Platanes, 5km to the east of Rethymno, is an averagely-sized package holiday destination. Twenty years ago Platanes was an unremarkable suburb of Rethymno lying on the old Rethymno-Iraklio road.

Then, thanks to the very long, beautiful beach, tourism arrived. It has really developed in the last two decades: luxury hotels such as El Greco and Creta Palace were built in the area.