Preveli Beach and Plakias: A Full-Day Southern Crete Beach Tour From Rethymno

Discover the stunning beaches of Plakias and Preveli on a full-day tour from Rethymno. Explore palm forests, admire waterfalls, and relax on sandy shores. Don’t miss this unforgettable beach adventure!

Duration: 10 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Preveli Beach - Discover 3 of the most famous beaches on the south coast of Crete on a journey through the wild Kourtaliotis Gorge. Benefit from hotel pick-up, and then travel to the gorge, where you can walk down to the springs and waterfalls flowing towards the river at Preveli Beach.
    Discover a unique mix of sandy beach and green river flanked…
What's Included
  • Convenient hotel pick-up and drop-off service.
  • Comfortable travel with in-vehicle air conditioning.
  • Guidance from a professional English and German speaking guide.
What's Not Included
  • Boat ticket to Preveli Beach
  • Food and drinks
  • Personal expenses
  • No pickup from remote hotels such as Grand Rimondi (pick up is from Creta star bus stop)
  • Entrance fees
Additional Information

Discover some of the finest beaches on Crete’s south coast with a guided day trip to Plakias and Preveli Beach. Experience the island’s breathtaking palm forests and relax on its stunning sandy beaches.
During the journey to these beaches, travel through the rugged Kourtaliotis Gorge by bus, pausing to appreciate its spectacular waterfalls and the…

