Kouremenos Bay (near Palekastro, East Crete)

 This is one of the very best windsurfing destinations in the world!!  However, it is only known to a very small number of Brits.  There is an excellent windsurf centre called Freak-Surf established there by Hannes Unterweger and his English partner and girlfriend Davina.  They have many Austrian, German, French and other European clients who come back year after year having really enjoyed the windsurfing, friendly atmosphere and beautiful location. The season is much longer than most European windsurfing destinations and runs from May to October.  I have experienced both ends of the season plus absolutely epic conditions in July and August.  For example in 2 weeks there in late July 2006 the wind blew day and night every day.  On 2 afternoons I used a 6.5m sail but the rest of the time I was using 5m, 4.2m and 3.5m, fully powered up.  The wind blows across an enclosed bay so is similar to Vassiliki and Dahab in terms of flattish water but there is just a LOT more wind and it blows for many hours each day !  If you take your own kit (as I do) there are also other windsurfing locations in East Crete including a couple of wave spots.

Flights

There are no holiday packages for British clients yet and so it is necessary to organise flights, hire car and accommodation individually.  However, this is very easy to do via the internet and email.  There are direct charter flights to Heraklion between May and October.  I usually travel with Excelairways : www.xl.com and it is very simple to book flights online direct.  A confirmation is issued immediately and it is possible to pay just the £40 per person deposit by credit card and then allow XL to collect the remainder 6 weeks before travel.  Windsurfing equipment can also be booked online at £50 per windsurf board return. A written confirmation is then sent by post.  Prices for flights range from 150 to 250 pounds return depending on season and time of booking. Although the online system is very good, if you need to make changes or additions, they are very poor at responding to emails.  Call queues can be tortuous too.  I did experience a couple of long delays due to technical problems on incoming aircraft but I guess this can happen with most charter airlines.Other charter airlines to consider are Thomson, Monarch and Astraeus although the latter cannot be booked direct.  In the summer BA also operates direct flights to Heraklion.Heraklion airport is approx 150 km from Palekastro and the drive takes approx 2 hours 30 minutes (quicker if you know the roads !).

Car hire

It is best to hire a car because you need to drive from Heraklion to Palekastro where there are no tour operators.  To take a taxi for that distance is quite expensive.  Anyway, you soon realise that having a car is a benefit as the scenery is incredible with mountains, forests, deep gorges and beautiful sandy beaches to explore.Several of the main global car hire companies (e.g. Hertz, Avis etc) operate from Heraklion airport as well as Holiday Autos.  The latter is bookable online.  However, having tried several, my preference is always for Car Rental Crete (Kafetzakis) www.carrentalcrete.gr  This is a family business run by Ioannis (pronounced Yannis) and Sonia Kafetzakis and is very successful with a large fleet of quite new cars.  Their prices are very reasonable considering the quality and the fact that the cars are fully insured and well maintained.  The owners and employees are very friendly and helpful and can organise everything by email : kafetzakis@carrentalcrete.gr with payment in cash euros or credit card on arrival.  Prices are published on their website.  Smaller cars such as Hyundai Getz are fine if renting windsurfing equipment from Freak Surf but if taking your own windsurf equipment (as I do, taking 2 boards and 6 sails), a Hyundai Accent with roof-rack is ideal but should be booked well in advance.  With 2 of us I can get most of the equipment inside the car with just the boards on the roof.The car should be returned with the same amount of fuel as on collection.  The cars are parked in a compound at the airport just over the road from the arrivals/departures entrances so it is very convenient.

The drive

The first part of the drive from the airport is on a good wide road up to the town of Malia.  This is a typical British resort with all-day-English breakfasts, English beer, discos, Club 18-30 etc and totally different to the real East Crete !  From there the road continues to bypass Agios Nikolaos (one of the bigger resorts but quite attractive) and then up along the mountainous coastline and winding roads to Sitia.  This is the nearest town to Palekastro / Kouremenos and although not a developed tourist resort it has nice shops and restaurants and most things can be bought here.  Ferries operate from the harbour and there is a small airport taking some flights from Athens.  The last leg of the journey is just 20 km over the hills past a large wind-farm (always an encouraging sight), then dropping down into Palekastro village.  To reach Kouremenos beach it is simple : take the left fork in the village centre.

