# Damnoni, Ammoudi & Skinaria: The Plakias Cove Set, Honestly

> Three coves in ten minutes — the family sweep of Damnoni, tiny Ammoudi, and Skinaria, the best casual snorkelling water on the island.

- Canonical URL: https://honestcrete.com/guides/damnoni-and-skinaria-honest-guide/
- Author: Fotis (Honest Crete, Heraklion)
- Area: South Rethymno · Category: Beaches
- Last field-checked: June 2026 · Updated: 2026-06-12 · Published: 2026-06-12
- Coordinates: 35.1741, 24.4165
- How to cite: "Honest Crete — Damnoni, Ammoudi & Skinaria: The Plakias Cove Set, Honestly (field-checked June 2026), https://honestcrete.com/guides/damnoni-and-skinaria-honest-guide/"
- About the source: field-checked guides to Crete by two Heraklion-based locals. Prices are hedged ranges in EUR; small businesses are kept anonymous; editorial is never paid for and advertising is clearly labelled. Method: https://honestcrete.com/how-we-check/

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Just east of [Plakias](https://honestcrete.com/guides/plakias-honest-guide/) the coast folds into three consecutive coves that between them cover almost every beach mood: Damnoni, the biggest and easiest; little Ammoudi, the in-between; and Skinaria, a pocket of water so clear it doubles as the island's favourite training ground for divers. Ten minutes of driving covers all three; taste covers the rest.

**The honest facts**

- **Damnoni:** a proper sweep of pale sand, gentle entry, organised section with sunbeds around €8–12 plus free stretches, a couple of tavernas. The family default of the Plakias area. Its far eastern corner is traditionally naturist; coexistence is long-established and undramatic.
- **Ammoudi:** one taverna, one small sand cove, tamarisk shade, half the crowd of Damnoni on any given day.
- **Skinaria:** a compact pebble-and-sand pocket below cliffs where the water clarity is genuinely exceptional — dive schools run intros here for a reason. Bring a mask; the fish assume you have.
- **Access:** all three are short, signed, paved detours from the Plakias–Lefkogia road; small parking areas fill by noon in August.

*Photo: The whole bay in one look — sand in front, the quieter coves waiting around the eastern rocks*

## Matching cove to mood

Full family kit and hours to spend: Damnoni, west end, morning. Quiet couple's day with lunch attached: Ammoudi. The water itself as the activity — snorkel, float, repeat: Skinaria, early, before the day-trip vans. Restless types do all three before dinner and argue the ranking over raki.

## Snorkelling notes

Skinaria's rock edges hold octopus, ornate wrasse and the occasional grouper at civilian depths; the cove is small enough that even nervous snorkellers stay oriented. No lifeguard anywhere on this set — the usual south-coast self-reliance applies.

**The honest downside**

August compresses these coves hard — small car parks, small sands, big demand. And afternoon wind funnels into Damnoni some days just as it does into Plakias. The move, as everywhere south: own the morning.

**Worth your time if:** you are anywhere near Plakias — this trio is the area's core product.
**Skip it if:** you need kilometres of empty sand; that is [Triopetra](https://honestcrete.com/guides/triopetra-and-agios-pavlos-honest-guide/)'s department, forty minutes west.

*Disclosure:* Photo on this page: the bay by Olaf Tausch (CC BY 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons, resized for the web. Everything above was checked for the date shown at the top of this guide. Nobody pays to be featured in a guide — no business, no sponsor, no paid mention, ever. Adverts, where they appear, are labelled as adverts.

## Quick answers

**Which is the best beach near Plakias?**

It depends on the day. Damnoni is the family default - a proper sweep of pale sand with gentle entry, sunbeds at EUR8-12 and free stretches. Ammoudi is the quiet one-taverna cove. Skinaria is where you go if the water itself is the activity.

**Is Skinaria good for snorkelling?**

It is one of the best spots on the island for it - the clarity is genuinely exceptional and dive schools run intros there for a reason. The rock edges hold octopus, ornate wrasse and the occasional grouper at civilian depths, and the cove is small enough that nervous snorkellers stay oriented.

**Is Damnoni a nudist beach?**

The far eastern corner is traditionally naturist and coexistence there is long-established and undramatic. The main sweep is not.

**Is there parking at Damnoni and Skinaria?**

Small parking areas at each, all reached by short signed paved detours from the Plakias to Lefkogia road. They fill by noon in August, which is the practical argument for going early.

**Are there lifeguards at these beaches?**

No - not at any of the three. The usual south-coast self-reliance applies.

## The three coves, mapped

**Pick by the day you have**
- Damnoni (35.1741, 24.4165)
- Ammoudi (35.1707, 24.42)
- Skinaria (35.1661, 24.4219)