Greece
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
8,336km²
Area
786km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
2,456m
Highest point
Mount Ida
623,065
People
25°C
Warmest sea
August
87km
To the mainland
When to go to Crete
Best for the beach from July to September.
The sea is warmest in August (25 °C) and coolest in February (16 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to October.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island of Greece
Crete is an island in Greece. It covers 8,336 km², with 786 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Ida, rises to 2,456 m. About 623,065 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 87 km away.
Getting there
- Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis Airport (HER)main airport (3 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at HER airport (Heraklion)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesLoutro - Agia Roumeli, Sfakia - Loutro, Gramvousa Balos, Palaiochora - Sougia
- 87 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Crete.
- 472beachesKouremenos, Trachilias Beach, Krassas beach and 469 more
- 318viewpointsExit Imbros Gorge, Pachnes Track, Tunnel Topolia and 315 more
- 28lighthouses
- 34ferry terminalsWorldchampion Jet & Champions League Jet 1, Loutro, Êlafonissos and 31 more
- 41marinasMarina Sitia, Marina of Chania, Bali Marina and 38 more
- 329named peaksPsiloritis, Pachnes, Mávri Gourgoútha and 326 more
- 16waterfallsMylonas waterfall, Richtis, Small Waterfall and 13 more
- 120castles and fortsCastle of Milopotamos, Koules of Grammeni, Upper western fort Agia Roumeli and 117 more
- 592ruins and archaeological sitesRoman Villa of Makry-Gialos, Xerokampos Hellenistic Settlement, Ancient Lappa and 589 more
- 24dive centresDiver's Club Crete, Atlantis Diving Center, Scuba Dive - Snorkeling Boat Trip and 21 more
- 2surf spotsGolden Beach, Gonesurfing
- 116waymarked walking routeseEuropean Walking Route E4, Greece, Crete, European long distance path E4 - part Greece, Anopoli-Pachnes and 113 more
- 60campsitesSunset, Camping Hania, Wild camping spot and 57 more
- 2,505hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 3,684restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Crete in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Crete, each with its own numbers.
36beaches and covesCoastya
2lakesLakeyas
3waterfallsCascadyas
Largest lake
0.52km²
Kournas
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
27.6°C
Kournas
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
26.0°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
36 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Préveli25.5°C
- Paralia Platania25.6°C
- Damnoni25.5°C
- Kalamokanias beach26.0°C
- Chani beach26.0°C
- Mávros Mólos25.4°C
- Evita Bay25.6°C
- Adele Beach25.6°C
28 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
2 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Kournas0.52km²
- Bramiana reservoir0.34km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
3 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Richtis Gorge
- Milona waterfall
- Richtra waterfall, Viannos
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 480 m above the sea. 27 % of it is below 200 m.
- 8 %0–50 m
- 19 %50–200 m
- 37 %200–500 m
- 24 %500–1,000 m
- 11 %1,000–2,000 m
- <1 %> 2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
100 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Irákleion137,154 people
- Chaniá53,910 people
- Rethymno32,468 people
- Néa Alikarnassós14,624 people
- Gázi12,606 people
- Ierápetra12,355 people
- Ágios Nikólaos11,421 people
- Sitia8,707 people
- Arkalochóri8,547 people
- Soúda6,729 people
- Moíres6,379 people
- Nerokoúros5,593 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 23 | 19 | 16 |
| Night low (°C) | 12 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 13 |
| Sea (°C) | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 18 |
| Rain (mm) | 88 | 75 | 42 | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 46 | 58 | 86 |
| Wet days | 16 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 15 |
| Sun h/day | 4.1 | 4.8 | 7.0 | 8.7 | 10.4 | 12.2 | 12.2 | 11.2 | 9.4 | 7.1 | 5.2 | 3.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 24 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 22 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +1.0 | −0.4 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +1.3 | +1.6 | +0.5 | +0.7 |
| 2021 | +1.4 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.5 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.7 | −0.4 | −0.2 | +0.9 |
| 2023 | +1.7 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.2 | −0.5 | −0.3 | +1.5 | +1.6 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +2.0 | +1.4 |
| 2024 | +1.8 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +0.3 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +1.9 | +1.5 | +0.9 | +0.3 | +0.9 |
| 2025 | +1.4 | +1.6 | +1.2 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +1.0 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q34374) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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canyons
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