The northwestern coast of Crete can feel like one giant sandy beach, stretching out one sun-soaked kilometer after another. But take a closer look, and you’ll find small towns, fishing harbors, and cities rich in Venetian and Ottoman history. My sister and I spent several days driving along the seaside, happily exploring both the popular destinations and the quieter corners of western Crete.

Sfakaki: A Quiet Beachside Base

We started our journey in the small town of Sfakaki, which is less populated than many of its nearby neighbors. It has a wonderful beach both during the day …

… and at sunset:

We suspect that not many people go to Sfakaki because the mostly-sandy beach is cluttered with seaweed and small rocks. But we found the water wonderful — you can walk a long way out on the sand and then play in the waves. We also loved lunch at Restaurant Eleven by the Sea, where both the mushrooms (served in a cream sauce with tiny pieces of smoked pork called apaki) and the view were outstanding.

Rethymno: A Bustling Medieval Center

Sfakaki is just twenty minutes away from Rethymno (also spelled Rethymnon or Rethimno), a college and beach city best known for its medieval Old Town. This Venetian- and Ottoman-influenced section is filled with shops and restaurants.

We found Rethymno a bit too crowded for our taste (and the traffic is terrible), but we had one of our best meals of the trip at Avli. I could happily eat their apaki every day, and they also make a mean cocktail.

Seaside Stops in Western Crete

En route west to Chania, Crete’s second-largest city, Maps.me inexplicably took us through the coastal village of Nikiforos Fokas, where we pulled over to see this beautiful little chapel …

… the small rocky beach …

… and the teeny-tiny not-quite-harbor.

Maps.me also took us through Vryses, a charming, shady town by a river where we wished we could have spent more time. But we did stop for popsicles at the bakery!

Chania: Crete’s Prettiest Town

Our final destination was Chania, a city we really enjoyed.

Chania has a long and important history. It was once home to a Minoan settlement — and more recently, it was the capital of Crete (though that shifted to Heraklion in 1971). Like Rethymno, Chania was occupied by both the Venetians and the Turks, so it has a lot of interesting buildings and windy streets. We walked through the old town without much purpose, just enjoying the scenery.

We stumbled on an archaeological dig …

… found the Church of St. Nickolas (established in 1205 and later turned into a mosque by the Turks) …

… admired doors …

… and went shopping.

I didn’t buy this kri-kri (Cretan wild goat), though I really liked it -—but I did shop for dresses at colorful Philly, where the motto is: “life is too short to wear boring clothes.”

We also walked briefly along the harbor, which is just lovely.

The harbor area and old town can really fill up with tourists — it was a bit crazy in the evening — but we still enjoyed our time there immensely.

If you find yourself in Chania, we recommend the boureki (a sort of potato, zucchini, and mizithra cheese pie) at Tamam (though their Cretan salad was a disappointment) and a hotel stay on the quiet side of the harbor at Porto Veneziano.

If you’re exploring western Crete, don’t miss the Samaria Gorge, the mountain town of Omalos, and the beaches of Paleochora. For more Crete road tripping, read my guide to the island’s geography and travel realities. And if you’re arriving in Crete via ferry, you can read my post on traveling from Gythio to Kissamos.