The 10 Best Things to Do in Platanias, Greece

August 8, 2017 Claudia Navarrete

Platanias (Greek: Πλατανιάς) is a village and municipality on the Greek island of Crete. It is located about 10 km (6.2 mi) west from the city of Chania and east of Kastelli-Kissamos, on Chania Bay. The seat of the municipality is the village Gerani. Platanias is a popular tourism village with a beach, several hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops. Not far from the coast is the island of Agioi Theodoroi.
Restaurants in Platanias

1. Eyes Live Lounge

206 Leoforos Machis Kritis, Platanias, Rethymnon, Crete 741 00, Greece +30 694 494 5858
Excellent
78%
Good
19%
Satisfactory
1%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 111 reviews

Eyes Live Lounge

Live entertainment every night..LIVE MUSIC from "The Soulman"..KARAOKE..LIVE SPORTS including football, rugby, tennis, golf & formula one..DISCO 60'S,70'S,80'S original vinyl records. Delicious COCKTAILS including the famous COME 2 BED EYES! A full selection of homemade BAR SNACKS including burgers, pizza, salads and curries. SEE YOU!

Reviewed By IgorBendas

If you re looking for a nice night with good stuff and nice music that's a nice place to spend an evening owned by a great English man who just fell in love with crete and in every opportunity he he show it to you, best part is that he has great voice and sometimes brings some singers as well and the atmosphere is just great for people that like live music..

2. Atlantis Diving Center

Hotel Rithymna Beach | Hotel Rithymna Beach, Adelianos Kampos, Crete 74100, Greece
Excellent
96%
Good
4%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

5 based on 62 reviews

Atlantis Diving Center

The Atlantis Diving Center was founded in 1993 at the Rithymna Beach Hotel in Adelianos Campos near Rethymnon on the north coast of Crete by Giorgos Gioumpakis. Since 2002, there is a branch at the Grecotel Club Marine Palace in Panormo. The Atlantis team offers diving training with PADI standards for beginners as well as advanced training with diving trips. There are no mass dives but safe diving in smaller groups with individual care. This is first priority at Atlantis Diving Centers. The Atlantis Diving Centers are also ideal for families with children. Guests of the Rithymna Beach Hotel and the Club Marine Palace can let their children from 3 years upward being entertained at the hotels' Children's Camps which are affiliated to the hotels, whilst the parents enjoy their holidays.

Reviewed By Natasa S S - Brussels, Belgium

My boyfriend and I did a one-day diving trip with Atlantis Diving Center in Crete. Everything went very smoothly and we found this diving center very professional. We had our own private instructor, Natalia, to accompany us as we don't have extensive experience in diving yet. Natalia has been great, explaining us about diving in Crete with a lot of passion and showing us many great things under water - we even saw a baby ray! We felt calm and save in her company.
I would recommend Atlantis Diving Center to everyone who loves diving or would like to learn it!

3. Gorge of Mili

Eparchiaki Odos Perivolias-Chromanastiriou, Myli, Crete 741 00, Greece
Excellent
61%
Good
36%
Satisfactory
3%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 91 reviews

Gorge of Mili

Reviewed By mrbox - Cornwall, United Kingdom

We stopped off from the City bus tour to walk down through here. A very pleasant, peaceful couple of hours and a quirky taverna at the bottom. Get prepared beforehand with sensible footwear, water etc and maybe a little research, so that you know what to look for and what you are looking at. Met some people who were actually walking UP the gorge. Rather them than me

4. Marianna's Workshop

Maroulas, Rethymno, Crete, Maroulas, Rethymnon, Crete 741 00, Greece +30 2831 072432
Excellent
77%
Good
20%
Satisfactory
3%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 60 reviews

Marianna's Workshop

Reviewed By fzachary - california

We really wanted to go with Marianna on a foraging trip for herbs of Crete, which I believe normally happens on Wednesdays. We called up and she said it was too dry. Saving that for next time.
Nonetheless after our walk through Mili Gorge (see my other reviews) we drove up the Maroulas (its a hill town) to the shop arriving around 4:00 pm. She closes in the afternoon and re-opens 5-7 pm, so was closed.
After a late lunch /early dinner at the Taverna Armos, just up the road (fantastic views and food), we walked back down to her shop. Its cute - her son helped us. The herbs are more expensive than what you get at the open market places (like 1866 street in Heraklion), but the quality seems very high and she has nice herbal combinations for specific issues (dematological, weight management, etc).
She sells creams, ointments, etc. as well. I got a natural "bug spray" which worked well for the mosquitos, was light, refreshing. The mosquitos were fairly light at this time, and the spray worked fine. A good alternative to the chemical heavy citronella stuff.

5. Chromonastiri Military Museum

Eparchiaki Odos Perivolias-Chromanastiriou, Chromonastiri, Crete 741 00, Greece +30 2831 075135
Excellent
58%
Good
27%
Satisfactory
11%
Poor
3%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 145 reviews

Chromonastiri Military Museum

The building was built in 1610 and was the summer residence of the noble Venetian family "Clodius". Villas were mainly of agricultural and stockbreeding character, as shown by their architecture which, other than the main manor house, it included rooms for workers and spaces for warehouses and stables.The museum has 8 chambers full of artifacts from various periods of international history. Summer opening hours: Mondays,Saturdays closed , Tuesday-Friday 8:00-14:00 , Sundays 10:00-15:00

Reviewed By mrbox - Cornwall, United Kingdom

Set in a beautiful restored villa, this is a small and interesting exhibition relating to WW2 and the Ottoman war. I felt it was a work in progress as at times it seemed a little sparse. However the young soldiers who oversee the place are very informative and helpful in their explanation of how the museum was founded. Some of the images are very poignant, and it is right that these events should be remembered as part of this Islands history...

