Crete beaches in October

It will still be warm in Crete at that time of year but the peak season is over. The sea will be very warm because it’s been heated by the sun all summer. There will be tourists there but not as many as earlier in the year. Hiring a car is a good idea I’d say. It’s probably the only way of seeing everything you want to see.

The beaches are not just about the water. I was in Crete last October. End of the month. Visited many beaches. Did not swim at any. Water was chilly. Nothing was crowded. Which was nice. No one charging you to sit on a lounger if they are still on the beaches. Oh, yeah, we did go in the water at Matala. It was hot there. Sea was cool. Beach there was crowded, but not like it could have been. You will be glad that you are not in the high season. That would be way too many people.
Rented our car from Budget at Heraklion airport. Earlier this year we used Sixt in Croatia and I would go with them due to real good customer service.

The sea will be very warm because it’s been heated by the sun all summer

I've experienced the Med in various places in October and in none of them would I say that the sea was very warm, in fact it was quite cool.

I swam in October at Almyrida, a small town east of Chania with a nice shallow sandy beach…however it was unusually hot that year and temps were still in the mid-80’s. One thing to watch for were the breakers, quite impressive surf on occasion which tended to knock you off your feet when trying to get out of the water! Oh and watch out for sea urchins, water shoes are recommended for safety.

It’s been warm when I’ve been there. Just googled and average sea temp in Crete in October is 23 degrees.

The sea will be warmish in October because it has heated up from the summer heat. That does not mean it will be hot it will still be cool. When you get in it will be cold but after a couple of minutes you adjust and it will be comfortable.

The weather will be changeable, warm during the day and cooler at night. One October there was a cyclone and we had to stay in our hotel room for 3 days. You have to be prepared to be flexible.

If you want to get to do sightseeing a car is a good idea. It gives you the most flexibility. Its important to know when to rent the car. If you plan to spend time in Heraklion and Chania cities a car is useless. Both can be explored on foot. Particularly Chania which does not allow cars in the old town area which is the highlight.

Crete has several different car rental companies all locally owned. They all provide great service. Much better than what you will get from multinational rental companies. We always use Autorental Crete. Their service is outstanding and will deliver the car to you when and where you want it. We also had good experience with Athens cars Crete. Their service is not as good and their vehicles are much older which means lower prices. There are other locally owned car companies all with great reputations but I have no experience with them. Its best to get quotes from a few just to compare price, service and availability. Just make sure they are locally owned.
Trepidations
Driving in Greece can be an adventure. You need a driver who does nothing but drive keeping their eyes on the road. Someone else needs to be navigating and looking for road signs. The national road between Heraklion and Chania is a good highway no problem.
A GPS is a must but its a good idea to also have a paper Map just to double check. Who would have thought there are 7 places in Greece named Meteora Long story.
Greek drivers go fast, way faster than a little rental car. If one comes up behind you just move over to the right on the paved shoulder and let them go by.
There must be a gene in Greek drivers which makes it impossible of staying in their driving lane on a curve. The white line dividing the road is an unofficial imaginary lane up the middle of the road. Having a car hurtling towards you on a blind curve is a tad unexpected to a tourist the first few times it happens. They are also very skilled drivers and will get back safely every time. After renting a car for 2 weeks I too started to cut the corners.

That warning was not meant to put you off just to prepare you.
Some images of Heraklion and Chania. You will have a great time.

Castello Heraklion https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157686964935102
Heraklion https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157655935354556

A great trip from Heraklion for ancient sites.
Archeological sites Phaistos, Gortyz and Knossos.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157645085297380

Botanical Gardens https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720299739852
Chania 2022. https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720299646015

Helen, JC, Lesley, TreeMoss, and Stanbr —- thank you so much for sharing your experiences and research! We are from the PNW so “warmish” water temps will likely be warmer than we are used to here. I really appreciate the additional advice about driving in Greece. We will only be renting a car for a few excursions on Crete, but will be driving around the Peloponnese Peninsula for a full two weeks after that. We always download “offline” Google maps for navigation, but a printed map sounds like good backup. Again, I really appreciate your input. Thank you!

We spent two weeks in Chania and had a car the whole time. The water was warm, and there were fewer crowds. We explored western Crete including the southern coast.

Hi, I was at Falassarna beach on October 5. The water temperature was really nice, around 76 degrees. There was a nice cooling breeze from the north and the waves were fairly gentle. I talked to a German fellow who has vacationed there 19 times and he said when the wind comes from the west, the surf can be very rough. It’s a gorgeous beach with great mountain scenery and wonderful clear water. Hope you are enjoying Crete!