154 Blue Flag Beaches in Crete 2026: The Complete Regional List
Crete has 154 Blue Flag beaches in 2026, the highest total of any Greek island. A Blue Flag is an international award that certifies a beach for excellent bathing-water quality, safety, cleanliness, and environmental management, assessed against a fixed set of criteria and renewed each season. Crete spreads those 154 flags across its four regional units: Chania (41), Rethymno (24), Heraklion (37), and Lasithi (52).
Use this guide to find a certified beach near where you are staying, to understand exactly what the award does and does not guarantee, and to plan a coastline day with confidence. The full list, grouped by regional unit and municipality, appears further down this page.
What a Blue Flag actually means
A Blue Flag certifies that a beach meets a defined international standard across several areas at once: water quality, on-site organisation, sanitation, safety, visitor information, and care for the surrounding environment. A Blue Flag is not a beauty contest, and it is not simply a badge for clean water.
The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) runs the award internationally and has done so since 1987. In 2026, 51 countries took part and 4,378 beaches worldwide earned the flag. In Greece, the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (ΕΕΠΦ) has coordinated the programme since 1992.
The flag is voluntary. A beach earns it only when the operator, usually a municipality or a large hotel, applies, meets every criterion, and pays for the equipment, staffing, and monitoring the standard requires. A beach gains or loses its flag from one season to the next, because the assessment repeats every year, so a 2026 list reflects 2026 conditions.
What the flag tells you: the water is tested and rated excellent, there are lifeguards or immediate access to lifesaving and first-aid equipment, toilets and waste disposal are managed, and public information is posted and kept current.
What it does not tell you: whether the beach is sandy or pebbled, quiet or crowded, free or hotel-managed. Certification covers standards rather than scenery, and some of Greece’s most striking wild beaches carry no flag simply because no operator manages them.
The 33 criteria a beach must meet
A beach must satisfy all 33 criteria set by FEE to fly the flag. Marinas must meet 38 conditions and tourism boats 51. Excellent bathing-water quality is the non-negotiable baseline, and a rating of merely “good” is not enough.
The beach criteria fall under the 3 themes described below.
Cleanliness of the sea and beach
- Excellent bathing-water quality, verified by regular sampling throughout the bathing season (1 June-31 October) under European Directive 2006/7/EC. Monitoring in Greece is run by the Special Secretariat for Water of the Ministry of Environment and Energy.
- No discharge of industrial or urban effluent near the beach without proper treatment.
- Enough rubbish bins, emptied regularly, plus routine clearing of all waste from the sand.
Beach facilities and visitor safety
- Public information on bathing-water quality, kept up to date.
- An emergency plan for a pollution incident, including immediate public notice.
- No car or motorcycle access onto the beach.
- No free camping.
- Enough toilets, with controlled waste disposal.
- Trained lifeguards on duty, or immediate access to lifesaving and first-aid equipment and a telephone.
- Facilities and care for people with disabilities.
- No unattended pets on the beach.
Protection of nature and environmental awareness
- Printed information and a code of conduct for the beach and any sensitive surrounding habitat, flora, or fauna.
- Activities that build awareness of the local environment and the need to protect it.
Why Crete leads Greece
Crete tops every Greek region in 2026 with 154 awarded beaches, more than any other Greek island. Crete holds that lead through sustained work by its municipalities and hoteliers, who keep long stretches of coast tested, staffed, and maintained to standard season after season.
Greece as a whole placed second worldwide in 2026, with 624 beaches, 17 marinas, and 17 tourism boats flying the flag. Greece owes part of that standing to islands like Crete: four regional units, hundreds of kilometres of developed shoreline, and a tourism economy built around the sea. Among individual regional units nationwide, Halkidiki records the single largest tally with 93 flags, while Crete’s 154 span its four units together.
How to read the list below. Many entries pair a beach name with a hotel, for example Kavros/Mythos Palace or Rethymno 1/Aquila Porto Rethymno. These are beachfront sections managed and certified by that property. Entries marked municipal or community, such as Ierapetra 1/Municipal or Ammos/Municipal, are publicly run. Reading the entry this way tells you at a glance whether a flagged stretch is a public beach or a hotel’s frontage.
