Trekking from Paleochora to Sougia is a walking adventure in Crete I’ll never forget. But not for good reasons.

The day was an absolute disaster. All because I greatly under-estimated walking conditions on the Paleochora to Sougia route in Summer.

Pre-hike planning

“The Paleochora to Sougia hike is a lovely walk along the coast!”

“A spectacular hike across varied landscape. I highly recommend it!”

These were the type of reviews that kept appearing in my trip research. Naturally, I was sold. The walk soon landed on my Crete trip itinerary. I couldn’t wait to get started.

Unfortunately, the Day 1 enthusiasm would later collapse to utter misery. More on this shortly…

How to get to Paleochora from Chania by bus

Go to the central KTEL bus station in Chania and take a bus on the Chania – Paleochora bus route. Get off at the final stop.

About the Paleochora to Sougia Hike in Crete, Greece

The Paleochora to Sougia hike is part of the E4 European long distance path in Crete.

From Paleochora, the trail starts off on a really long dusty dirt road which hugs the coast. This first section is very “Bla”. It’s likely you’ll spot Cretan “Kri-Kri” mountain goats along the way.

Signs point to the popular Gialiskari Beach (or Anidri beach) which some consider to be one of Crete’s best beaches. You’ll instantly know it by the collection of sun loungers lining the beach. Don’t be shocked if you are greeted by a casual flash of nudity. That’s another reason it’s gained special fame.

As the trail edges away from the sea, get ready – a strenuous ascent is up next. A bit of scrambling on the rocky trail is required.

The route is mostly exposed. There’s no tree cover. No shepherd’s hut. It’s you, the Greek sun and accompanying views of the deep blue Libyan Sea.

Lissos Beach and the Ancient City of Lissos

Keep going east. The trail will eventually descend into Lissos valley where you’ll find two unexpected bonuses: Lissos Tal archaeological site and a tiny secluded pebble beach in the bay of Agios Kirikos.

The crystal clear water here is dreamy. You may even be inclined to pinch yourself to see if it’s real or if you’re hallucinating after an exhausting hike.

Like several neighbouring settlements and beaches on the southwestern Cretan coast, Lissos is only accessible by foot or by boat. Meaning there’s a good chance this spot might be all yours while there. Stop at Lissos and have a swim. After your swim, you can either:

1: Take the taxi boat to Sougia from Lissos, or…

2: Continue the hike to Sougia. The path then leads you to Lissos gorge and after which you arrive at the harbour of Sougia. The walk from Lissos to Sougia takes approximately 2 hours.

Taxi Boat from Lissos to Sougia

In reality, I never made it to the gorge – I’ve read it’s stunning though. My walk ended at Lissos Beach where the day’s saviour eventually appeared. His name was Yiannis and he’s the captain of one of the taxi boats you’ll want to pre-arrange if you finish the hike in Lissos and need a ride to Sougia. 

Mistakes to avoid when hiking from Paleochora to Sougia

Here’s what can and did go wrong on my Paleochora to Sougia hike in Crete, and how you can avoid making the same mistakes.

Heat exhaustion

I did this hike in Crete in early June and weather conditions were already too warm for walking. I’d wrongly assumed that as it was a coastal walk, sea breezes would keep me cool. Maybe gently blow me to Sougia even…

Instead, extreme heat exhaustion set in mid-hike (and mid-ascent). I was genuinely worried about how I would make it back to civilization. After Gialiskari Beach, there is nothing out there except a dry trail and you. Thankfully, I pushed on and now this is all just a good story to tell.

What should you do differently?

Do not underestimate high temperatures in Greece in the months of June, July and August. It was ferociously hot out there. With so much of the landscape laid bare, with no shade, it’s always going to be brutal if you’re doing a long distance walk in the summer.

If you do go on this trail, be sure to start your walk early.

Not enough water

We’d set out on the trek from Paleochora with one large bottle of water (1.5 litres) and a regular stainless steel bottles of 1L each. Within 1.5 hours most of the water had disappeared – mostly mine – and we needed to start rationing as we were only at the halfway point. The problem was – I was suffering from heat exhaustion and massive dehydration. 

This is where sheer mental willpower kicks in and you get it done but I vividly remember thinking “No way. I can’t climb any further in this heat”

What should you do differently?

When hiking in Greece in general, carry a large supply of water. 2 litres of water per person, at minimum, would be suitable for this hike.

Walking with a heavy backpack

Going on a long-distance walk with my overnight backpack is not new to me. But schlepping around with it across dry land under the blazing sun is.

Normally, I’d have a light daypack but having checked out from one hotel and getting ready to check into the new one on the Cretan coast meant I walked with it. 

What should you do differently?

Source a locker facility and leave the majority of your gear behind on hiking days. My itinerary took me back to Chania in 2 days. It would have made sense to rent one of the lockers at the EFTL bus station in Chania and deposit my stuff there. Or, at my previous accommodation if they’d even allow it.

No mobile signal and no Plan B

Lissos Beach would undoubtly be my new finishing point. Problem was, as the plan was to go to Sougia, I hadn’t done any research on Lissos. After 45 minutes of soaking our tired feet at the small pier, I began to find the quiet, well…disquieting.

“How are we getting out of here?” No humans or boats were in sight. I had no mobile service.

An hour later a French lady calmly strolled on to the beach. She looked quite the opposite of what I was feeling inside. She whipped out a card with the contact for a water taxi back to Sougia and a mobile with a working signal.

Hallelujah, Yannis was on his way!

Gosh…what a save. Wouldn’t be sleeping on the beach that night after all.

What should you do differently?

In this case, arrange your taxi boat pickup before leaving on your hike if you end in Lissos.

And in general, be familiar with all of your emergency exit points. Yep, just like they tell you on the airplane. If you have to divert on the trail, what are the options? Be ready vs. clueless as I was.

And always download an offline version of your trail map!