Katsikoulakis Apartments

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Kamisiana is a quiet area unspoilt as yet by too much tourism. The Katsikoulakis apartments (translating into little goats, we think) are a small block almost on the beach, separated only by a tiny and very quiet unmade road.
The apartments have a front area where you can sit under straw umbrellas and have a drink/snack whilst absorbing the spectacular sea view.
The beach has large white pebbles/cobblestones and stretches a long way. Half an hour's walk further along the beach towards Kolimbari there are nesting areas for loggerhead turtles, you won't see any turtles (not when we were there anyway, which was July and egg laying time) but the nesting markers are there. The sea is always a beautiful deep blue/turquoise colour and warm, but be aware that in July the winds on Crete do start up (which we didn't realise as it was our first visit) and can mean that the surf is too strong to attempt swimming. The winds however are lovely and warm and make the heat more bearable, but the sea wouldn't be very suitable for small children under those circumstances, so best to get somewhere with a pool if visiting this area generally.
The Katsikoulakis has a perfect pool, very clean with sunbeds and umbrellas and a perfect tiny children's pool at the end of it which is extremely shallow for toddlers, with a bar/cafe where they will serve you at the poolside. The staff are extremely sweet and helpful and all members of the same family.
The apartments are very clean and no complaints there. We found aircon a must, you pay for it once you get there. Studios probably just as good as apartments for aircon. As the aircon is only in the communal area and although it does filter through to the bedroom it would be probably more effective when sleeping if you had a studio.
Cooking facilities great (electric rings, oven, extractor) and basic kitchen utensils, cutlery etc. Towels provided but bring your own beach towels. Plumbing fine for Crete. Sheets changed once a week and bins emptied more often. The rooms overlook cultivated fields as this is still very much a locally farmed area (goats and sheep mainly), in the early hours you will see and hear goats being moved around in the area just outside the block, which was a lovely natural thing to watch.
The views from the rooms are spectacular as you get a side sea view but also mountains/hills. This is not an area for people who need to walk along shops every evening, as the nearest gift shops etc are in Tavronitis, a ten to fifteen minute walk along a main road (with not too many pavements so could be dangerous). Torches needed at night, only a few street lights.
There is a typically Greek 'supermarket' with bread, milk, cheese etc (not gifts though) about five minutes inland walk away from the beach direction and various good tavernas - some near the beach - enough to change where you eat over the week.
Beautiful area especially if you don't mind getting on the bus (five minutes inland walk away and run every 20 minutes) to get to the nearest villages. Especially nice if you don't want to be near disco's and noise. A bit too quiet for some of the other guests, but others like us (mainly older couples) loved it. Only disappointment for us was that we wanted to snorkel and apart from the first couple of days our sea was too rough to swim in without getting slung around in some pretty rough waves. Very strong swimmers and surfers would like it though. We got around the problem by hiring a car for a few days (if you don't do it before you come, there is a hire car shop inland, about five mins walk away), and we visited other far away beaches.
We would go back.