Crete west, Chania and Rethymno
Lost a ring or other jewellery in west Crete, around Chania or Rethymno
The Chania town beaches, Agia Marina and Platanias, Falassarna, Balos and Elafonisi, Georgioupoli, Rethymno, Bali and Plakias.
West Crete has two kinds of beach, and they treat a lost ring differently. On the shallow resort sand from Nea Chora to Platanias, at Georgioupoli and along the Rethymno bay, a ring that slipped off by a sunbed tends to stay close to where it fell, and it can often be found if you can put the spot to within a few metres. Balos, Falassarna and Elafonisi are remote, and there the wind and the journey count for as much as the sand.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch or phone in west Crete with a metal detectorist who can search there. That takes in the coast around Chania and Rethymno and the south coast at Plakias. Greece is one of the places we hear from most.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach your beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
How a search works in west Crete, from Falassarna to Bali
Before you leave the beach, fix the spot against two things that will still be there tomorrow. At Nea Chora that might be the pedestrian bridge over the Kladissos river at the west end, at Georgioupoli the mouth of the Perastikos, at Platanias a hotel gate and a beach bar sign. Photograph both directions, drop a pin, note the time and whether you were on sand or in the water, then send it to us on WhatsApp with a photo of the item.
With that in hand we find a detectorist who can reach your beach and pass on your pin, the time and your photos, so the search does not depend on you still being on the island. Balos and Elafonisi are remote lagoons, and loggerhead turtles nest in the Chania bay, at Georgioupoli and along the Rethymno bay.
Places we cover in Crete west, Chania and Rethymno
- Chania town beaches, Nea Chora
- Chrissi Akti (Golden Beach) and Aptera Beach
- Agii Apostoli
- Kalamaki and Stalos
- Agia Marina
- Platanias
- Kolymbari
- Kissamos and Balos lagoon
- Falassarna, Pachia Ammos
- Elafonisi, the lagoon, the islet and its dunes
- Kedrodasos
- Georgioupoli, Kalivaki and Kavros
- Rethymno town beach
- Perivolia, Missiria and Platanes
- Bali, Livadi Beach
- Plakias and Paligremnos
- Preveli Beach and the palm grove along the river
Beaches in west Crete where rings and jewellery go missing
Resort sand around Chania and Rethymno, remote beaches in the far west, and the south coast at Plakias and Preveli.
Nea Chora, Chrissi Akti and Agii Apostoli, the Chania town beaches
Nea Chora is the long sandy beach 1 kilometre west of the centre of Chania, with rocks in places and the Kladissos river at its west end. Chrissi Akti, 2.5 kilometres out, is two beaches of fine golden sand and shallow water, split by rocks. Agii Apostoli, at 3 kilometres, is a set of sandy coves.
Stalos, Agia Marina and Platanias
Stalos, 7 kilometres west of Chania, has a wide sandy beach. Agia Marina, at 9 kilometres, is a run of sandy beaches with small artificial piers at the Platanias end. Platanias, at 11 kilometres, is a long sandy beach lined with hotels and beach bars. The sea along all three is usually wavy.
Kolymbari, Balos and Falassarna
Kolymbari, 24 kilometres west of Chania, has a long beach of sand and small pebbles. Balos, about 56 kilometres north west of Chania, is a very shallow lagoon of white sand, reached by ferry from Kissamos or by a 10 kilometre dirt road and a 1 kilometre path. Falassarna, 59 kilometres west of Chania, is five beaches in a row. The main one, Pachia Ammos, is 1 kilometre long and 150 metres wide.
Elafonisi
Elafonisi lies 76 kilometres from Chania, about an hour and a half by car. It is a long peninsula that the sea often cuts off from the shore, with a lagoon at the crossing and sand tinted pink by crushed shells. Umbrellas, showers and lifeguards are on the eastern side in front of the lagoon. Across the knee deep water, the islet has small, quieter beaches along its south side, backed by dunes of sea daffodils and junipers. Kedrodasos, a string of bays and dunes with junipers growing close to the water, is a 30 to 45 minute walk away.
Georgioupoli, Rethymno and Platanes
Georgioupoli, 21 kilometres west of Rethymno, sits at the western end of a beach about 10 kilometres long, shallow sand cut by the Perastikos river 700 metres east of the port. Rethymno town beach begins next to the Venetian port and is the first stretch of a beachfront that runs 12 to 13 kilometres east to Skaleta, past the suburbs of Perivolia, Missiria and Platanes, 3 to 5 kilometres east of town. ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, records an average of 300 loggerhead nests a year on the Rethymno beaches.
