Cradled by cliffs, Agios Pavlos is little more than a couple of small tavernas with rooms and a beach bar set around a picture-perfect crescent with dark, course sand with the distinctive silhouette of Paximadia Islands looming offshore. A steep staircase on the bay's western end leads up Cape Melissa to some intricately pleated and colourful rock formations .
The bay gets busy in summer when excursion boats arrive from Agia Galini, but it's possible to escape the crowds by heading to the beaches behind the headland to the west. Beware that getting there involves a scramble down (and up) a steep sand dune. Bring water and snacks.
Agios Pavlos Hotel has waterfront rooms above its taverna and super-nice modern apartments up on the hill.
To get to Agios Pavlos, look for the turn-off to Saktouria on the Rethymno–Agia Galini road and follow the winding asphalt about 13km down to the sea.
