Driven away from Pachia Ammos because of the wind, we continued our journey towards Agios Nikolaos having high hope but low expectations. For those not familiar with the situation, the wind in Crete could easily turn into nightmare. And then the beaches of Istros appeared in front of our eyes… Ok, it’s true that the wind didn’t subside and it took a little courage but in the end we even managed to enjoy a swim!
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Istro is a small village 12 km from Agios Nikolaos with moderate tourist infrastructure (moderate when compared to the rest of the region), ie there are no gigantic hotels but few rooms to let, a couple of tavernas and mini markets, which is good though weird since the village “boasts” three great beaches all of them awarded with the Blue Flag label.
The most known and most photographed of them is the first bay called Voulisma [35.12614,25.74165] which is indeed quite stunning even when it’s windy. The good news is that there is plenty space in the western side of the parking area. It’s a good spot for staying the night.
The second bay is much more organized and it seems to be more popular (during our visit it was almost empty due to the wind). It is called Agios Panteleimonas [35.12621,25.73468] from the name of the patron saint of the nearby church. It is surrounded by tamarisk trees offering plenty of shadow, but there is a small bungalows-type hotel next to the grove, so perhaps it may be a little problematic spending here the night (or may be not at all). Furthermore, the public WC on the back side of the beach can be used for emptying the cassette-toilette in case of need.
We preferred to stay for the night in the third beach, the Karavostasi [35.13197,25.72479] . It is almost isolated with no edifices except for an old stone building in the western end of the bay which is now a hotel. The beach is not great compared to the other two but it is completely quite and the waters are crystal clear. A path starts from the stone building and leads to a small, sheltered bay used by local fishermen to moor their boats. In fact the name Karavostasi means anchorage. If you are tired of wrestling with the waves, this is your place!
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