Vai draws thousands of visitors each year and its well organized tropical beach has been awarded a Blue Flag by the European Union. It combines sea sport facilities, cafes and restaurants with preservation and respect to the natural environment of this unique landscape. Walking northwards along the beach you will find some smaller beaches, less crowded but equally beautiful.
The name of the area, Vai, comes from vayia, which is the Greek word for palms. The palm forest of Vai covers an area of approximately 250,000 square metres with 5.000 perennial trees, making it the largest in Europe. These palms are endemic Cretan palms (Phoenix theophrastii) and were not imported although according to the local legend the forest had been grown from the seeds thrown away by Arab pirates or Phoenician merchants set ashore at the place.
Nestled into a valley behind a fresh water pond and creek, the palm forest is home to local birds and animals such as the shy Cretan Marten, a small native mammal like a stoat. The Vai forest is protected by the Forestry Service, the European Union and the relevant conventions.
Not only the forest, but the whole landscape contribute to this rare beauty like the thick sand forms dunes around and the rare plants with extraordinary flowers (mainly in spring) found at the nearby low hills.
The archaeological site of Itanos or Erimoupoli, located 2 kilometers northwards from Vai, where excavations have brought many findings of the Minoan and Hellenistic periods to light and where you will actually see the ruins of the ancient city sunk in the sea it’s worth your visit too.
