A Full Day on the Catamaran

Seven hours is a long time on the water. On a catamaran, it is exactly long enough — and never too much. The stable, spacious deck turns a full sailing day into something genuinely restful.

The Full-Day Catamaran Cruise is built on a simple idea: that the best way to spend a Cretan summer day is to give it to the sea, on a boat that lets you actually relax. We cast off from the Old Venetian Harbour at ten in the morning and return shortly before sunset — long enough to swim three times, eat well at anchor, and feel the day settle into the slow rhythm only a catamaran can give.

The route follows the Bay of Chania west and north. Our first stop is Maherida Beach on the Akrotiri peninsula, a tiny southwest-facing bay whose water is famously clear. From there we sail to Thodorou, the protected islet with its 16th-century Venetian fortress ruins and the rare Kri-Kri wild goats visible on its cliffs. Lunch — a Cretan-inspired meal prepared on board — is served at anchor in the cockpit of the catamaran, with wine or beer in the shade. The final stop is Lazaretta, the small islet off Nea Chora with its sandy beach and quiet waters.

What makes the day on a catamaran particularly different is what you do between the stops. The wide bows give you sun mattresses for lounging. The shaded cockpit gives you a place to eat without baking in the heat. The level deck means no one is gripping the rail in the wind. By the time we sail back into the harbour around five, you will have seen more of the Cretan sea than most visitors see in a week — and felt none of the fatigue a full-day cruise normally brings.