E4 trail between Paleochora and Sougia: are you up for this coastal trek?

Do you love hiking routes that combine semi-deserted beaches, turquoise waters, and jaw-dropping views?

Here is the E4 route between Paleochora and Sougia.

I'd say it's made just for you. 😉

Technical details

Coastal trekking between Paleochora and Sougia

Difficulty: medium.
Length: 14.5 km (one way).
Elevation gain: 250 m (steep slopes).
Hiking time: 5-7 hours.
Start: Paleochora.
End: Sougia (end – ferry).
Date completed (photographs): October, 2013.

From Paleochora to Sougia, step by step

The hardest part of this route is the lack of shade you'll find along the way, so I recommend starting as early as possible, especially in summer.

1. From Paleochora to Anidri beach

If you start from the center of Paleochora, follow the signs to Anidri beach or Sandy Beach.

For 1 hour you'll walk along the road hugging the coast until you reach this lovely cove, half sand, half pebbles.

We loved it so much that we came back the next day to spend the whole day combining reading with sunbathing and sea dips (2 sunbeds for 5€).

What a tough life! 😉

2. From Anidri to the ruins of Lissos

Once you leave the beach, the E4 trail starts gaining elevation and moves away from the coast until reaching the top of a plateau.

Keep walking across it following the trail markers on tree trunks and stones. You can't miss it.

In about 3 more hours you'll reach ancient Lissos, a Bronze Age Minoan settlement.

The remaining ruins of this civilization are few, but you can tell they had great taste when choosing locations… what views!

Plus, you can head down to the cove right in front to cool off.

3. From Lissos to Sougia

From here on, the path runs through a pine forest, whose shade you'll definitely appreciate.

Shortly after, it enters the Lissos gorge (much smaller than the impressive Samaria Gorge we hiked a few days later), which leads right out to the port of Sougia.

Here you'll find a couple of beach bars and a beautiful beach to take one last dip before catching the ferry back to Paleochora (we took the 18:15 one, sunset included).

What to bring

Food: pack whatever you feel like eating on the trail into your backpack. Need some inspiration?: sandwiches, fruit, nuts, cookies...
Water: except for the beach bars at the start and end of the route, you won't find any drinking water along the way, so I recommend carrying at least 1.5 liters per person (even better if it's 2). 😉
Sun protection: keep in mind that the trail is out in the open most of the time, so bring sunglasses, a hat, sunscreen…
Clothing: lightweight clothes, hiking shoes, and swimwear. There are several (and very tempting) spots to take a dip in the sea.
Travel insurance: if you want to travel worry-free, book your IATI travel insurance through this link and get a 5% discount. They offer customizable coverage based on your needs and cover all medical expenses upfront if you notify them in advance. I don't travel without them anymore.

Where to sleep

To do this route, your best bet is staying in Paleochora or Sougia.

In our case, we did the hike from Paleochora, where we spent 5 nights in total.

Since we traveled in October, we didn't book in advance. However, the most popular spots were fully booked (like Lito Apartments) or only had the worst rooms left (which happened to us at Corali Studios).

So we strolled around for a bit until we found Ton Mari Apartments, a relatively new apartment building that looked really nice from the outside.

We called the number on the sign and bingo!

We managed to get 5 nights, though we had to switch apartments once due to prior bookings.

That said, the value for money was fantastic: 135€ in total, which means 27€/night for 2 people.

The only minor complaint is that it was tricky to get hold of Mari (who welcomed us) after that first contact (nothing major if you're patient and keep trying).

And one night, the neighbors (also tourists) made sure we barely got any sleep. 😉

The rest, perfect.

Where to eat in Paleochora

Some of the restaurants we tried during the 5 days we spent in Paleochora were:

Atoli Café: our favorite spot for breakfast (we went back up to 3 times).
ThirdEye: a varied vegetarian spot, where I recommend sticking to the traditional Cretan dishes (the Asian options weren't as good).
Pizzeria Odyssey: good pizzas even if your palate is used to Italian ones.
Kiparaki, Small Garden: a great Asian place with a small inner courtyard, perfect for a romantic dinner.
Maria’s Restaurant: our favorite (we went back a couple of times). The eggplant imam bayildi, the sea bass or sea bream dishes, and that cheesecake with honey for dessert… Everything was delicious.