Walk along the Anissaras beach road and discover all the local beaches. Some spots are completely isolated, though this is changing fast as new large hotels are constantly springing up.
church in anissaras
There is a very pretty walk to the Sarandaris area and the little church at the tip of the peninsula. There are two ways to get there:
At the end of the Anissaras coastal road starts the beach of a big hotel. Walk along the whole beach and continue over the rocks to the little church with the island opposite. There’s an impressive view of Hersonissos and its beaches.
Go on from here to reach the road from Anissaras which runs along the coast and the Limanakia beaches to Hersonissos.
The second way is by car. Drive towards the Royal Mare Hotel and park on the beach road just after the hotel entrance. A footpath on the east side of the hotel leads to the church.
As mentioned above, Anissaras is right next to Hersonissos, which boasts some of the best, most frantic nightclubs on Crete. If you get fed up with the peace and quiet of Anissaras, the queen of Cretan nightlife is only 1-2 km away.
For a more relaxed time, however, there are the lovely traditional villages of Ano Hersonissos, Koutouloufari and Piskopiano, located on the hilltop above Hersonissos, with their picturesque squares and fine selection of tavernas and arts and crafts shops.
If you are interested in Cretan folk culture, visit the Lychnostatis Folk Museum, just outside Hersonissos on the way to Stalis.
Ten kilometres from Anissaras is the archaeological site of Malia with the third largest Minoan Palace in Crete, well worth a visit.
If you can’t find any fresh fish in Anissaras, why not go for a walk around Milatos, on the other side of Malia? The fish tavernas on Milatos beach serve delicious fresh fish from the Sea of Crete. If you feel like exploring, after Milatos comes an area full of little villages, offering a glimpse into what Crete was like before tourism became one of the main sources of income.
