Driving from Archaeological Site of Gortyna to Heraklion

I think you have a bit of a flaw in your plan. There is no Beach at Gortyz/Gortyna. You do mention Preveli beach which is near Plakias on the south coast. Red Beach is at Matala also on the south coast.
Plakias is a 40 minute drive from Rethymnon. Preveli Beach can be reached by road, plus a hike over the headland or you can take a boat from Plakias to Prevali beach.

So I would do that area first and perhaps overnight in Plakias or Matala. Next day drive north to Agia Triada, Minoan Phaistos, and Gortyz/ Gortyna. They are all fairly close together. I am assuming you know, that besides the gated archaeological site at Gortyz there is a whole Roman city buried in the olive groves just down the road from the gated site. Its a great site to explore.

Its not a long drive north to Heraklion. You will pretty much drive by Knossos on the way. If you stop in the late afternoon it will start to cool off and there are likely fewer crowds.

This is what you will see.
Gortyna https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157666456665788
Matala https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157687857502721
Phaistos https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157645085297380

Thank you for your tips. We would prefer to end our day somewhere by the Archaeological Site of Gortyna, and then find a scenic drive back to the Northeast side and then to Heraklion. We do understand there is no beach in Gortyna.

According to Google map it is a 3 hour and 10 min. drive, from Old Town, Rethimno to Gortyna. We were told to add more time for driving and the numerous stops we are planning. We figure it would be an all day event to get to from Rethimno to Gortyna. We would like to spend the night somewhere in that area? The next day we could take Hwy 97, and head to Knossos Palace and Heraklion. But, since we have that full day to explore Crete, we were thinking of staying a night close or beyond Gortyna, and take a more scenic route. In the morning drive to the Archaeological Site of Gournia, Malia Palace Archaeological Site, stop at a beach town and then onto Palace and return the car at Heraklion.

We still have one more day in Heraklion, so we could always see the Palace in the AM and then explore Heraklion in the afternoon.

As far as I can tell the nearest hotel near Gortyna is in Zaros about 5km north of the site. Looks nice.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1591528-d662917-Reviews-Keramos-Zaros_Crete.html

Thank you I will check it out. That is the hard part finding a place to stay.

As I look at your plan for the last day I think you can do Malia Palace. Its probably an hour and a half from Goryz area. Take the national road past Matala and turn north to the Palace. Driving in Matala is a bit wild, too much traffic and narrow confusing roads.

I think you might find it a bit too long to include the Archaeological Site of Gournia, You will have to drive east on the National road then turn off to Ag Nikolas and that site is a good 20 minute drive after you clear Ag Nik. Its just too far to do Minoen Knossos and Malia plus Gournia. I can however say that Gournia was the one site where I felt a connection to the ancient people. There is very little of the palace but the homes of the population spoke to us.

Thank you. I think you are correct on not seeing Archaeological Site of Gournia. I guess we are trying to avoid the National hwy 97 and looking for alternative scenic route from around the Archaeological Site of Gortyna, to get to the North/Northeast side of the island. Thank you again for your help!

Have a great time.