The south coast of East Crete works very differently from the north. Roads are quieter, towns are smaller, and tourism feels spread thin rather than concentrated. You do not get long promenades, polished marina fronts, or big resort centres every few kilometres. What you get instead is a chain of coastal villages that each serve a different purpose. Some are worth a full stop. Some are simply useful bases. Some are better for a swim than for an overnight stay. The broader regional context behind these differences helps before you commit nights to any one of them.
Myrtos: The Best Small Village Stop on This Coast
Myrtos is the first south coast village west of Ierapetra that feels worth slowing down for. The road drops in from the hills and suddenly opens into a compact waterfront with tavernas, a small beach, narrow residential lanes, and almost no wasted space.
This is not a dramatic beach destination. The shoreline is mostly shingle, the water shelves gently, and the bay is often calmer because the mountains behind protect it from much of the northern wind. What makes Myrtos work is proportion. Everything is close together. You can park, walk the seafront in five minutes, swim, eat, and move into the back streets without ever feeling you are dealing with a spread-out tourist strip.
The village has a lived-in feel that many purpose-built beach settlements do not. Washing hangs from upper balconies, cats sleep in the shade beside parked scooters, and the tavernas are mixed with houses rather than isolated into one commercial row. It feels occupied first, visited second.
I would not base a week here unless you want extreme quiet, but it is an excellent half-day village. Swim, have lunch, sit for an hour, then continue east.
Tertsa: Pleasant but Very Limited
Further east along this coast route, Tertsa is much smaller and more exposed. This is essentially a loose scattering of houses and tavernas facing a long dark-pebble beach. The setting is attractive enough, especially late in the day when the mountains behind start throwing shadow over the coast, but there is not much depth to it.
You come here for two reasons only: a quiet swim or an unhurried lunch.
The beach is rarely crowded because there is simply not enough surrounding infrastructure to draw numbers. That helps if you want silence, but it also means there is little reason to linger once you have had your meal or your swim. The road in is narrow and slightly isolated, which reinforces the sense that this is a detour rather than a destination.
Useful stop if you are driving the coast. Not somewhere I would prioritise over the stronger villages further east.
Makry Gialos: The Most Rounded Family Base
Makry Gialos is where this southern coastline starts becoming more practical for a longer stay. Unlike Myrtos, which is compact and traditional, Makry Gialos spreads along a broad bay with hotels, apartment blocks, tavernas, organised beach sections, a small harbour, and enough shops to function as a proper holiday base. It comes up consistently in any honest comparison of which East Crete bases actually suit which kind of trip, particularly for families.
The first thing that matters here is the beach. It is long, sandy in sections, shallow, and unusually calm. You can walk a considerable distance into the water without suddenly dropping. For families, weaker swimmers, or anyone tired of battling pebbles, this is one of the easiest beaches on the south coast.
Importantly, the sunbeds do not consume everything. Organised sections sit beside long usable public stretches, so the beach still feels open.
The seafront itself is pleasant rather than beautiful. There are some very good villas and resorts facing the water, particularly on the western side, and the harbour gives the village a centre point, but parts of Makry Gialos still feel slightly underbuilt. Pavements narrow unexpectedly, the road presses close to pedestrian space, and some stretches are more functional than polished.
Still, it works because there is enough variety across one walk. Families use the playgrounds, couples drift between tavernas, small boats leave from the harbour, and there is enough evening movement to stop the place feeling dead after sunset.
If I were choosing a southern base east of Ierapetra for convenience, swimming, and day trips, this would be the obvious one.
Diaskari: Better Beach Than Village
A few minutes east of Makry Gialos, Diaskari strips things back again. There is no real village centre to speak of, just accommodation pockets and a long open beach facing a quieter bay.
This beach is the reason to come.
Diaskari feels less organised, less claimed, and less busy than Makry Gialos. The sand mixes with coarse patches, tamarisk trees provide broken natural shade, and the shoreline stretches enough that people spread out properly. Even in season it does not usually feel compressed.
The sea here often looks cleaner simply because there is less visual clutter around it. Fewer umbrellas, fewer tavern rows, fewer people moving constantly behind you.
For a dedicated beach half-day, I would choose Diaskari over central Makry Gialos. For restaurants, walking, and overnight convenience, Makry Gialos wins easily.
Koutsouras: Functional Stop, Not a Destination
West of Makry Gialos on the return coast road, Koutsouras serves mostly as a roadside coastal settlement. You pass supermarkets, fuel, practical services, a few tavernas, and a long shoreline that is perfectly usable but not especially memorable.
There are decent swimming spots here, and the mountain backdrop is attractive, but the village lacks a real focal point. It feels stretched along the road rather than gathered around a harbour or square. Because of that, it functions more as a supply stop and accommodation strip than somewhere with character.
Some visitors stay here because prices can be lower than Makry Gialos, and it does place you conveniently between Ierapetra and the eastern beaches. That logic makes sense. As a place to spend your evenings walking around, it is much weaker.
Which Part of the South Coast Is Actually Worth Your Time?
If time is limited, do not try to treat every south coast village equally.
Myrtos is the most charming short traditional stop. Makry Gialos is the strongest all-round holiday base. Diaskari is the better pure beach escape. Tertsa is a quiet detour if already passing. Koutsouras is mainly practical.
That is really how this coast should be approached: not as one continuous sightseeing route, but as a set of selective pauses between long open stretches of sea and mountain road. If the weather is right and you are based around Ierapetra, the boat day out to Chrissi Island sits naturally inside the same trip rather than competing with it.
