15 Beach Tours in Rethymno That Survive a Close Look

1.From Rethymno/Kavros: Elafonissi Pink Sand Beach Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 989 reviews · 11 hours · from $31Our pick

Travel from Rethymno or Kavros to Elafonissi on an 11-hour guided bus trip with about four hours at the beach. Guides such as Lazarus, Anastasia, and Janis share local stories, while stops in Elos and other villages break up the mountain drive. Expect clear water, pale sand, some pink sand, and a short walk from the bus.

“Everything was excellent! Guide Janis and driver Kostas was super team! We learned so much about Crete on the rode ! Thanks, and good luck for them !”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.Preveli Beach Damnoni Beach Kourtaliotiko Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 929 reviews · 9 - 11 hours · from $25

From Rethymno and nearby resorts, you’ll visit Kourtaliotiko Gorge, Damnoni Beach, Preveli Beach, and Plakias in one long day. Expect an air-conditioned coach, English or German guidance, a scenic boat ride, swimming time, and a short but uneven walk to waterfalls. Guides such as Barbara and Alex are often praised for clear instructions and friendly care.

“It was very well paced. Enough time to relax, not too much travelling time in between sites. Tour guide explained everything well and everything was on time. Would recommend.”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Cretan Safari – 4×4 Adventure to Preveli Beach with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 780 reviews · 7 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $113Top rated

Spend 7.5 hours exploring Crete in a Land Rover with a local guide. Stop at Spili, Karines, Prasses Gorge, Potamon Dam, Kourtaliotiko Gorge, and palm-fringed Preveli Beach. Lunch and unlimited red and white Cretan wine are included, with hotel pickup from selected resorts around Rethymno.

“Our guide was fabulous. Our group was a fun bunch and we thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the tour. The pace was great with beach time and a leisurely lunch a big plus!”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Matala Beach, Hippie Caves & Odigitria Monastery

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 332 reviews · 8.5 - 10.5 hours · from $50

Travel south from Heraklion by air-conditioned coach to Matala for four hours of beach time, lunch, shops, and optional hippie cave entry. Then visit Odigitria Monastery and its folklore museum. Multilingual guides, including Elizabeth and Elisabetta, lead the day in English, French, German, or Italian.

“Thoroughly enjoyed our day trip to Matala. Our very knowledgable guide, Elizabeth, did a great job! Beautiful beach to visit and loved learning about more of the island as we were driving.”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.From Rethymno/Chania: Day Trip to Preveli Palm Beach

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 220 reviews · from $9Best value

Travel from Rethymno or Chania to Damnoni, then take a short boat ride to Preveli Palm Beach. Swim in the Libyan Sea, walk beside the palm-lined river, and visit Kourtaliotiko Gorge with an English-speaking guide. Guides such as Spiro and Michael add local stories, while private groups are available.

“I would like to spend some more time on the Preveli beach. 2 hours weren’t enough for me personally”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.Kourtaliotiko, Preveli Palm Beach, & Damnoni

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 203 reviews · from $28

Travel from Rethymno through Kourtaliotiko Gorge to Preveli Palm Beach, reached by a boat from Damnoni. You get about two hours at Preveli, time for lunch and swimming at Damnoni, and a short stop in Plakias. Guides such as Anastasia add useful local detail, while the €11 boat ticket is extra.

“Amazing Day Trip , The trip is well organized and Perfect. We've had enough time to do everything. Our Guide , Anastasia is lovely and charming person and she has an wonderful command over the languages. The Bus is very comfortable and Anastasia has a lot of knowledge about the landscape. The most beautiful part of the trip was the 30 Minutes of boat trip from Damnoni to Preveli and we see so many Beautiful caves in the water. At Preveli we love walking around the Palm Forest. At damnoni , we enjoy the Most delicious food . I would do this tour anytime again. The Team is Amazing, helpful,…”

Check availability →Read our full review

7.Day Trip to Matala Hippie Beach and Caves

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 148 reviews · 8 hours · from $37

Travel by coach from Heraklion or nearby resort areas to Matala, Crete’s former hippie haven. You’ll have about four hours for swimming, lunch, town walks, snorkeling, and the optional cave visit. English and several other languages are offered, with pickup details varying by location and tour day.

“het plaatsje Matala, erg leuk. ook erg toeristisch maar dat mag. we hebben lekker gezwommen en gesnorkeld. de grotten was veel van hetzelfde. je kon alleen steeds van buitenaf de grot in, dus niet echt doorlopen. maar binnen toe. reisleidster heeft veel verteld in de bus. was ook leuk. en informatief. goeie buschauffeur”

Check availability →Read our full review

8.From Herakleion: Day Trip to Preveli Beach and Kourtaliotiko

★★★★★★★★★★3.7 · 90 reviews · from $39

Travel by air-conditioned bus from Heraklion and nearby resorts to Preveli Beach, passing through Kourtaliotiko and Kotsifou Gorge. Your English, German, or French-speaking guide handles the route while you get about four hours for swimming, walking beside the Grand River, seeing Theophrastus palms, and enjoying the south-coast views. Hotel pickup is included in selected areas.

