Vai Beach – Greek Landscapes

Vai beach lies at the east coast of Crete. Despite the long trip to get there, it is one of the most popular beaches of Greece. Vai is framed by the only natural palm forest in Greece.

Vat beach in eastern Crete — Vai beach is adjacent to the only natural palm forest in Crete. It’s one of the best beaches of Greece.

Name: Vai Beach (Βάι)
Location: Lasithi, eastern Crete, Greece
Click here to see it on the map and to get directions
Overall Rating: 5/5
Joy Index (What the Water Felt Like): 4/5
Beach Berm: Sand with shingle in different spots
Seafloor: Sand, shingle, and rocks
Access: Good. There is a paved road all the way to the beach. Many drivers choose to park on the side of the road to avoid the parking fee and as a result, there is a very long line of cars on either side of the road as you approach the beach.
Amenities: There are plenty of restaurants, and beach shops around the parking lot.
Snorkeling: Vai is a good snorkeling site, especially around the little islet and the southern end of the beach.

Notes: Vai has been voted consistently as one of the top ten beaches in Greece in various publications.

It has all the right attributes to be considered one of the best beaches of Greece: it is out of the way, it is large, it’s organized with parasols and sun beds, it has a unique palm forest and a spot where you can take bird-eye view photos and selfies.

In addition, Vai beach is handicap accessible with wooden walkways on the sand near the entrance. It’s not perfect, but it does help people with mobility issues.

But Vai’s popularity is its downfall. Vai beach gets crowded even during the weekdays in the summer, and parking near the beach is expensive.

The palm forest that frames the beach bestows unique character to the place, and offers a welcome spot for shade.

Around Vai entrance you will see several signs with information about the natural environment in the area, and especially the palm forest.

While Vai beach is nice, you can swim in relative isolation if you are up for the short hike to Psili Ammos beach.

There is a similarly secluded beach about five minutes to the north of Vai. You have to walk the entire length of Vai and then over the rocky area to get to it. It is just as hermetic, but it does not have the beautiful sand the northern beach has.

About Our Beach Rating

Our beach reports are based on personal on-site visits.

Beach Rating Scale:

5 = Superb! Best we visited. We would travel around the world to swim there again.
4 = Excellent. We would travel across Greece to swim there.
3 = Good. We would choose it among other beaches if we were in the area.
2 = Average. We would return to this beach if we were in the area, but not as our first choice.
1 = Disappointing. The beach was fine for one visit. We would return if desperate.

Sea Water Rating Scale:

5 = The sea water felt wonderful and clean. We would go way out of our way to swim there again.
4 = The sea water felt good and we would go out of our way to swim there again.
3 = The water felt nice and clean. We would swim there again if we were in the area.
2 = Nice sea. We had a good swim but did not notice anything special or unusual about the water.
1 = The sea water was not very inviting when we visited.

The beach reports and ratings are based on our simple (and unscientific) observations during our visit.
We enjoy the sea water when it’s crystal-clear and cooler rather than warm. We don’t enjoy swimming among flotsam any kind.
We also like the sand to be clean of debris, and a bit more more coarse than the fine, “sticky” kind. We also prefer the more undeveloped beaches (ie. the ones without bars, music, loud crowds, or salespeople).
Certain beaches we have visited once, while many we have seen several times. It is possible that conditions have changed since our visit, so use these reports as another point of reference in your research.