Nestled in the foothills of the White Mountains, Vatos is a small hamlet located 18km west of Ierapetra and 3km east of Myrtos. This tranquil village can be accessed via an asphalt road connecting Myrtos to Tertsa. Here, locals mainly work with banana and vegetable crops in the greenhouses of the area. The settlement sits at the edge of a fertile valley that begins north of Gdohia.
The long beach of Vatos stretches east to Myrtos, with several separate beaches along its shoreline. Its soft, gray pebbles are characteristic of southern Crete, and its waters are deep. Tourists won’t find many people at the beach, except for a few locals. In some areas, tamarisk trees can be found. To the west, visitors will come across Kalikovrehtis, where another pebbly beach is located.
On July 27, travelers can join the feast day of the church of Saint Panteleimon. In addition, Gdohia is worth a visit, with its narrow streets and refreshing springs. The village is also home to the old chapel of Annunciation with its rare Byzantine icons, as well as the remains of a pre-Minoan settlement unearthed between the beach and the village. Tragically, in the autumn of 1943, 43 people were executed by the Nazis in retaliation for the deaths of two German soldiers in the village of Kato Simi.