Check availability →Read our full review

9.Preveli Palm Beach and Kourtaliotiko Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 87 reviews · 10 hours · from $25

Spend 10 hours exploring southern Crete with an English-speaking guide, visiting Kourtaliotiko Gorge and Preveli’s palm-lined river. Ride a short boat from Damnoni, swim, walk beneath palms, and enjoy free time for food or coffee. Guides including Brenda, Spiritos, and Johnny have helped make this a well-organized outing, though the boat ticket costs extra.

“Excellent guides Spiritos & Johnny starting in the olive groves into a gorge to arrive at Plakias beach. Onwards to catch boat to Preveli beach. As this was first boat of season had to split party in half due to numbers. This resulted in revisit to Plakias as first group hadn't seen initially. A good trip out, but could imagine Preveli gets packed peak season.”

Check availability →Read our full review

10.Preveli Tropical Beach and Palm Forest

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 86 reviews · from $46

Travel by air-conditioned bus from Heraklion and nearby resorts to Preveli Beach, where you can swim, sunbathe, photograph the Stone of Lovers, and walk beside the Grand River through a forest of Theophrastus palms. A local guide explains South Crete’s geology and history. Allow time for the steep, sunny climb back to the bus.

“It was a good day, hosts were nice and driver was punctual. Just wasn’t aware of quite how long the journey was going to take as it didn’t actually say on the advert it just said 1hr. Felt like a very long way for nothing particularly special”

Check availability →Read our full review

11.Matala Beach and Hippie caves, Red beach

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 70 reviews · 8 hours · from $41

Travel by air-conditioned coach from eastern Crete to Matala with a live English, German, or French-speaking guide. You get four hours for swimming, the €5 cave visit, village shops, seaside food, and the walk to Red Beach. The outing also includes scenic countryside and a photo stop near the Grand River and Kourtaliotikos Gorge.

“Non abbiamo trovato la guida che ci spiegava in italiano come arrivare alla Red Beach. Inoltre, non è stato eseguito alcuna guida di tracking assistito e per quanto riguarda la valutazione generale non è stato positivo, perché i turisti sono stati lasciati in autonomia”

Check availability →Read our full review

12.Day Trip to Preveli Beach & Damnoni Beach

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 44 reviews · 10 hours · from $42

Travel from Chania to Crete’s south coast by air-conditioned coach, pause at Damnoni Beach, then take a 30-minute boat to Preveli. You’ll have time to swim beneath the palm forest, explore the river mouth, and stop in Plakias before returning. The English-speaking guide adds island history and mythology along the way.

“The weather was not suitable for the tour so they made some changes, but the overall communication and customer support was dissapointing.. I can’t comment on the actual tour, since we didn’t get to to that, but next time I will definitely not choose them”

Check availability →Read our full review

13.Preveli Palm Beach Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 40 reviews · 12 hours · from $49

Travel from Chania to southern Crete for a boat ride to Preveli Beach, the island's second-largest palm forest, and the river pools behind the shore. You will also stop in Asomatos or Spili, eat in Plakias, and view Kourtaliotis Gorge. The English, Greek, or German guided day costs $49, plus a cash boat ticket.

“I liked the palm forest but the beach is very windy and the wind blows the pebbles all over you making it impossible to sit on the beach, water also too cold for my taste!”

Check availability →Read our full review

14.Day Trip to Preveli & Damnoni Beach & Rethymno City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 38 reviews · from $56

Travel from eastern Crete to Preveli Palm Beach by air-conditioned coach and boat. Swim beneath Theophrastus palms, relax at Damnoni Beach, then explore Rethymno’s old town and Venetian port. Guide Linda has led this tour, which runs about 11 hours and includes transport, boat tickets, insurance, and hotel pickup.

“I preferred Preveli, I recommend bringing water shoes and a jacket for the boat.”

Check availability →Read our full review

15.Rethymno Town: Sea Watersports Activities on the Beach

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 38 reviews · 10 - 15 minutes · from $23

Choose a 10 to 15 minute watersport session at Rethymno’s main beach, with English and French-speaking staff, safety instruction, equipment, and vessel support where needed. Options include slides, Banana, Crazy Sofa, and water-skiing. Two Popeye Watersports points sit within a five-minute walk of each other.

“Thank you very much for the high score😍😍POPEYE TEAM”

Check availability →Read our full review