Affiliate Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. If you click these links and purchase something you will not pay anything extra, but I may get a small commission because of my partnership with these companies. This helps me keep this blog running so I can keep sharing travel information with you!

Chania: Crete’s Most Famous Waterfront Town

Chania is a charming Greek town in northern Crete that is fairly easy to fly into and out of. It is a great place to stay for anyone who loves the beach or loves to shop. If you are looking for more Greek history or architecture to explore, Chania isn’t the place for you. Rent a car and explore the rest of the island by road!

How To Get There

Because it’s located on Crete, one of Greece’s biggest islands, it is only possible to arrive by plane or ferry. If you want to book a ferry, check out Ferryscanner for schedules and prices. 

Thankfully, Chania does have its own airport and it’s less than a 30 minute drive by taxi to get from the airport to town. If you take the bus it may take a little longer, but will be much cheaper (taxi costs €23, bus costs €6). The bus also does not run after 11:30pm, so if you have a late flight arrival your only option to get to Chania town is taxi. We saw a few couples trying to negotiate the taxis down after the last bus left, but the taxis were firm with their prices. They know it’s the only way to get to town if you don’t have a car.

Where To Stay

We suggest staying in the Old Town. Here, you are in the heart of everything: shopping, restaurants, sights, and easy access to the boardwalk. There are also no cars allowed in the Old Town, so you won’t be dealing with traffic noise. We stayed at the Belmondo Hotel looking out over the harbor. Surprisingly, although the hotel was located over a pizza restaurant, the soundproofing in our room was so good that we barely heard anything at night.

If you are concerned about noise, do make sure you read reviews about local hotels and look specifically for ones that say they have good sound proofing. Belmondo Hotel did not disappoint, and we had an enormous balcony with cathedral ceilings in our room. Far more spacious than most hotels I’ve stayed at in Europe!

When To Go

The Greek islands are always best to visit during the warmer months. If you want to avoid what can feel like oppressive heat, don’t go in July or August. We visited Chania in early August and the temperatures were 43C/110F every single day. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time swimming on that trip! If you want to avoid the crowds and don’t care about swimming, go in the shoulder season, in May or September.

Where To Eat

We went back to the Amphora Taverna twice, purely because their salad was amazing (lettuce, dried tomatoes and figs, and a honey-balsamic dressing to die for). Ask for the baklava, even if you see no one ordering it. The staff told me that no one knows what it is so they get what they see others ordering. Their baklava is heavenly. Retsina everywhere was great, as was the ouzo.

For breakfast, we really enjoyed the Θέα (look for their sign over The Back Door Cafe). The cafe is on the second floor overlooking the harbor. They also have a nice iced coffee and Greek yoghurt with fruit. It seemed like more of a local place, and service was a bit slow, but it’s worth it to just take in the views and enjoy the sea air.

Definitely order seafood where and when you can. Greece does an excellent job with any seafood menu, but I did manage to order some undercooked calamari that didn’t sit well with me, so always be careful with your orders!

What To Do

Chania was definitely lacking what some other Greek islands had in abundance: ancient Greek ruins. While the harbor was pretty with some old walls and a Venetian lighthouse dating back to the 16th century, it felt practically new compared to the thousands of year old ruins that we had seen on Kos and other islands. There are some older artifacts in the Archaeological Museum, but Chania was definitely not the place to get your fix of Greek history.

Shopping

If you love to shop, Chania is the place to go. You can get high quality silver jewelry made on the island, clothing, gifts, and countless other items. If you feel like haggling, many places are happy to come down in price – but only a little bit. You can also get away without using cash as everyone uses card machines now.

Beaches

There are several beaches located near Chania that are reachable by foot, bus, or taxi. We tried all three as one of my traveling companions was not able to walk long distances.

Nea Chora Beach

This beach was just outside of the Old Town and along a strip of restaurants. It’s a 20 minute walk from the Old Town, but if you needed to, you could take a taxi or drive. There are not many parking spots in this area, however.

There were plenty of umbrellas and sun beds here for €6 for two people (make sure you also buy a drink from the restaurant that owns the beds). The beach here was mostly sandy with a few stones. The stones weren’t bad enough for us to need water shoes to enter the water.

Yannis Beach (Golden Beach)

This is a little harder to get to, but only because you will need to walk further – over 30 minutes one way. The walk to this beach is pretty nice as it mostly goes near to the shore. It’s really impossible to get lost as long as you keep the ocean in sight. You can also take a bus from the main station near the Old Town for less than €2.

Umbrellas and two sun beds were €10. If you want a drink or snack, there are a few little restaurants nearby, and people walk up and down the beaches selling fresh fruit and other goodies. The beach here is mostly sandy with some pebbles, and the cove protects swimmers from the elements.

Agii Apostoli Beach (Iguana Beach)

This beach was one cove further down from Yannis Beach, so just a bit of a walk further, or one more bus stop down. Bus tickets will cost the same no matter how far you are going from town.

The cove here was roughly the same size as Yannis, and the setup was very similar. Overall, it’s a tossup as to which beach is better. You will find restaurants and people selling food on the beach, and umbrellas and sun beds are the same price as Yannis.

A Good Weekend Getaway

Chania is a great place for beach bums or people who love to shop. We went on this trip mostly because we had just finished a triathlon and just needed a good rest. Some time floating in the Mediterranean, eating good Greek food, and browsing the shops was all we needed to recuperate!