Damnoni

Damnoni is a popular beach near Plakias in Crete. In the 70's and 80's many drop-outs and hippies lived here on the beach. With the construction of the large holiday resort Hapimag more than 20 years ago, the beach Damnoni has changed a lot. In the meantime there is not only Hapimag with over 200 apartments, but also at least six taverns, a diving school and a water sports centre. Other small hotels and guesthouses have also settled around Damnoni.

The golden beach Damnoni is almost one kilometre long and is still beautiful. In the season deckchairs and sunbeds are rented. The water is clean and crystal clear.

About in the middle of the beach a small brook flows into the sea. Behind the Damnoni Beach a pedestrian bridge connects the two beach parts. But one can also simply walk barefoot on the beach through the river that is usually only a few centimetres deep. In summer the river water from the mountains is clearly cooler than the water of the Mediterranean.

In the right area, in front of the time-sharing facility Hapimag, there is a small building directly at the beach. It houses a diving school (Phoenix Dive Club) and a water sports centre. You can rent pedal boats, rowing boats, water skis or surfboards

In Damnoni there are about six taverns open during the day and in the evening. Around 2014 three restaurants opened next to each other directly behind the beach. They are supposed to belong to three brothers. The Violakis is the first, the Mesogeios the middle and the tavern Damnoni is the back of the three taverns. Which one is the best is controversial among the residents and regular guests of Plakias. You can simply study the menus in front of the entrance and then decide

About 150 meters behind the beach on the access road to Damnoni is the tavern Mythos. Especially the fresh fish, which is caught by the owner family itself, tastes delicious in Mythos.

Nearby is the shop "Crete 2000", which offers local products like natural products from Crete. There is also a car rental in the house. Jeep safaris can also be booked. Hapimag has a small supermarket, several restaurants and a bar by the swimming pool.
 

The Mythos Apartments is a recommendable accommodation near the beach of Damnoni. In the well-kept complex 10 apartments for 2 to 4 persons can be rented. The owners of the typical Crete family pension are very nice and helpful. There is also a good tavern in Mythos.

Pension Zefyros Rooms is situated on a hill a few hundred meters from the beach of Damnoni. Rooms with small kitchen and air conditioning cost in spring often only 30 Euro for 2 persons.

Bay of Pigs Beach (Amoutaki)

If you turn left to the end of the Damnoni beach, the paved road ends a few metres further. If you follow the road to the right (it is better to park your car and walk) you will reach the Bay of Pigs after about 100 metres. This is also a beautiful, coarse-grained sandy beach. Nudism is common here, but not obligatory.

In summer you can also rent deck chairs and parasols in the 100 metre wide Bay of Pigs. There has even been a toilet facility here since 2015. It is possible to drive across the Bay of Pigs by car, parking is available. However, the road is narrow and there are often larger stones on the unpaved road. The steep slope next to the narrow road is not without it. In case of oncoming traffic, one of the two cars has to drive backwards a lot. In the Bay of Pigs there are many "regular guests". These are mainly foreigners from Northern European countries like Germany or England who live in or around Plakias.
 

Beach One-Rock

A few meters further is a mini beach called One-Rock-Beach. It is also called Einstein Beach in German or Micro Amoudi in Greek.

You have to climb a few meters down the rocks to get to the one-rock beach. Very often there are guests of the youth hostel Plakias at the one-stone beach. One-Rock is something like the house beach of the people from the hostel, as the hostel is called internationally, of Plakias. The name One-Rock comes from a large stone in the middle of the beach in the water (see picture).

The three pictures above were all taken in April, out of high season. Of course, the beaches around Plakias are not that empty in summer.

Approach Damnoni

From Plakias take the road to Lefkogia. This is the main road to the district town of Rethymno. After about 2.5 km there is a turn-off to the right, signposted Damnoni. 500 metres further you are on the shore. Parking is possible directly behind the beach, which is almost never a problem outside the peak season.

From Plakias you can walk to Damnoni in about 50 minutes. There is a nicer way than on the road on dirt roads through meadows etc. This footpath is not easy to find. If you come to the youth hostel Plakias, we will be happy to explain the way to you. I am there mostly in the morning (ask for Jorgy).

Theoretically you can also take the bus to Damnoni. All buses between Plakias and Rethymnon as well as the public minibuses between Plakias and the famous palm beach Preveli stop at the main road about 400 meters behind the beach. From Plakias and Rethimno there are about 5 connections per day to Damnoni in summer, about 4 buses per day to Preveli. Damnoni is signposted at the junction of the main road. There is also a simple bus stop. If you are in a group of 3 or 4 people, you can also take a taxi from Plakias. A taxi ride Plakias-Damnoni costs about 7 Euro, the bus 2 Euro per person. In Plakias there is a taxi stand directly in the centre in the bus stop, in Damnoni you have to order a taxi. If you don't know your way around, you can order a taxi in one of the taverns.

Another beautiful beach in the area is Skinaria.