence after the day visitors leave, the inhabited core behind the beach and the dark sky. Plan enough margin for a return trip to Crete before you take a flight. Combining an island stay with a tight connection makes the last holiday unnecessarily vulnerable.

Check the current navigation connections at ANENDYK .

Gavdopoula and the small neighbours

Γαυδοπούλα

Gavdopoula is located northwest of Gavdos. It is a separate island and not an alternative name for Gavdos. Gaidouronisi and Prasonisi at Gavdos also get their own place in the register. Especially Gaidouronisi can be confusing: that name is also used for Chrissi, much further east.

For the small islands this guide gives a geographical identification, no daily boat connection or free access. Read the names together with their region and map location. A visit to Gavdos does not imply that you can visit the surrounding rocks.

The two Paximadia

Παξιμάδια

On the south coast are Megalo Paximadi and Mikro Paximadi. From some points of view they look like one long rock massif; on the map you see two separate islands. Their name should not be confused with Paximadi near Dia or with Paximada and Paximadaki in the Dionysades near Sitia.

This is a good place to experience the difference between a coastal view and a map image. A rockback can hide the separation between two islands, while a slight change of course at sea makes the water visible between them. From the surroundings of Agia Galini, the silhouette belongs to the southern horizon.

In the case of a local boat trip, ask for the exact destination and permitted activity. The register also mentions Prasonisi at Agios Pavlos, Aspros Volakas and Diapori on the north coast. They have their own location and together do not form a separate accessible island park.

Slide · the horizon for Heraklion

Δία

Dia is located opposite Heraklion in the Cretan Sea. The regional visitor information connects the island with boat trips from the port and with maritime research on the south coast. The sheltered bays form a recognizable contrast with the open sea north of it.

The underwater history gives the island more meaning than just a place for a swim stop. The source mentions research of Jacques-Yves Cousteau and ship's remains from different periods. An invention story is part of the heritage; it does not mean that visitors can explore underwater remains themselves or take material with them.

Petalidi, also called Glaronisi, and Paximadi are small neighbours of Dia. Further east, near Malia, are Afendis Christos and Agia Varvara. On the south coast are other coastal rocks and islands, among others near Kali Limenes. The names in the register are therefore always given a regional name.

Spinalonga · an island with multiple lives

Σπιναλόγκα

Spinalonga near Elounda, also known as Kalydon, connects a Venetian fortress, Ottoman habitation and the history of people with Hansen's disease. From 1903 the island was used as a leper colony. The daily life behind the walls deserves as much attention as the defense works.

When visiting buildings, read as traces of people: a street, a house and a facility tell something other than a bastion. An island with such a loaded past is more than the scenery of a novel or television series. extended Spinalonga section remains the main story; here the island is in geographical cohesion.

At Elounda, notice the difference between the fortified island and the larger Kolokytha land form. The small Kolokythia/Vryonisi in the register is not automatically the same place as a beach called Kolokytha. Not only do you look for the name, but read the coastal form and location.

Mochlos & Pseira · islands in the Minoan Sea

Μόχλος · Ψείρα

The archaeological island opposite the modern Mochlos was once connected to Crete via a narrow edge of the country. The Greek-American excavation project describes a Minoan town, a Mycenaean village with cemetery and later habitation. So the sea between village and excavation is also part of a changing coastal landscape.

This makes Mochlos a special counter-image to the idea that an island has always been isolated. Coastal lines change and the relationship between the site, settlement and hinterland changes with it. View the excavation from that larger context, without reading a short distance over water as permission for a swim crossing.

Pseira, also written Psira, is located further west in Mirabello and also has a Minoan settlement story. It is an island of its own, not an alternative name for Mochlos. For visits to both archaeological sites the current regulation of the competent department is leading.

Dionysades & Elasa · a landscape for birds

Διονυσάδες · Ελάσα

The Dionysades off the coast of Sitia include Dragonada, Gianysada, Paximada and Paximadaki. Elasa is further east near Cape Sidero and does not belong to that four-part group. The rocks, sea and remote location together form an important natural context.

The Sitia Geopark describes the meaning of Dionysades and Elasa for the eleonora falcon, Falco eleonorae. The species name is deliberately recorded here: translations of natural texts sometimes change birds of prey and seabirds. This landscape requires space for animals, especially when they breed or rest.

From Sitia you can look at the coast and the island horizon in conjunction. A possible trip across the sea requires alignment with weather, nature rules and allowed approach. The lack of building says little about the vulnerability of an island.

Koufonisi / Lefki · the archaeological southeast

Κουφονήσι · Λεύκη

Koufonisi to the southeast of Crete is the same island as Lefki. It is a different destination than the Koufonisia of the Cyclades. The regional sources call it remains of habitation and a Greek-Roman theatre; also the processing of purple from sea snails is part of the island story.

Around Koufonisi are Strongyli, Makrouli, Marmaro and Trachilos. The geopark describes these islands together with the special dry vegetation and the surrounding sea. The Kavali group on the east coast is separately included in the register. Thus, the map remains more precise than one general indication of the islands at Koufonisi.

A comparison with Chrissi is educational: both have a southern sea context and traces of human production, but the landscape and the protection questions are not the same. Therefore, rules for Chrissi cannot be applied to Koufonisi, or vice versa. Inquire before a boat trip to the current access regime for the chosen location.