Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Crete

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Beaches

Greek law lets a dog on a lead onto any unorganised beach and into the sea. Organised beaches, the ones with loungers, a bar and a lifeguard, admit dogs only where the operator has put up a sign saying so, and Blue Flag sections are a no unless the operator says otherwise. Crete has 154 Blue Flag sections in 2026, each a named stretch of resort or municipal sand, so the rule bites on the busiest frontages and nowhere else. On this list, Domes Zeen, Domes Aulus, Domes Noruz and NIKO Seaside all had Daisy on their own beach, and Elounda Bay Palace, St. Nicolas Bay and Elounda Gulf Villas keep dogs off theirs.

Dogs at breakfast

Yes at Domes Zeen, where the buffet is outdoors, and at Domes Aulus on the terrace. No at Domes Noruz, NIKO Seaside, Amirandes, Avra Imperial, Elounda Bay Palace, Elounda Gulf Villas, Minos Beach and St. Nicolas Bay. Domes of Elounda, Knossos Beach, Out Of The Blue and ammos don't publish a rule, so ask by name when you book.

Weight limits

15 kg at Domes Zeen, Domes Noruz, Domes Aulus, Domes of Elounda and Elounda Gulf Villas, and that is the island's ceiling. 10 kg at Knossos Beach, 8 kg at NIKO Seaside and Amirandes, 6 kg at Avra Imperial and Out Of The Blue, 5 kg at Elounda Bay Palace, Minos Beach and St. Nicolas Bay. ammos publishes no limit but takes dogs on good behaviour only.

Fees

Free at NIKO Seaside, Elounda Bay Palace, Minos Beach, St. Nicolas Bay and Out Of The Blue. EUR 20 a night at Amirandes, Avra Imperial and Knossos Beach. EUR 30 a day at Elounda Gulf Villas. EUR 100 a stay at Domes Zeen, Domes of Elounda and Domes Aulus. Domes Noruz charges EUR 100 a stay plus EUR 30 a night. Every hotel on the list takes one dog only.

Buses

The KTEL coaches between Chania, Rethymno, Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos take a dog up to 10 kg in a carrier no bigger than 50 x 40 x 35 cm, two per bus, on routes the operator lists, and you book the dog in with the seat. Chania and Heraklion city buses publish no pet rule at all. Anything over 10 kg means a hire car or a taxi, and the Chania resorts are not walkable to the old town. From experience, skip the buses anyway. Daisy rode the bus into Chania in early May and it was so packed we went back for the car. Take a taxi or drive.

Getting there

Chania airport is 20 minutes from the Chania hotels, Heraklion airport an hour from Elounda. No airline flies a pet dog into the UK in the cabin, so the return leg is cargo whatever you do on the way out, and Aer Lingus and Ryanair take no pets at all, so from Ireland it's Aegean via Athens with a dog under 8 kg in the cabin. The overnight ferries from Piraeus to Chania and Heraklion carry dogs free on the Crete routes, in a pet cabin or a kennel, and the pet cabins sell out, so book them first.

Sights

Knossos refuses dogs, along with the Acropolis, Delphi and Olympia, while most other Greek archaeological sites admit a dog on a one metre lead with its health card. The Samaria Gorge takes dogs on a lead only, opens 1 May to 15 October and shuts at 4pm, and it is 16 km of rock in full sun. Chania's Venetian harbour, the lighthouse walk and the Agios Nikolaos lake and seafront are open promenades and all fine with a dog.

Vets

ChaniaVet in Souda, 15 minutes from the Chania hotels, works in English and sees emergencies without an appointment during opening hours. Chania has no round-the-clock animal hospital, so out of hours you're calling the on-duty vet number, and the hotel concierge will have it. Knossos Beach near Heraklion offers on-site veterinary treatment to dogs staying there.

Best walks

The Chania Venetian harbour loop out to the Egyptian lighthouse, the flat Nea Chora seafront west of it, and the sand and pebble cove in front of Domes Zeen at Kato Daratso. In the east, the Agios Nikolaos waterfront round Lake Voulismeni and along the Kitroplateia, the kilometre of coast path from Minos Beach and St. Nicolas Bay into town, and the Elounda bay promenade to the old salt pans and the causeway onto the Spinalonga peninsula. Near Heraklion, the coast road at Kokkini Hani and the Agia Pelagia bay.

When to go

May and early June, then late September and October, and we mean it. In early May Chania is lovely. We went back in July and it was unrecognisable, rammed and far more touristy, more Gran Canaria than Crete, and we wouldn't recommend high summer with a dog. May and June, then late September and October. The resorts open around April and close from November to March, the sea is 24 degrees from July to October, and Samaria is open 1 May to 15 October. July and August average 29 degrees in the shade, the beach loungers fill and the tarmac burns paws by noon, so if you must come then, keep to dawn and dusk and pick a hotel with a shaded terrace and its own beach. Winter is mild but wet and windy, and almost nothing on this list is open.