Bali, Plakias and Preveli
Bali, 30 kilometres east of Rethymno, has four sandy coves in a bay that faces west, so the water is almost always calm. Plakias, 36 kilometres south of Rethymno on the south coast, has a sandy main beach that runs 1.3 kilometres east to Cape Mouri. Preveli, 10 kilometres east of Plakias, is a beach of sand and pebbles where a river lined with palm trees leaves the Kourtaliotikos gorge. It has no umbrellas and is reached by a 15 to 20 minute footpath or by boat. A path leads upstream from the beach under the palms, and people wade and swim in the river, so a ring lost there is placed by how far upstream you walked.
What Ring Seekers does for a loss in west Crete
One person on WhatsApp
Explain it once, from the beach or after you have flown home, and deal with one person throughout.
Your pin and photos reach the detectorist
Whoever searches sees your pin, your photos, the time and a picture of the item before they set foot on the sand.
Plain about poor odds
A ring lost in the waves at Falassarna on a windy day is a poor bet for a detector. We tell you so at the start.
We know how this sand and sea behave
The open beaches from Stalos to Kolymbari are usually wavy, and at Falassarna, which faces west, sand soon covers a ring lost in the water. That tells the detectorist where to start.
Costs agreed before anything happens
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Sand, wind and water between Falassarna and Bali
What a search in west Crete comes down to.
Tides
The Mediterranean is nearly tideless. There is no low water to wait for, so a ring lost in the shallows at Chrissi Akti or Georgioupoli stays near where it went in unless wind and waves move it.
Sand, rocks and pebbles
Almost everything on the north coast is sand, the best ground for a detector. Nea Chora has rocks in places, Kolymbari and Preveli mix sand with pebbles, and Balos has a muddy bed. Among rocks and pebbles a ring drops into the gaps and the search moves to eyes and hands.
Wind, waves and water temperature
In summer the meltemi winds sometimes blow on the north coast. The Chania town beaches and Bali are usually calm, the open beaches from Stalos to Kolymbari, Georgioupoli and Rethymno are usually wavy, and Falassarna takes the west wind. The water is cooler where rivers and springs come in at Plakias, Preveli and Bali.
Questions about west Crete beaches, Chania and Rethymno
I lost my wedding ring on the beach at Agia Marina or Platanias. Is it worth a search?
Usually, if you can say where you were sitting. Both are sandy resort beaches west of Chania with sunbeds, beach bars and lifeguards. A lost wedding ring that came off on dry sand tends to stay close to where it fell. Photograph the sunbed row towards the nearest bar, drop a pin and note the time.
My Oura ring or watch came off in the sea at Nea Chora, Chrissi Akti or Agii Apostoli. Can a detector find it?
Often. A lost Oura ring or a watch has enough metal in it to give a signal, and these three town beaches are sandy and shallow with a sea that is usually calm, so something dropped in the shallows tends to stay put. Nea Chora has rocks in places, and a ring that fell among those is looked for by eye first. Tell us which beach and how far out you were.
I lost a ring in the lagoon at Elafonisi. Can anyone search there?
Often, though Elafonisi is a harder place than most. The lagoon helps, because the water at the crossing is no more than a metre deep, and the sand in front of it is open beach. Mark the spot against the umbrellas on the eastern side, or, if you had crossed to the islet, against the point where you waded over. Elafonisi is about an hour and a half by car from Chania, so we tell you how the odds look before anyone makes the trip.
I lost a ring at Falassarna or Balos. What are the chances?
Better at Falassarna. Its main beach, Pachia Ammos, is a kilometre long and 150 metres wide, so the pin and photos have to be good, and because the bay faces west the sea is usually wavy and sand soon covers a ring lost in the water. Balos is a lagoon with a muddy bed, reached by boat or by a dirt road and a footpath, so a search there is slow to arrange.
I lost a ring on Rethymno town beach or at Platanes. What should I do first?
Fix the spot, because this is one continuous beach. The sand starts next to the Venetian port and runs 12 to 13 kilometres east, past Perivolia, Missiria and Platanes. Line yourself up with a hotel front or a beach bar sign and drop a pin.
I lost a phone, a bracelet or sunglasses at Georgioupoli, Bali or Plakias. Any hope?
Fair, for anything metal. Georgioupoli is shallow sand, though when it is windy there are currents, so do not wade back in to look. The coves at Bali face west and are almost always calm, so a phone or bracelet dropped in the shallows stays where it fell. The main beach at Plakias is 1.3 kilometres long, so the spot matters more. Metal framed sunglasses give a signal. Plastic ones do not, and are found by eye.
Crete west, Chania and Rethymno
Lost something in west Crete? Fix the spot before you walk away
Which beach, which sunbed row, bar or rock, what time, whether it was dry sand or water, and a photo of what you lost.
No tide will carry it off, but once you are on the plane home nobody else knows where to look. Mark the place now, then send us the where and when on WhatsApp.