Location
Preveli Beach
40 chlm notia apo to Rethymno,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.9
(60 Ratings)
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Relax68116087356
Nov 4, 2025
You can’t miss this topper. - Beautiful Preveli palm beach. Romantic beach and a challenge of rock staircase. Nice trip in the gorge. On the beach also a bar for refreshments or lunch
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851guillaumeg
Sep 18, 2025
Beautiful day - Beautiful discovery of surprising landscapes, swimming fresh water (cold) or sea (warm) day nature well organized, nice guide.
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Safari37439372877
Aug 20, 2025
Unique place - Unique place. You feel like in another country. You must see it to understand how beautiful it is. After refreshing in sea take a walk in palm forest near the river. Go as far as you can, tere are great places to see and take pictures. Recomend good shoes because you will need to walk to the beach along a rocky path.
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Mattt245
Sep 17, 2025
Worth it for Preveli, could have done without Plakias - I really enjoyed Preveli and the kourtaliatiko gorge. Damnoni was more of a stop for a meal and where we got the boat, I didn't have time to swim there. Plakias was fine but felt like it was mostly for the sake of having us stop at a touristy restaurant they probably have some deal with.
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Getaway01211976370
Sep 9, 2025
Wonderful tour! - The stops and the guide were very interesting and pleasant. Many beautiful places visited and everything was well arranged. Only it was very windy with us in the Gorge, which made the feeling of security a bit less. However, no one can do much about this.. Perhaps it is better to be informed about the clothing. For the Gorge, wear a light sweater and sturdy shoes, while you'll be better off with swimming gear and slippers for the rest of the day.
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Anneke
Aug 27, 2025
Day trip - With the shuttle bus to Plakias, there we visited the falls .By climbing a mountain for 20 minutes you will reach the falls , beautiful views (not suitable if you have difficulty walking) Then on to Prevelie beach. beautiful palm trees forest , where you can take beautiful pictures , looks like you are walking in the jungle 📸. You can walk through the water surrounded by palm trees. The beach (in August) is very busy) . Nice tavern where you can eat and drink.
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Xaviert623
Aug 8, 2025
Overbooking , very nice place , mediocre services . - Disappointing , very strong to sell tickets , but the person affected was completely and simply ineffective. Ironically, she forgot two people on the port to return. When you get off the bus , you get the tickets , you don't know what to do , where to go , and especially who to talk to once you get off the bus . The setting is nice, but this organization leaves something to be desired. On the boat, not enough seating compared to the tickets, aging condition of the boats, not very pleasant crew on board
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U9800xbamandineg
May 13, 2026
Not recommended - We took a trip to Preveli, and I think I can say it was disastrous. Once all the passengers were picked up, we headed towards the gorges and learned that they might be closed. This turned out to be the case. We therefore had to wait for the boat at our other stop, Damnoni, for 1 hour with nothing to do since all the restaurants were closed and we did not have enough time to swim. To finally learn that the boat could not take us to Preveli due to the waves. For a trip called "Preveli," it seemed unimaginable not to be able to go there. The passengers then became angry and were understandably disappointed. The group split into two: those who wanted to return and those who wished to continue. The agency did not want to separate the group, but after long discussions and several votes, we managed to reach an agreement for those wanting to continue the trip to be left at Damnoni and for the other passengers to be dropped off at their hotel. Given that it was already 11 AM and we had gotten up at 6 AM for this trip, we chose to stay. But in any case, we had to either fight for a refund or to continue the trip, which was exhausting. (The price of the boat, to be paid in cash, was indeed refunded to us.) We also learned, once the bus returned to pick us up, that they had forgotten to drop off some passengers, who therefore spent an additional 2 hours on the bus. We also did not understand why it was not possible to drop off those wishing to reach Preveli on foot at the monastery. The guide explained that the path was too difficult for elderly people and children, which I understand. But given that the groups had already been separated, he could have adapted. I understand that the agency and the guide are not responsible for the weather conditions. However, it is up to them to manage unforeseen events, anticipate solutions, and propose alternatives. The organization was really not optimal. It is also the agency's duty to inform vacationers in advance when it knows that weather conditions may prevent the excursion. This caused us to lose an entire day for nothing. In short, paying the price of the excursion just to be transported by bus from one beach to another is clearly not worth it. Fortunately, we were able to see the Kourtaliotiko waterfall in the afternoon, but once again, I surely would not have seen it without the guide. He just dropped us off in front of the site without indicating the direction or how to get to the waterfall. Without the directions from another vacationer returning from there, we would not have seen it. Moreover, unlike the other excursions we took, he did not provide any commentary on the sites or Crete. It was our last day in Crete, which left a bitter taste at the end of our trip.
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Thomas
Sep 9, 2025
Do not book via tripadvisor - Got a time and place for pickup at the booking, we were there well before we were supposed to be picked up. But then they apparently sent a new time and place for pickup the day before, but that information never came to us. Very reluctant to help with rebooking for a new day or getting a refund. They just close the case very quickly. Will never book through you again.
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Giovanniprimo
Aug 15, 2025
Avoid if you can - Very badly organized hike. Already from the description of the site it is almost impossible to understand the stages, it would be enough to make a very simple roadmap instead of writing a very complex and poorly written description. The very unpleasant driving, I understand that you have to respect the times but with small children you know that you can lose a few more minutes, especially if the stages are so tight, she seemed a dictator always ready to chase and scold. On the other hand I must say that she was very good at explanations and exposition in English. I openly advise against it with small children but in all honesty I would not even do it as an adult as it is really badly organized. Everything is understood from the first stage to the gorges, scarce 1 hour to visit them. But how do you do it? It takes 25 min to get down and 25 min to get up, basically get down, take 2 photos and you have to get back up with the fear that they leave you walking in the desert, it should be at least 2 hours. Waiting for the ferry they stop you at damnoni beach to swim or coffee break. It was the only thing that saved the excursion as damnoni beach is really beautiful. Once you take the ferry you land at preveli beach in a murky river and sea that resembles the worst Italian beaches, horrible. I don't know how she's so contentious. Maybe it's worth walking the entire river, if you dare, to get to some pretty little waterfalls. Then you resume the ferry trip to get to damnoni and then immediately by bus to go to plakias. And I'll tell you why we stopped to buy a bottle of water and they threatened to leave us on foot. We arrive at plakias and it would be better not to comment: murky sea, beach full of very annoying stones. There of course the guide had suggested us to have lunch (at 15:00) in one of the premises in the area where he had a strong friendship with the owner. We leave again, bus, we get to rethymno and they stop us at a place other than the pickup. In short, I have made excursions but this totally to forget.
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From $32
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).