The best scenic drive in western Crete

Gorges, pink sand and the wildest west coast

Western Crete is the greenest, wildest part of the island: the White Mountains tumble down through gorges and plateaus to beaches that rank among the finest in Europe. This drive strings the seven strongest places together in a loop of about 235 kilometres from Chania, the old Venetian harbour town.

Mountains first, then the coast: you climb through the narrow plane-tree gorge to Theriso, the village of Venizelos' revolt, and over the balcony road to the Omalos plateau, where Xyloskalo lets you gaze straight into the famous Samaria gorge. Then you drop to the south-west corner: the pink sand of Elafonisi, the white monastery of Chrysoskalitissa on its rock, and the balcony road above the sea via Sfinari to Falassarna, where the sun sinks into the water. Via Kissamos, where the boat leaves for the Balos lagoon, you roll back to Chania.

Unique to Touren.app: you do not have to start in Chania. Click "drive it as a loop from your location" and we rotate the loop so it starts at the point nearest your hotel or apartment and brings you back there.

The route on the map

A schematic overview by Touren.app, not a navigation map. The exact route opens under “Drive this route” or in Google Maps. Map orientation: north is up.

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The 7 places along the route

1. Chania

Start · the Venetian harbour town

Chania is Crete's prettiest town: a Venetian harbour with an Egyptian lighthouse, old shipyards and lanes full of scents and terraces. Walk a lap of the quay before you set off, or save the old town for the evening after the drive, when the light softens and the harbour fills with life.

Practical: park outside the old town (the centre is car-free). This is stop 1 and the pivot point of the drive-from-your-location loop.

2. Theriso-kloof

the plane-tree gorge · Theriso

Fourteen kilometres above Chania lies Theriso, at the end of a narrow gorge where the road threads for six kilometres between plane trees and rock walls. This is where Eleftherios Venizelos, later Greece's great statesman, launched his 1905 revolt; Theriso was his mother's village. Today it is a beloved mountain village with tavernas under the trees.

Practical: the gorge road is paved but narrow; drive gently and mind oncoming cars. The village tavernas serve excellent Cretan lamb.

3. Omalos & Xyloskalo

balcony over the Samaria gorge · Omalos

Via Lakkoi you climb a hairpinned mountain road to the Omalos plateau, a good thousand metres above the sea. At its edge lies Xyloskalo, the entrance to the Samaria gorge: a balcony at some 1,200 metres where you look straight into the sixteen-kilometre gorge, with the bare peak of Gingilos opposite. The hamlet of Samaria deep in the gorge was abandoned in 1962 when the area became a national park.

Practical: the viewpoint is free and reachable by car; it is noticeably cooler up here, so bring a layer. The gorge itself is a full-day hike (downhill one way, May to October) and is not part of this drive.

4. Elafonisi

the pink beach · Elafonisi

In the island's far south-west corner lies Elafonisi: a shallow lagoon of white sand that blushes pink in many places, coloured by crushed shells and pigmented micro-organisms. In calm weather you wade knee-deep to the protected islet offshore. The approach through the chestnut villages around Elos is a drive in its own right.

Practical: in July and August come before ten or after four and you get the beach back. Paid parking; water shoes help for the wade. Protected area: keep to the paths and take nothing with you.

5. Moni Chrysoskalitissa

the white monastery · Chrysoskalitissa

A few kilometres above Elafonisi the white monastery of Chrysoskalitissa balances on a rock some 35 metres above the Libyan Sea. The present complex dates from the seventeenth century and is still inhabited. The name means "golden step": legend says one of the ninety steps up is made of gold, visible only to those without sin.

Practical: small entrance fee; shoulders and knees covered. The terrace looks out over the whole south-west coast.

6. Falassarna

sunset over the sea · Falassarna

The road north is a balcony above the west coast, hairpinning high over the sea at Sfinari and Platanos. It ends at Falassarna: a wide bay whose beach made a CNN poll of the world's hundred best. Above its northern end lie the ruins of an ancient Greek harbour city, complete with a curious stone throne. Because the bay faces due west, this is Crete's sunset spot.

Practical: the wind can blow hard here and the sand drifts; keep a towel in the car. The excavation is free to wander.

7. Kissamos (boot naar Balos)

the Balos lagoon · by boat from Kissamos

The loop winds down in Kissamos, an unpretentious little port between two peninsulas. From its harbour, day boats sail to the famous Balos lagoon and the pirate fort of Gramvousa: shallow turquoise water around a white spit of land, the view on every Crete poster. It is the finest way to see Balos, without the notorious dusty track.

Practical: book the boat ahead in high season. We advise against driving on to Balos: the 8 km from Kaliviani is a rough dirt track and damage on unpaved roads is excluded by most rental companies.

Practical: for a rental car, convertible or motorbike

From which town: the route starts at Chania, but you do not have to begin there. Click "drive it as a loop from your location" and Touren.app rotates the loop to the point nearest your hotel or apartment, so you set off from your own door and return to it. From Kissamos or Elafonisi the loop works just as well.

Mountain roads: the Theriso gorge road and the climb to Omalos are paved but narrow and winding. Drive gently, sound your horn on blind bends and expect goats on the road. The west-coast balcony road is wider but demands attention: the view is a distraction in itself.

Fuel and tolls: fill up in Chania or Kissamos; petrol stations are sparse in the south-west corner. There are no tolls anywhere on Crete (as of 2026); a new motorway is under construction along the north coast, but it is not there yet.

Rental car: the whole loop is paved and fine in an ordinary rental car; a small car is pleasant in Theriso. Leave the dirt track to Balos alone: damage on unpaved roads is excluded by most rental contracts. Take the boat from Kissamos instead.

Best time: April to June and September to October are ideal: warm, quieter and clear. The Xyloskalo viewpoint and the Samaria gorge belong to the May-to-October season; in summer, Elafonisi is at its busiest around midday.

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