The Pink-ish Beach Of Elafonisi

Elafonissi has a fascinating yet disturbing history. Check it out. Wherever you are staying in the North-west of Crete you see signs offering day-trips to Pink Beach. It takes a couple of hours to get there and the car parks (and bus terminal) are another twenty-minute hike down to the numerous sandy areas. It gets busy. Very busy. Buses crammed with tourists arrive mid-morning, so you need to get there early for a prime spot. There are very good facilities for customers to use.

However, it was very windy when we went, so we did not hang around for long. Also, the tidal action had made crossing to the better part tricky - some adventurous folk were up to their waists carrying backpacks attempting to cross the rivulets. Good luck with that! Furthermore, there wasn’t a huge amount of pink, hence my cynical title.

We legged it back up the slope (not such a pleasant walk) and explored some other more secluded spots with the time we had saved.

The photographs give an idea of the natural beauty, along with a hint of the pink hue in the sand. Note the various camp-type shaded picnic spots in the different areas. It’s quite a vast site.

You can see the large puddles created by the wind lashing the waves inshore. I can imagine in peak summer the temperature there could be extremely uncomfortable. Be careful.

There’s a nice self-portrait! People are starting to come down from the first buses and are seeking prime spots to park their posteriors. It does look a bit pink, I suppose. Pink it is then!