Crete Tips

[ItsAllAboutTheDosh]

We are going to Crete this Easter, we have never been to Greece. We like to be active. Any tips of places to visit, places to eat, particularly scenic areas that we should not miss?
And what area of Crete is the nicest area to stay in?
Thanks.

We stayed in Chania in a more "business y" than touristy hotel. It was very nice. There is a row of nice seafood restaurants at the harbour, not at all expensive and great food. Lots of little side streets to explore. You can get a bus to any number of beaches for the day. The Greek people are friendly and welcoming, you'll have a great time.

It was the Samaria Hotel, just looked it up and want to go back! I don't know what the temperature is in March/April though. We went in September, I think, and it was pleasant but not too hot.

Thank you. We do not want hot weather, just pleasantly warm or even mild is fine. We swim in Scottish seas we will be fine in Greece.

Dont be conned into doing the Samaria Gorge The first kilometre is very steep downhill and it isn’t a regular footpath - you have to keep jumping over stepping stones to the other side of the river. Probably one of the worst days of my life. Hire a car and drive to Knossos or take a trip,

@Rocknrollstar thank you so much! We had been thinking about this but will give it a miss now.

Have you booked your accommodation yet OP?

We stay in a village called Vamos near Chania. It's beautiful around there.

This year we are heading to Aghios Nikolaos. I went there 20 years ago so can't comment how it is now.

We visit most years and always stay around kissamos. You should definitely visit Balos and Elafonisi beach is beautiful.

If you do go to that end of the island make sure you visit Fallasarna there is a bar called Orange Blue it has the most incredible sunset views.

It is a big island. If you are at the Ag Nik end, read The Island by Victoria Hislop before you go. There will be organised trips to Spinalonga, but the bus from Ag Nik is cheap and easy. Go to Plaka, which is the village featured in the book, and you can get on a small fishing boat to take you to the island. There is often a queue of large tourist boats waiting to offload at the island, the fishing boat moors at a smaller pier, thus queue jumping all the big boats. The remains of the leper colony has lots of info boards, so it is quite easy to do without a guide, and away from the crowds. Ag Nik has a large lake with restaurants around, lots of wedding parties when we were there. If you are at the Chania end, and have an interest in history, this is the area that the Germans invaded in WW2. I found it quite poignant to sit on the pebbly beach with an ice cold lager, imagining what it must have been like in the 1940s. There is a good documentary on the Yesterday catch up channel, called Narrow Escapes of WW2, one episode covers the invasion. Crete is also the island where the Minoans were based, with the myth of the Minotaur. And where Jason and the Argonauts stopped off and fought the metal giant. We love Crete. Can't wait to go back.

The Samaria Gorge is amazing. I'd recommend booking a day trip with one of the many tour operators that take you to the top by bus and pick you by boat from the bottom. Just make sure you pack decent walking boots and enough food for the hike as it takes about 7h to complete. Rethymno and Chania are very pretty towns with plenty to see. If you fancy, you could also book a cooking class.

It was a regular footpath when I visited 4 months ago. I agree it's quite steep so I wouldn't recommend going down there in flipflops like some people I saw. Maybe you were one of them 😜.

I’ve not been but my dh talks all the time about the fun he had walking the lengths of the gorge aged 9 including with his brothers aged 7 and 5. A family holiday highlight they say. This would have been in the 80s tho.

It was the highlight of our week, even for the 4 kids who normally hate walking.

@ichundich
good to hear. It’s on our list but not made it yet (whingey kids aged 8 and 10). Maybe next year.

I could hardly walk for FOUR DAYS after doing the gorge. OP, like the poster said, go to Knossos instead.

We did the Samara gorge with 9 and 12 year olds and it was a great trip. Make sure you go on a coach trip for it though - that way you walk all the way down to the beach and get a boat which takes you to meet your coach. It's a great excursion!

We went a year pre-covid- so things might well have changed. We don't have children and late 30's then. We stayed in Rethymon. There are some Ibiza like resorts for clubbing. I can't recall the names, but we avoided these!
Rethymon had a nice mix of beach, port, restaurants, museums and things to see/do. We could walk along the beach promenade to the next town along for lunch.
We did a day trip to Heraklion via a bus. Not a tour, but they did have tours available. We went to the Heraklion archaeological museum, then got the local bus to Knossos.
I know these aren't adventure/walking tips though.

Again, things might have changed, but Heraklion airport was bedlam! Far too small for the amount of tourist trying to leave. Long queues to just get through customs so arrive early. In the carpark, there was a shed which is actually a small corner shop. The sandwiches and drinks in there were far cheaper than inside the terminal, and the best tip out taxi drive gave us!

Of the 3 cities, Chania is the nicest.
If you love remote areas, the string of villages on the SW Coast are amazing- Chora Sfakion, Loutro, Agia Roumeli etc- some of them are only accessible by boat!

I really like Plakias and the surrounding area which includes Preveli Monastery.

I think from the replies above it's plain to see that if you like walking then the Samaria Gorge is amazing, and if you don't it isn't 😆. It might not be open at Easter anyway, depends how much rainfall they had this winter. There are loads of similar gorges in that area, if you're the intrepid type armed with a map. A friend and I walked down one about 20 years ago and didn't see anybody else the whole way.

Getting high up in the White Mountains is magical, up to the Omalos Plateau.

Also it sounds like you might be there for Greek Easter, which is WILD in Crete. Brace yourself for the gunfire!!

Also, I've recently read an amazing book called the Golden Step, by Christopher Somerville, in which he walks the length of Crete on a notoriously difficult path, part of the E4 long distance route. I am in no way suggesting you emulate him (if you read the book you'll see why!), but it gives you a great feel for the Cretan landscape, people and culture, and introduces you to some beautiful, out of the way places.

Thank you everyone. No we have not yet booked our accomodation.

We went to Sissi which was lovely. Little fishing port, some fantastic restaurants, very friendly. We stayed in the Castello Boutique Hotel which had big rooms and great staff. Our room had a private pool and there was also a big pool in the gardens.

(I think of “boutique” as intimate and quirky and the Castello wasn’t quite that - I’d go back though)

We did a day trip to Heraklion via a bus. Not a tour, but they did have tours available. We went to the Heraklion archaeological museum, then got the local bus to Knossos.
I know these aren't adventure/walking tips though.

The museum has some truly wonderful things in it.

We went to Crete on a tour with an archaeologist, stayed in Heraklion, Chania and Rethymon

...whoops, hadn't finished... they're all interesting places. We had some extra days and the start and end - finished by going back to Knossos on the local bus to get there for opening time, it's a lot better when it's less crowded. And then spent ages in the museum.

We stayed in Chania last year and loved it. Lovely restaurants old town marina beach. Great local bus service to Rethymon and other places. Did a trip that included Elafonissi and Falsarna beaches plus old olive tree which we enjoyed. I think you need to decide whether Chania or Heraklion airport is better you.

it's a great destination.
very varied. mountains & beaches

be prepared for weak plumbing. you must not flush toilet paper or wipes. takes abit getting used to. hotel charges €€€ if they need to call a plumber.