5 Stunning Bali Crete Beaches to Explore this Summer in Greece

Bali, Crete is a great spot for holidays in Greece, a small fishing village that has grown into one of the most picturesque Crete resorts. Discover all five Bali Crete beaches clustered along a gorgeous gulf on the north Crete coast in our detailed guide.

Bali – and Bali’s beaches – are all very easy to reach.  Bali village is just off the main road across the island. Once you’re there, a 2-mile (3 km) walk will take you to all five Bali beaches, with a couple of steep hills along the way.

Much of the appeal of the Bali beaches is that they’re sheltered from the gusty northerly meltemi wind, which means you can swim on days when conditions are too rough on other beaches.

It’s an ideal place for Crete holidays, whether you want to stick to Bali village or explore other Rethymno beaches and attractions nearby. Which Bali beach in Crete is best?

Bali is located on the main Heraklion – Rethymno – Chania highway that runs along the north coast of the island. It’s 30 km east of Rethymno and 45 km west of Heraklion.

It’s in one of the best areas in Crete for exploring the island, with beautiful beaches like Spilies and Geropotamos less than ten minutes away by car. It’s also a short drive from Arkadi Monastery, one of the most important historic sites in Crete.

This is very easy – it’s off the main E75 highway, so you can drive there or catch the regular buses that run between the Crete capital Heraklion and Rethymno and Chania. It’s one of many possible day trips from Chania, a straight run along the highway.

It’s also within easy reach of the resorts to the east of Rethymno and Panormos, both by car and bus. The K-Tel buses website has full information – you’ll need to travel on the Chania or Rethymno bus to Heraklion or vice versa.

The bus stops at Bali on request. The stop is on the busy, fast main road. In the daytime the Bali tourist train is parked just off the left of the approach road to the village.

Bali has been taken over by tourism, no question about it. In peak season every Bali beach Crete is packed with umbrellas and sunbeds. That said, it’s still a relatively quiet place perfect for holidays in Crete.

Most Bali Crete hotels are in the mid-range bracket – 2- and 3-star hotels and apartments are what’s on offer here. Most visitors tend to be European. It’s an ideal place for family holidays in Crete, especially because of the sheltered beaches.

Expect some excellent Crete holiday deals, especially towards the end of the October shoulder season. At this time the sea is usually warm enough to swim in, and it’s not nearly as crowded as in August.

Livadi beach is the first beach you reach off the main highway.

It’s the biggest Bali beach, a few hundred metres long, but it’s pretty narrow, with very little sand between the umbrellas and sunbeds and the waves lapping the shore. There are plenty of beach bars to choose from.

Livadi beach also faces due north, so is the most exposed beach in Bali. When the water is calm and flat in the coves further up the village, the waves are often piling in here.

It’s a pleasant enough spot to linger for a drink or meal, but if your soul yearns for some space on the sand, it’s not ideal.

Mythos beach is the secret beach of Bali.

A small sign – ‘Zum Strand’, German for ‘To the Beach’, directs you to Mythos Apartments. Head down the stairs from there – you emerge outside after a couple of short flights of steps.

Once you’re outside, follow the next set of steps down to the beach. It’s very small and narrow – a lovely spot as long as you don’t mind a relative lack of space while you soak up the sun. Perhaps not so secret after all!

This is the town or harbour beach – when guidebooks refer to Bali Beach Crete, this is the one they mean. It has a lovely setting, with the houses of the surrounding steep streets looking down onto it.

There are steps down to the beach from the harbour, or you could paddle around the base of the cliff at Mythos beach (to the immediate right).  The views to the mountains are magnificent, and the water is nearly always very calm. Space is at a premium once again, but somewhere like this would make many people think about holidays in Bali Crete.

I’ve saved the best until last. Karavostasi is the northernmost of the Bali Crete beaches, a short walk from the harbour and down a track to a sublime place.

Again, Karavostasi beach is calm and sheltered, with sometimes fierce waves pounding the other side of the headland to the north. Its location is the most dramatic, tucked away between cliffs either side, with stunning azure water to swim in. Another tiny beach is also hidden away behind the headland to the south.

Karavostasi beach is quite small and intimate. As well as the usual range of sunbeds and umbrellas, it’s also the ideal environment for snorkelling. A few cafes and tavernas provide meals and drinks, some sheltered in the shade of the trees just behind the beach. An exquisite place, worthy of a place in our list of the best beaches in Crete.

I hope you have enjoyed my guide to the five Bali Crete beaches. Bali is a gorgeous bay, and a wonderful place where you could easily while away a week or more.

Bali is just off the main E90 road across Crete, so many places across the island are within reach. Panormos is one of the nearest, a pretty fishing village close to several great beaches, including Spilies Beach and Geropotamos Beach. It’s also close to Arkadi Monastery, scene of a heroic last stand during the Cretan Revolt of 1866.

If you’re heading south from Bali, check out my guides to Kalypso Beach Crete and Damnoni Beach. Kalypso Beach is unique, a sand-free fjord with some of the best conditions for swimming that we have ever encountered.

I suggest heading west from Bali towards two of Crete’s most beautiful cities. Check out my guide to the best things to do in Rethymno, the regional capital with a gorgeous Venetian old town. And take a look at my post on the best Rethymno beaches, which covers the entire province. Beyond there, Georgioupolis Crete is also worth a stop, with a lovely whitewashed chapel on a causeway in the bay.

Many of the best places to visit in Crete are in the far west of the island. Check out my guide to the best things to do in Chania, the most beautiful city in Crete.

Chania is only an hour from three of the most popular day trips in Crete. Balos Beach Crete is a stunning tropical lagoon beach in the shadow of mountain peaks. Elafonissi Beach is a remote spot famous for the fringes of pink sand along its shoreline. And Falassarna Beach is a series of beaches and coves with some of the best sunsets you’ll see in your life.

And finally, there are more than enough things to do in Heraklion, the capital of Crete, to spend a couple of days there. The city is home to the world-famous Knossos Minoan palace site, and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum is one of the best of its kind in the world.