Center of economic and agricultural activity of the southern area of the prefecture, Tymbaki is a prosperous town with more than 5.000 permanent residents. Situated by the sea, within a very fertile, extended plain intensely cultivated,  it is famous for the quantity, the variety and the quality of vegetables, which grow twice the year, thanks to the climate and the cultivation in greenhouses.

The whole of Crete, but also Athens are supplied with vegetables from here, whereas  the local acricultural agencies also export good quantities of them in European countries.  Accommodation is possible in a few small hotels, studios and rooms to let both in Tymbaki and in the nearby coastal village of Kokkinos Pyrgos ("Red Tower"), some 2,5 kilometres western to Tymbaki. In the small port of Kokkinos Pyrgos there are facilities for small yatches.

Food and drink is offered in the taverns and reastaurants of Tymbaki, but also in the small traditional cafes of Kokkinos Pyrgos. Swimming is possible in Kokkinos Pyrgos and the the beaches of Afratia and Katalyki, found at a small from Tymbaki. Access from Heraklion is posssible by public bus with regular service, as well as rented and private car and motorbike.