Crete in late September

We did not pick the end of September because it was cheap. We picked it because it is the best week of the Cretan year and most people are not there for it.

August in Crete is +40 degrees and full. The beaches are shared, the tavernas are booked, and the sand is too hot to play on between eleven and five. It is a fine holiday and a bad camp.

By late September, the island has exhaled.

The weather, specifically

Late September on the south coast of Crete runs at roughly 26 to 31 degrees in the day and around 22-25 at night. The sea is at its warmest of the entire year, around 25 degrees, because the Mediterranean spends all summer absorbing heat and only starts returning it in autumn. The water in late September is warmer than the water in June.

What that means for a camp: you can play at midday without hating it, the golden-hour session is genuinely pleasant rather than a relief, and swimming after a session is a reward rather than a rescue.

Rain in late September is uncommon. We plan for one grey afternoon and have a plan for it. 

Plakias, and why the south coast

Plakias is on the south coast, about 40 minutes from Rethymno through a gorge that does a lot of the work of convincing you that you made a good decision.

It is a small place. Roughly two hundred residents out of season. One long beach, a handful of tavernas, a resident beach volleyball scene that has been there for years, and mountains directly behind the town, which is why the light in the evening does what it does.

The south coast matters for a practical reason: it is warmer and more sheltered later in the year than the north, and it gets far less of the package traffic. By the last week of September, a good part of the seasonal crowd has gone home and the town belongs to the people who live there and the few who stayed.

You will not be queuing for anything.

The week is built for people who did not take the week off

Late September is the point in the year when remote workers start moving south, and the agenda is shaped around that.

Mornings are movement and volleyball. The afternoon block is siesta and focus time: genuinely open, [wifi at the casa confirmed at X speed], and enough people with laptops open that you will not feel like the one person who could not switch off. The second session is at golden hour, after the working day of most European time zones is done.

You can do the whole week without touching a laptop. You can also do the whole week while working, which is why 30% of the Ibiza group did exactly that.

What is on the agenda, in a week rather than five days

Crete is seven days rather than the five we ran in Ibiza, and the extra two days change the shape of it more than they change the volume.

  • Daily stretch and breathwork on the sand before the heat
  • Certified beach volleyball coaching, groups by level, beginners in their own group with their own coach
  • Siesta and focus block every afternoon
  • Golden hour sessions
  • The Paero Cup [format, and what the final on Crete involves]
  • Skills sharing and pitch evenings, [two of them]
  • A hike into nature and hills and a local cultural visit
  • Dinners at the same tavernas all week, until they know your order
  • One boat day possible to book for those interested
  • Sunset parties and dancing

Days five to seven are where the group stops behaving like a group of guests. Five days gets you a good week. Seven gets you the WhatsApp group that is still alive in February.

What it costs, plainly

Camp Pass: from 550EUR with an access to all coaching/activity sessions

Full Package: from 900EUR including the camp pass & accommodation in our Crete Casa resort

We are setting up the Group rate for 3 or more, as well as a Sandchampions crew from the previous camps.

Deposit amount 170EUR counts toward the total.

What is not included: flights, insurance, meals except for the welcoming and farewell dinner.

Getting there: fly to Chania [CHQ] or Heraklion [HER], both served from most European hubs. From Chania it is [X hours] by road, from Heraklion [X]. We do  organise a group transfer on arrival day/departure day.

Who is coming

Forty spots, and as of early August, there are half booked. The group so far is from all around Europe, Singapore, LATAM,, ages roughly late twenties-early forties,, with 30% who have never played beach volleyball and 60% who play somewhat regularly. Some booked with a friend or with people from their club. A good number booked on their own, and if that is you, you will be in familiar company. [More on coming alone → link to post 02.]

If that sounds like a strange mix, it is the same mix that has worked twice. Benidorm was eight people. Ibiza was sixteen. Crete is forty, and forty is still small enough that you will end the week knowing every single name.

27 September to 3 October, Plakias, Crete. DM us/Deposit holds a spot. 

Come alone. Leave with a crew.

Related Posts