Full list of Blue Flag beaches in Crete, 2026
Chania Region, 41 Blue Flag beaches
Kantanos-Selino Municipality
Kissamos Municipality
Platanias Municipality
- Kolymvari/Euphoria Resort
- Platanias-Limanaki/Porto Platanias Beach
- Platanias/Minoa Palace Resort
- Platanias/Geraniotis
- Rapaniana/Cavo Spada
Chania Municipality
- Ag. Apostoli 1
- Ag. Apostoli 2
- Agia Marina/Santa Marina
- Ag. Marina/The noverian Antama organic beach resort
- Agios Onoufrios
- Agia Marina/Almira Beach
- Vlites
- Kalathas
- Kalamaki
- Kladissos/Domes Zeen Chania
- Marathi
- Nea Chora
- Stalos
- Stavros
- Chrysi Akti
Apokoronas Municipality
- Almyrida
- Georgioupoli/Corissia Hotels
- Georgioupoli/Corissia Princess
- Kavros/Anemos Luxury Grand Resort
- Kavros/Delfina Tropic Beach
- Kavros/Eliros Mare
- Kavros/Georgioupolis Resort
- Kavros/La Mer Resort
- Kavros/Mythos Palace
- Kavros/Vantaris Palace
- Kavros/Ventale Islande Breeze Resort
- Kalyves Xyda
- Kyani
- Maistrali
- Perastikos/Mare Monte
- Perastikos/Pilot Beach
Rethymno Region, 24 Blue Flag beaches
Rethymno Municipality
- Adelianos Kampos A/Aquila Rithymna Beach
- Adelianos Kampos/Caramel Boutique
- Adelianos Kampos/Uzenie All Suites Boutique Resort
- Pigianos Kampos/Amira Luxury Resort
- Pigianos Kampos/Grecotel LUXME White
- Platanias Β/Minos Mare Resort
- Rethymno 1/Aquila Porto Rethymno
- Rethymno 1/Ilios Beach
- Rethymno 1/Kriti Beach
- Rethymno 2/Pearl Beach
- Rethymno 4-Myssiria/Creta Palace
- Rethymno/Ikones
- Skaleta/Creta Star
- Skaleta/Rethymno Mare
Mylopotamos Municipality
- Lianos Kavos Lavris/Iberostar Creta Panorama
- Lianos Kavos/Creta Marine
- Bali Livadi/Mitsis Bali Paradise
- Panormo Limni/Grecotel Club Marine Palace
Agios Vasileios Municipality
- Agia Galini/Ystero Varkotopi
- Ag. Pavlos
- Plakias
- Plakias/Alegria Beach Resort
- Rodakino
- Souda
Heraklion Region, 37 Blue Flag beaches
Malevizi Municipality
- Ammoudara 1/Agapi Beach
- Ammoudara 4/Candia Maris
- Ammoudara/Atlantica Akti Zeus
- Ammoudara/Dessole Dolphin Bay
- Ammoudara/Enorme Teatro Beach
- Ammoudara/Lifestyle Beach
- Ellinoperamata/Apollonia Beach
- Made/Athina Palace
- Fodele/Fodele Beach Hotel
Hersonissos Municipality
- Ag. Georgios 1/ Knossos Royal
- Agios Georgios 2-Panagia Rizi/Annabelle Beach Resort
- Ag. Georgios 3/Canvas By Mitsis Cretan Village
- Agios Georgios 3/Mitsis Royal Mare
- Ag. Dimitrios/Alexander Beach
- Ag. Dimitrios/Cactus Beach Hotel
- Agia Pelagia-Menopetra/Akrogiali Beach
- Amnissos/Unique Blue Resort
- Analipsi/Paralos Kosta Alimia
- Anissaras/Lyttos Beach
- Anissaras/Mitsis Selection Laguna
- Gouves 1/Amirandes
- Drapanos/Nana Golden Beach, Nana Princess
- Estavromenos/Arina Beach Hotel
- Kastri/Creta Maris
- Klontzani/Enorme Ammos Beach
- Klontzani/Sirens Hotels
- Kokkini Chani/ Knossos Beach
- Kokkini Chani/Mitsis Rinela
- Kokkini Chani/Themis Beach
- Limenas Chersonisou 1/AKASHA Beach Hotel & Golden Beach
- Limenas Chersonissou 5/Silva Beach Hotel
- Potamos A
- Potamos/Phaea Cretan Malia
- Sarantari
Faistos Municipality
Lasithi Region, 52 Blue Flag beaches