6. Evelin Divers

17 Samou Platanes, Platanias, Rethymnon, Crete 741 00, Greece
Excellent
87%
Good
6%
Satisfactory
6%
Poor
1%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

5 based on 76 reviews

Evelin Divers

Reviewed By RedPenMan - Cheshire, United Kingdom

I went to Evelin with my three (adult) children for a day's diving (we are all occasional/newbie PADI open-water divers, with a range of 9-20 dives each). We found the company well-organised, with good kit for rental. Instructors were very good; excellent English, friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. We joined several other (experienced) divers to make a group who were taken off in a RIB for two dives, led by two Evelin guides.
First was a boat dive. Have to say it was pretty boring really; it was basically just swimming along a sandy/rocky bottom and none of us really saw anything of interest. With hindsight I suspect the main purpose was to informally assess our abilities to check whether we were up to doing the second dive, which was the 'flagship' Elephant Cave. That was indeed truly spectacular; an amazing dive as other reviewers have said. One of my favourite dives ever, in fact. Based on this experience I'd certainly have awarded Evelin the full 5 stars for this review.
However. When I originally phoned Evelin to inquire about availability, we were invited to join a planned dive to the Elephant Cave. I said we were all PADI open-water qualified, with little experience; but I was assured that was fine (and indeed the Evelin website states that the Elephant Cave is 'open-water' level). The cave is entered via a large underwater tunnel, about 4m below the surface. You swim 40-50m along this tunnel, into complete darkness (you're provided with a suitable lamp) before surfacing inside the cave. Now, I really enjoyed the dive, and personally didn't feel in danger, but the fact is that was not an open-water dive - certainly not by any PADI definition. I did express my surprise about it with the divemaster afterwards, but he assured me it was fine (I think on the basis that the entry tunnel was open to the air at both ends?). I checked my PADI manual later... it defines open water as having "direct access to the surface at any time - as soon as you lose the ability to ascend directly to the surface your risk and the potential hazards go up enormously". Indeed, there's a whole page dedicated to warnings about how I should not have entered anywhere with an overhead environment, period ("One of the leading causes of diver fatalities is going into overhead environments without the proper training and equipment").
The main reason I chose Evelin was because they are a 5-star-rated PADI dive centre, and having been PADI-trained I'm quite reliant on that to find reputable, safe outfits when I'm travelling, and I feel let down by this experience. I do not deny having enormously enjoyed the dive; nothing went wrong; all the divers had good buoyancy control and we were all monitored as we swam along the tunnel, which that was mostly wide enough for two or three divers swimming abreast. Nevertheless, that was only my daughter's 11th-ever dive and I don't feel we should have been put in that position. That deserves a 1-star review in my opinion; but as we had an otherwise 5-star experience I'm giving 3...

7. Crete Bikes

Adelianos Kampos, Crete 741 00, Greece
Excellent
79%
Good
17%
Satisfactory
2%
Poor
2%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 35 reviews

Crete Bikes

Bicycle tours and excursions that everyone can enjoy, a fun and interesting way for the whole family to discover the beauties of Crete.

Reviewed By DiddyDid

What a perfect day with loads of nice people! Loads of different stops, and no stress at all the whole day. The irish guy makes a good bbq for everyone aswell! I would recommend this trip for everyone! And the best of all, its cheap....(I would say) to cheap! And for those who like animals,you can stop at Gregs house (the irish guy). He has like a million dogs and cats!

8. Rethymnon Old Town

Rethymnon, Crete, Greece +30 2831 342100
Excellent
60%
Good
33%
Satisfactory
5%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 6 reviews

Rethymnon Old Town

Reviewed By dalton1skiing - London

The old town is a maze of narrow back streets, shops, market stalls and restaurants. Its easy to lose your bearings & end up going in the opposite direction, so take a map! The streets are cobbled, so wear comfy shoes and not heels! Certainly worth a look when in the area.

9. Platanes Shopping

Machis Kritis Avenue, Platanias, Rethymnon, Crete 343 00, Greece +30 2831 026235
Excellent
56%
Good
32%
Satisfactory
12%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 25 reviews

Platanes Shopping

Reviewed By Sylvia63 - Carshalton Beeches

There are various concessions in this shopping area. Some of it is outdoors and there are small clay objects that are interesting. Also an indoor section with clothes and jewellery

10. Royale Shopping

P.E.O. Rethimnou-Irakliou, Adelianos Kampos, Crete 741 00, Greece +30 2831 071818
Excellent
80%
Good
20%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

5 based on 10 reviews

Royale Shopping

Reviewed By thekibbs - Salisbury

the shopping around the narrow and enchanting streets and ally ways is the experience - lovely Ventian architecture and aroma of spices and good food - you'll love it.

ThingsTodoPost © 2018 - 2024 All rights reserved.