Skinaria Beach
Skinaria Beach
4.5
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Best nearby
Restaurants
61 within 5 kms
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20 within 10 kms
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
528 reviews
Excellent
356
Very good
133
Average
26
Poor
4
Terrible
9
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Ellen V
Nea Smirni, Greece62 contributions
Jun 2022 • Friends
The sea is beautiful, crispy and clean. Arriving at the beach we went to nice luxury sunbeds. That they cost 20 Euro,NP, they supply a beach towel + small bottle of water. They asked to pay now or later. We said later. After 2 hrs a lady asked to be paid. As I pay with a card I needed to walk quite a distance in 38C to the tavern. I asked if I could pay when leaving in 30 min as the parking was same direction, and got the rude reply ; I am not going to pay out of my pocket if you don't pay, which I found quite insulting, as it is a quite beach with few umbrellas. Besides that the water from the shower was brown filthy. I told her so and she told me I should contact the municipality on that in a way like just pay and shut up. Final remark the umbrellas are too small for these (large) sunbeds. There are lot of other beaches were you get treated professionally. I spoke Greek as my family is Greek.
Written 25 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
taifuntodd
Germany3 contributions
Sept 2021
This review is basically about Garden Tavern Skinaria Beach.
First of all, the beach is wonderful. We´ve been diving there and it is really nice.
Also the tavern on the first floor is very nice and the personnel is friendly. Food is okay.
But there is the other tavern "family tavern" on the ground floor/garden. Take care those are very unfriendly people. Ive been there with my kids (6mo and 3y), eating an ice cream and my big one wanted to play with his cars on one of the big tables.. No problem I thought as there were several free tables and no sign of a change on that matter. So my son started playing on a 8 person table but the waiter came and asked me whether I would order something more or more people would join. I said I would drink a coffee later on. He told me I should please switch to another table in case a big group of guests shows up. I tried to explain to my son, he got furious and loud. Yes, but that´s what kids do if you take their toys. I tried to calm him down and explain the problem to him but it didn´t work.
Finally, the waiter came saying "I need to ask you to leave, your son is to loud, there are other guests you know."
It would not have been loud in the first place if they would just let him play at the table.
Of course no group of people showed up in this place (the tavern upstairs however was quite crowded) as I myself, my wife and another diver checked occasionallly...over the whole afternoon.
I do not understand how a "family tavern" can act like that.
First of all, the beach is wonderful. We´ve been diving there and it is really nice.
Also the tavern on the first floor is very nice and the personnel is friendly. Food is okay.
But there is the other tavern "family tavern" on the ground floor/garden. Take care those are very unfriendly people. Ive been there with my kids (6mo and 3y), eating an ice cream and my big one wanted to play with his cars on one of the big tables.. No problem I thought as there were several free tables and no sign of a change on that matter. So my son started playing on a 8 person table but the waiter came and asked me whether I would order something more or more people would join. I said I would drink a coffee later on. He told me I should please switch to another table in case a big group of guests shows up. I tried to explain to my son, he got furious and loud. Yes, but that´s what kids do if you take their toys. I tried to calm him down and explain the problem to him but it didn´t work.
Finally, the waiter came saying "I need to ask you to leave, your son is to loud, there are other guests you know."
It would not have been loud in the first place if they would just let him play at the table.
Of course no group of people showed up in this place (the tavern upstairs however was quite crowded) as I myself, my wife and another diver checked occasionallly...over the whole afternoon.
I do not understand how a "family tavern" can act like that.
Written 25 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gaia M
Padua, Italy50 contributions
Jul 2024 • Couples
Beautiful beach near Damnoni. There is convenient free parking (in July it was half empty) adjacent to the beach. You can choose whether to rent a sunbed and umbrella or, as we did, take advantage of the free beach where there is enough space for everyone but little shade. The water is gorgeous, lovely colors ranging from blue to green. Obviously transparent, it looks like a pool. A little cold but this is subjective. Se avete la maschera portatela! We had none and we were sorry we could not take the opportunity to snorkel.
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Written 13 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Aniek
Best, The Netherlands32 contributions
Aug 2024 • Couples
It is indeed a very beautiful beach where you can snorkel beautifully!
However, in August already quite busy early in the day!! Cots are quickly taken.
Furthermore, I would recommend checking the wind force beforehand, there is often quite a lot of wind. When we were there 40mph... stuff was blowing all over the place.
The road there is especially the last 2 km very exciting... very narrow road and difficult when you have oncoming traffic..
However, in August already quite busy early in the day!! Cots are quickly taken.
Furthermore, I would recommend checking the wind force beforehand, there is often quite a lot of wind. When we were there 40mph... stuff was blowing all over the place.
The road there is especially the last 2 km very exciting... very narrow road and difficult when you have oncoming traffic..
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Written 19 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fede Skywalker
Toronto, Canada3 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
Amazing beach. Deep. Sandy with small pebbles. Water is crystal clear.
Service in beach include places to rest and full blown restaurant at the top of the hill. parking can be a bit tricky (left car ~ 800 m away).
