This beach before the seaside settlement of Goudouras and beside a promontory (all of the…
Tholos Beach
Tholos beach is located 29km eastern of Agios Nikolaos, 45 from Sitia, 23km north of Ierapetra and 3km from the village of Kavousi which is found on the main road connecting Agios Nikolaos and Sitia.
It was a pleasant surprise visiting the beach of Tholos. In the coastal street of Agios Nikolaos-Sitia you take a left turn in the plates as soon as you reach Kavousi. In the end of a winding way through olive grove this tropical beach is found. Tholos is the beach of Kavousi and is usually quiet in the afternoon. The green waters and the olive grove that reaches up to the sand make this beach a very interesting destination for those who explore eastern Crete. It is affected by the winds and on those days (arround July) the sea bed is being stirred, granting the waters an exotic blue colour! The road runs along the beach with many tamarisk trees offering shade.
I love this beach particularly because it has no sun beds or brollies on it. So if that is what you are looking for then this is probably not the beach for you. However in my mind its close to perfect. It is a combination of sand and pebbles so some areas are easier to get in and out of the sea without a pair of beach shoes. But once in, well worth the effort. If you are staying in Kavousi or coming by bus from Sitia/Agios Nikolaos, it is quite a long walk down to the sea.
There is a restaurant part way down the road (from Kavousi) if you need to stop for refreshments on the way and two on the beach itself. The first, a small caravan with a few tables and chairs, is just as you reach the beach and the second a little further along the beach, is a newly built taverna with two seating areas. The first is up by the building and the second is closer to the sea and next to the road. In between is a play area for children. There is plenty of parking and a small area at the far end of the beach where some boats are moored.
Facilities-Additional Info
Distance: Heraklion Airport 88km – Ierapetra 23km – Agios Nikolaos 29km
Beach type: Pebbles and some sand
Facilities: NOT Organized – Tree Shade, Depth: Shallow, Not Crowded, Family-friendly: Yes
Accessibility: Asphalt road from Kavousi
Food-Hotels: Restaurant nearby and some accommodation options. Several rooms to let and taverns at Kavoussi.
Kavousi is a historic village in the municipality of Ierapetra in the prefecture of Lasithi in eastern Crete. “Kavousi” in the Cretan dialect means “water source”..
Psira is a small uninhabited islet located 3,2 km north of Tholos beach, situated at the northeastern edge of the Gulf of Mirabelo. In Psira a Minoan settlement of 15-20 acres has been found, being one of the most important sites in Crete..
The island of Psira
It is a small island ίn the north west of Mochlos that you can visit by boat from Mochlos or Agios Nikolaos. It is uninhabited now and barren.The name has alternative spellίngs and must have come about because the shape…
If you walk from the west side of Tholos Beach on the coast for 800 meters on the rocky and wild coastline, you will come across the small beach of Legameni. It is well hidden from the Tholos holidaymakers, but the cove itself it is very small – just 15 meters long – pebbly, with no tree for shade, and with stony seabed in case you want to swim. The nature and colors that come to the eye and the senses from the landscape are delightful, since the mountain masses and cliffs in Malavra to the east are impressive, while in front of you stays the island of Psira in the bay of Mirabelo or Agios Nikolaos.
If you have a suitable car and want to take the dirt road east of Tholos beach, after about 2 km you will see the secluded coast and the beach of Malavra, surrounded by vertical cliffs that are awe-inspiring.
In the area there is a plant for the exploitation of the water-sources of Malavra. The coast at this point is characterized by high risk and access is very limited to impossible for safety reasons (landslides). Above this point the cliff rises with a very steep call and with a height of 250 meters! However, even from that point the view of the cliffs and to the island of Psira is incredible.
Throughout the coastline, from Tholos to the springs of Malavra, the sea water has a characteristic light blue color, as the area is full of freshwater springs coming from Mount Thripti and sparkling out in various places. The water is transfered by those facilities from the sources to the Bramiana dam in Ierapetra region, from which it is used for irrigation.
The whole area leaves mixed feelings from this contact with this unfamiliar part of our ‘neighborhood’, loaded with an exciting and long history.
At 100 meters west from the beach of Tholos you will see Roman ruins of a large and narrow-lived building. The construction is impressive and few Roman buildings on Crete have lasted in time, as this warehouse of cereals and food is believed to have been. Maybe there was a suitable small harbor right there, in Tholos beach area, to transport the goods either to Egypt or to Rome. The plain of Kavousi was and is fertile and it is no wonder that it was used in time for such purposes. The dimensions of the building are 56m x 9.60m with huge storage capacity, which gives us the image of a large transit activity.
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