Village

Palekastro is a fairly quiet and typically Cretan village. The square (which is triangular) is lively in the evenings with numerous tavernas.  There are several small “supermarkets” which stock almost everything you need for self-catering.  Also various other shops selling souvenirs, rope/boat-fittings, hardware, clothes, towels, books in English etc etc.  There is a place to rent motor scooters and bicycles although the mountain bikes are fairly basic.

Accommodation

Due to the rapidly growing popularity of the location for windsurfers, there is a shortage of good accommodation during the windsurfing season.  There are 3 small hotels in the middle of Palekastro and then a number of groups of self-catering studios/apartments scattered along the dirt-road which runs along the length of Kouremenos Beach.  Most of these are a few hundred metres from the windsurf centre.  Additional accommodation is situated either side of the road which runs up the hill towards the North, in the direction of Vai.  Some of these have a good view of the bay but are quite a long walk from the beach.  Having stayed in several different studios and apartments I strongly recommend contacting Nikos Hatzidakis whose email address is kouremenosbeach@yahoo.gr.  He owns several apartments, including Kouremenos-Beach and Roussolakis and they are regularly cleaned and well-maintained.  He speaks perfect English and is very helpful and friendly.  Even if all of Nikos’s accommodation is fully booked he can arrange accommodation elsewhere in the area so he is a very good point of contact.  His website is :  http://www.palaikastro.com/kouremenosbeach/index.html

Parking

There is parking outside all the apartments and no parking restrictions along the beach-front dirt track.  Cars can be parked directly outside the windsurf centre though it can be busy in high season.  Officially, camper vans and tents are not allowed in the area near the beach but currently there are many of these, mainly German and Austrian.  The local council seems to be tolerating them for the time being.

Facilities

There are no permanent toilets by the windsurfing site but some portable loos were added by the council last season.  Three showers are situated along the beach and there is an open shower at the windsurf centre for clients.  Several tavernas are within a few hundred metres of the windsurf centre.  The windsurf centre sells cold drinks and bottled water.  There is a taverna just 200 metres away.

Windsurf Centre in kouremenos : “Freak-Surf”

The owners, Hannes and Davina can be contacted via the website : http://www.freak-surf.com  email is :  office@freak-surf.com .  They buy brand new boards and sails each year.  The boards are the full range of JP from small waveboards up to large beginners boards.  The sails for 2006 were Neil Pryde though this may change for 2007.  All the sails in the windsurf centre are ready rigged minus booms.  Tuition is provided in German and English.  They also sell some surf-wear, T-shirts and accessories.Private sails can be rigged easily on the sandy beach in front of the windsurf centre.  However, the soft sand is a nightmare if you want to de-rig a wet sail !  I pay 90 euros for 2 weeks to the windsurf centre to store one board and 2 sails on their racks.  However, space is very limited so book early.  Storage customers benefit from the rescue boat if necessary and can also wash sails off with the centre’s hosepipe.

SAILING

Kouremenos

Wind: The prevailing wind in the summer is the Meltemi which blows from the North-West.  As it blows across the saddle of the hills between Sitia and Kouremenos it is accelerated with a thermal effect so by the time it hits K Beach it has usually gained 2 beaufort in the process.  Occasionally the wind can be slightly gusty and can have a slight wind-shadow for 5 metres from the beach.  However, usually when the wind is strong we can gybe really well right be the beach.  Because the bay curves round, although it is offshore wind by the harbour at the north end, at the south end by the windsurf centre it is perfectly cross-shore and so it is very easy to sail out and back (much easier than places like Dahab or Kefalos). Water: The water is fairly flat with a slight swell and wind-blown chop even in gale force winds and the chop is never really a problem on the right sized board.  There is no shore-break and on the light wind days it is very good for beginners.  However, in the summer it is possible to have 2 weeks of wind too strong for beginners.  May/June or September can have a good variety of conditions.  It’s OK to launch from anywhere in front of or 200m either side of the windsurf centre.  There is no tide of course and no strong currents.  The only potential hazard is going too far to the South end of the beach and drifting onto the rocky headland. Sailing Standards: The place is ideal for experts and intermediates and because there are no real waves, anyone who can waterstart reliably can usually cope with conditions requiring a 4m sail.  It is great for high-speed sailing and I regularly get more than 30 knots on the GPS.  My maximum was just over 34 knots on an 85 litre board and 5m sail but I got 32.2 knots on the 105 litre Tabou X-Rocket.