Amazing for kids and snorkeling. Should be top 10 in Crete.
Service in beach include places to rest and full blown restaurant at the top of the hill. parking can be a bit tricky (left car ~ 800 m away).
Amazing for kids and snorkeling. Should be top 10 in Crete.
Written 23 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
valsaeale
Milan, Italy236 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
Beautiful day from early morning to sunset on this beautiful beach. Perhaps the most beautiful visited on the south coast of Crete.
The sea is a pool of clear water waiting to be explored thanks also to the numerous stones present on the seabed which remains transparent everywhere. We stayed in the sunbeds costing 25 euros per couple, those in the garden tavern, and we felt like royalty.
Regardless of the sunbed, beach worth visiting.
The sea is a pool of clear water waiting to be explored thanks also to the numerous stones present on the seabed which remains transparent everywhere. We stayed in the sunbeds costing 25 euros per couple, those in the garden tavern, and we felt like royalty.
Regardless of the sunbed, beach worth visiting.
Written 24 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eve C
27 contributions
Sept 2023
I don't give the Max rating that I reserved for Elafonisi.
This is the most accessible beach we have been to. Free parking (arrive early and visit mid-September) 20m from the beach, no difficulty.
This is also where we saw the most fish underwater, much more than anywhere else, more than the Lavezzi Islands in Corsica. It is an aquarium particularly towards the rocks obviously.
Very few people also. Our beach neighbors were 10m from us or even more!
Beautiful cliffs, wild and raw landscape.
Much less of a fan of the local custom of displaying decapitated goat heads. To see on the last hundreds of meters which connect you to the beach. Some shepherds have crucified dozens of heads on their gates. It wasn't me who was driving so I closed my eyes... Overall we feel that this is not a place on the planet where animals are considered. Damage
also seen to the north towards Stavros. 😔😢
This is the most accessible beach we have been to. Free parking (arrive early and visit mid-September) 20m from the beach, no difficulty.
This is also where we saw the most fish underwater, much more than anywhere else, more than the Lavezzi Islands in Corsica. It is an aquarium particularly towards the rocks obviously.
Very few people also. Our beach neighbors were 10m from us or even more!
Beautiful cliffs, wild and raw landscape.
Much less of a fan of the local custom of displaying decapitated goat heads. To see on the last hundreds of meters which connect you to the beach. Some shepherds have crucified dozens of heads on their gates. It wasn't me who was driving so I closed my eyes... Overall we feel that this is not a place on the planet where animals are considered. Damage
also seen to the north towards Stavros. 😔😢
Written 15 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DebbieTestaburger
Paris183 contributions
Aug 2024 • Family
Skinarias beach is hidden in a small cove, you can reach it by making a little dusty road (with a strange custom of decapitated goat heads that are hung on the barriers...). We went there on a windy day: watch out for small pebbles during strong gusts.
At 10am there were still many deckchairs available:
“Simple” tansats are 10€ for 2
Deckchairs with mattresses are 25€ for 2 (with wi-fi access and 2 small bottles of water).
The water is very clear, a little fresh, with lots of small fish. A very pleasant day!
At 10am there were still many deckchairs available:
“Simple” tansats are 10€ for 2
Deckchairs with mattresses are 25€ for 2 (with wi-fi access and 2 small bottles of water).
The water is very clear, a little fresh, with lots of small fish. A very pleasant day!
Automatically translated
Written 13 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Betty
46 contributions
Sept 2023 • Couples
This beach was lovely and quiet. You could see mountain goats on the rocks and plenty of fish when you went swimming. We rented the cushioned sun beds for €25 (two beds and a umbrella) but their were cheaper options €8 (two beds and umbrella) for regular sun beds.
Written 21 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Laura F
Bari, Italy36 contributions
Aug 2024 • Couples
Expectations for this beach were high but we stopped here for less than an hour.
Like most of Crete's beaches the road to reach it is not the best. The last 7 km are in fact represented by a one-lane (but two-way) road, very winding and without guard rail, obviously overhanging a cliff.
Once you arrive there is a small parking lot and a tavern, two fairly small bathing establishments and a kiosk selling drinks and small snacks.
We did not find (fortunately ) umbrellas and sunbeds free so we took a bath and left.
It is an extremely ventilated area so it is often difficult to stay for longer.
Recommended only in passing.
Like most of Crete's beaches the road to reach it is not the best. The last 7 km are in fact represented by a one-lane (but two-way) road, very winding and without guard rail, obviously overhanging a cliff.
Once you arrive there is a small parking lot and a tavern, two fairly small bathing establishments and a kiosk selling drinks and small snacks.
We did not find (fortunately ) umbrellas and sunbeds free so we took a bath and left.
It is an extremely ventilated area so it is often difficult to stay for longer.
Recommended only in passing.
Automatically translated
Written 27 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The route arrive directly to the beach or you need to walk from parking to the beach?
Written 6 July 2019
The Garden Tavern accepts credit cards an food is delicious
Written 3 September 2018
I don't think so, they don't have electricity.
Written 13 September 2018
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