Sougia is a small village located by the Libyan sea, about 75 km from the city of Chania. Maybe the narrow winding road which links the village to the north of Crete put off tour operators from offering package holidays there. The fact is that Sougia, despite its long beach and its beautiful sea has remained one of the quietest and most relaxing place to spend a holiday on Crete, away from mainstream tourism. There are of course tourists and many of them have kept coming back for years to enjoy the friendly and laid back atmosphere of Sougia.

The beach of Sougia is 1,2 km long and is the longest beach in the South-West of Crete. It is also quite wide (up to 70 meters in places). Although it is a pebble beach, these vary a lot in size and there are plenty of places where they are very small and it is not at all uncomfortable to lie on them. Sougia beach has several quite unique features: nudism is tolerated (and practiced but in no way compulsory) in a large part of the beach, there are no beach chairs and umbrellas to disfigure it, the beach never ever feels crowded because it is so long and wide and the sea in Sougia is one of the cleanest in Greece (not only Crete!) according to a water quality survey made in 1999.
Despite being a very small village the facilities are excellent: Sougia has a good choice of accommodation at affordable prices, the restaurants offer well above average food, the long beach is never crowded and the sea was nominated as one of the cleanest in the whole of Greece in a national study made in 1999. Sougia is also quite well protected form the prevalent west winds. Sougia village is open to visitors from the end of March to the beginning of November. In the winter months most of the hotels and restaurants close down and the village kind of goes into hibernation.

Sougia is located at the end of a long valley in the south-west of Crete (see map), about 75 km from the city of Hania. This scenic road goes up to the pass of Agia Irini and back down to sea level and is therefore quite a winding road. It takes just under two hours to cover that distance by car. Public transport to Sougia is very limited: there are only one or two (depending on the time of the year) buses a day from and to Hania. The journey takes a little over two hours and costs Euro 4,55. You can see the exact (and hopefully up-to-date) timetable on the KTEL web site. Taxi is a frequent option for those who come to Sougia. Approximate costs of a taxi from / to Chania airport Euro 70, to Chania city Euro 60, to Agia Irini Euro 25, to Omalos Euro 40, to Paleohora Euro 40. If you need a taxi out of Sougia, make sure that you book it in advance as there, only two taxis based in Sougia and they may be busy. On foot Most people who arrive to Sougia are coming from Paleohora, the next village to the West. It is a popular coastal walk which takes about 4 hours.By boat It is also possible to get to Sougia by boat from Paleohora, Agia Roumeli, Loutro and Hora Sfakion. You can even take your car or motorcycle on it. Bear in mind that the boats may get cancelled if the sea is rough.

1- Santa Irene Hotel
On marvelous beach of Sougia with its unique multicoloured pebbles you will find our hotel Santa Irene. It consists of 14 spacious one  or two room apartments with 2,3,4 or 5 beds.

2- Sougia Nude Beach Guide

Have just got back from holidaying at Sougia in Crete. This was the ideal beach for me, I am a nudist at heart, but my wife is not. At Sougia my wife was