Elafonissi, Crete fossils and fossil collecting

Elafonissi is located on the South West of the Island of Crete. It is well signposted as it is a major tourist resort, known for its Caribbean style beach with pink sand.
The best way to access Elafonissi is via the bus service at Chania. There is a daily bus which gives you around 4 hours at this location. The bus waits at Elafonissi for around 4 hours before returning home.
If you plan to hire a car, this you can also drive to Elafonissi, there is plenty of parking on the beach.
From where the bus drops you off, walk back up the road and you will see plenty of Miocene rocks to explore.

GRID REF: 35.270359, 23.543615

mollusc's, corals, fish

Much of the island of Crete is Miocene, and full of fossil shells. It can be difficult to access locations even though you will see plenty of rocks passing through Crete. Elafonissi is a nice easy location in which local bus services will take you, giving good opportnuity to collecting fossils.

Very High

Most of the rocks at Elafonissi are full of fossils, it is quite easy to find them. There is also a softer bed which you can easily collect snail-like shells. Most fossils you will need a small hammer, which you can obtain from any DIY shop in Chania town, these are very cheap.

Suitable for Children

This location is suitable for children, they can spend time on the beach and in the shallow poole, and take time out to collect fossils from the rocks.

Easy Access

With a good bus service and well signposted, this is an easy location to access. Food and drink, toilets are all provided on site as you would expect with a Crete resort.

Rock outcrops

Fossils are found in rock outcrops at the top of the beach. These can be seen on route to the road leading to the car park, and when walking back up the road to reach the restaurant.

Protected Area

The beach itself is protected (similar to the UK SSSI status), you are not allowed to take samples from the area under this zone.

However, most of the fossils are found at the top of the beach, away from this protected area, where you are allowed to collect.

Although this location is quite safe, the rocks are situated near long grass. Please watch our for snakes. Be careful when walking over rocks as they can be sharp. Wear eye protection if using striking tools.

Airport Advice

Bringing your fossils home

Any airport these days are very heavily restricted in what you can bring back. If you try to bring fossils in your hand luggage, then if they are 'rocks' or 'stones', they will stop you and destroy these. You can however take small loose shells or fossils in a very small fragment of rock.

Anything 'dense' or 'heavy' flags up in their X-ray machines.

Any larger rocks should be well wrapped in your hold luggage, but even then, anything too large will also be destroyed. If you plan on bringing a number of specimens or larger specimens, we recommend using the local postage system and shipping them back home.

Hammers and other tools

You are not allowed to take ANY striking tool with you. This means, you will have to buy a cheap hammer in Crete, and then leave it behind when you return. Small hammers from local DIY shops in Chania and other towns are fine and are around just 2 Euros. A small chisel is also cheap, being around 1 Euros. These hammers are not great, but they will do for the job, the rocks are not that hard.

Last updated:	2008
last visited:	2008
Written by:	Alister and Alison Cruickshanks

Fossil Coral

A scallop type shell in Miocene Rock.
Miocene Gastropod


From the car park at Elafonissi, walk back up the road towards the Restaurant. Along the route, you will see plenty of rock outcrops in a white/pink colour. These are full of fossils. Rocks situated in the car park, also contain fossils but these are protected since this is a tourist resort and the authorities are trying to protect the local wildlife and plants, this is an area popular with birds and rare plants. At the largest outcrop, you will see a soft bed running between two limestone beds, this is full of shells which can easily be picked out without any tools. Most of the island is full of Miocene rocks, if you go to Chania, visit the port and walk up the coastal footpath. You will see a wall, which is full of fossils weathered out over the areas. Most of the roads cut through Miocene rocks on the island, so there is plenty to look out for.

Miocene, 5-23mya

The Miocene period is missing in the UK, and so this makes very interesting collecting for any UK Fossil Collector. Mammals at this time was of their most diverse and Marine life was rich in mollusc's and fish, There was extensive grasslands all over the planet. The Miocene rocks are often white, grey, pink and orange and can be seen all over the island of Crete. You can collect fossils from many locations in Crete, including the road cuttings in Chania.

The Miocene rocks of Crete are full of fossil shells


There are many different molluscs that can be found, many of which are not present in the UK (as we do not have Miocene here). Gastropods, Bivalves, Brachiopods are all found. Corals are also quite common here, and fish fragments are well documented from the Miocene rocks. A scallop type shell in Miocene Rock. Bivalve from Elafonissi Crete


Geological Tools	Most fossils at Elafonissi are in a semi-soft rock and you will need a hammer to get these out. Please refer to our 'Airport Advice' about obtaining striking tools. A chisel is also recommended along with paper to wrap your finds.

(C)opyright 2008 - UKGE Limited, UK Fossils Network and Deposits Magazine, all rights reserved.
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