Xerokampos

From Zakros there is a road which has now been properly surfaced to begin with but then becomes a stony track for the last 6km.  Hopefully it will be completed soon but in the meantime it is necessary to drive slowly to avoid damaging the car.  There are basically 3 spots to sail from in Xerokampos but I like the small sandy beach with a taverna directly opposite.  This season it picked up a blue flag and has a shower and sun-loungers.   Wind: This location needs a South to South-Westerly wind and so if you have your own equipment it is a good alternative for the rare days when the wind is no good for Kouremenos.  If the wind is from the right direction it is very smooth and steady.  I’ve enjoyed several excellent days there with a 5m sail plus a couple of 6.5m days. Water: The water is typical Greek island open water with a good swell and some ramps for jumping.  The wind goes right into the bay but it’s flat water once inside the rocks.   There are no noticeable currents and the only potential hazard is going too far downwind to the East and missing the sandy bay.  After that the coast is rocky for a couple of hundred metres before the next bay.Sailing Standards: The place is ideal for experts and intermediates and there are no huge waves.  Anyone who can waterstart reliably should be OK in most conditions.  Note that it is not possible to take Freak-Surf equipment there.

OTHER STUFF

Local Scenery

The area is very attractive with huge areas of olive groves (I have one with 121 trees on it !) and due to a good water supply and irrigation pipes, the locals grow a lot of fruit and vegetables as well as grapes.  The Sitia region has some good wine and wins awards for the local olive oil.  There are mountains to the South rising to several hundred metres.  Further inland there are mountains rising several thousand metres.  The area is quite unspoilt with very few tourists.  The people who do venture that far are generally polite, friendly and tidy so the local people are very warm and welcoming.  In the shops they treat tourists much the same as locals which is refreshing after the high-pressure selling in Turkey and Egypt.Sitia is only 20 km or half-hour over the winding roads.  There is a good sandy beach on one side and then the harbour and restaurants by the town itself.  There are good shops where it is possible to buy most things. Many of the local villages are attractive e.g. Zakros but are not really aimed at tourists. There are good drives around and over the mountains.

Walking & Cycling

Crete is famous for its deep rocky gorges and these make excellent walking.  The best one in East Crete is the Faraggi Nekron or Valley of The Dead which runs down from Zakros to the sea at Kato Zakros.  Don’t be put off by the name, it was because some caves were used as burial sites thousands of years ago.  The path is well established but only for walking and impossible with a bicycle.  The valley bottom has a lot of vegetation and a stream.  Huge cliffs rise up on either side.   There is another gorge at Hochlakies and several more on the south coast.  Closer to Palekastro, it is a good walk up to the Peak Sanctuary on Petrofas, the path starting from near Agathias. Other places to visit are the archaeological sites at Roussolakos and Itanos, the small beach at Maridati, the monastery at Toplou and Vai beach with its forest of palm trees (busy in high season).There is a place in Palekastro which rents basic off-road bicycles and there are many good tracks to explore in the area.

Tavernas

There is a Taverna just back form the windsurf centre and then two more further round the bay to the North : Glaros and Grandes.  Both of these also have apartments alongside.  We like Grandes which is very friendly and has a simple but good menu and is good value.  There are 3 fish tavernas in the next bay Chiona (to the South), one of which is particularly good and is very close to the sea.  There are several good tavernas in Palekastro village centre. 

More info ?

I have made many trips there so I guess I must be the British expert on the location and how to get there !  I love the place so much that I bought a piece of land overlooking the bay and am having a house built on it next year.  If you need any more information or help with planning and organising a trip you can contact me: David Campbell using the email address: info@kouremenos.co.uk or take a look ay my site: www.windy-crete.com Thanks to Dave Campbell for providing this report.