Agios Nikolaos Municipality
- Agios Nikolaos 1/St. Nicolas Bay
- Agios Nikolaos 2/Minos Palace
- Agios Nikolaos 3/Minos Beach
- Agios Panteleimonas
- Almyros
- Ammos/Marina
- Ammos/Municipal
- Ammoudara
- Ammoudi/Niko Seaside Resort & InterContinental Crete
- Driros/Domes of Elounda
- Elounda/Porto Elounda
- Elounda 1/Elounda Blu
- Elounda/Elounda Mare
- Karavostasi
- Kitroplateia
- Mirabello/Wyndham Grand Crete Mirabello Bay
- Boufos
- Pigaidakia Eloundas/Elounda Village
- Pilos/Istron Bay
- Plaka/Phaea Blue
- Poros 1/Elounda Bay Palace
- Poros 2/Elounda Beach
- Spiliada/Kalimera Kriti
- Schisma
- Chavania 1/Candia Park Village
- Chavania 2
- Chiona
Sitia Municipality
- Analipsi
- Vai-Finikodasos
- Vourlia
- Kato Zakros
- Kouremenos
- Lagoufa/Mikri Poli Crete
- Limanaki
- Makrygialos-Langoufa/Sunwing Makrigialos Beach
- Sitia 1-Galliko/Sitia Beach
- Sitia 1/Galliko
- Chiona
Ierapetra Municipality
- Agia Fotia
- Gra Lygia
- Ierapetra 1/Municipal
- Ierapetra 2/Municipal
- Ierapetra/Enorme Santanna Beach
- Katharades/Numo Ierapetra
- Katharades/Ostria Resort
- Kaki Skala/Avra Beach
- Makrygialos Community Beach
- Koutsounari 2/Kakkos Bay
- Koutsounari-Ag.Ioannis/Mare Blue & Village
- Koutsounari/Coriva Beach-Pelagos Seaside
- Koutsounari/Robinson Ierapetra
- Myrtos
Frequently asked questions
How many Blue Flag beaches are in Crete in 2026?
Crete has 154 Blue Flag beaches in 2026, split across its 4 regional units as listed below.
- Lasithi: 52 beaches
- Chania: 41 beaches
- Heraklion: 37 beaches
- Rethymno: 24 beaches
That total is the highest of any Greek island.
What does a Blue Flag beach guarantee?
A Blue Flag certifies excellent bathing-water quality plus managed safety, sanitation, and public information. A beach must meet all 33 FEE criteria, including lifeguard cover or immediate first-aid access, controlled waste disposal, and posted water-quality data. The award does not rate scenery, sand type, or crowd levels.
Who awards the Blue Flag?
The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) runs the programme internationally and has done so since 1987. In Greece, the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (ΕΕΠΦ) has coordinated the programme since 1992.
Are Blue Flag beaches free to visit?
Access depends on the entry. Municipal and community beaches, such as Ierapetra 1/Municipal or Ammos/Municipal, are publicly accessible. Many flagged stretches are instead the certified beachfront of a specific hotel, shown by the hotel name in the listing, for example Kavros/Mythos Palace. Access and facilities at those sections are tied to the property.
Can a beach lose its Blue Flag?
Yes. The award is assessed every year and depends on the operator reapplying and continuing to meet all criteria, so a beach gains or loses the flag between seasons. A 2026 list reflects 2026 certification.
Which Crete region has the most Blue Flag beaches?
Lasithi has the most Blue Flag beaches in Crete with 52, followed by Chania with 41, Heraklion with 37, and Rethymno with 24.
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