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3.5 Stars - 7 Opinions
Venetian windmill, Lassiti Plateau, Crete
Inside of room in Bungalow
2003 rescue in Samaria, now my husband went alone
Me in Ammos bar having just arrived on Crete
We are back from crete and we had a wonderful time. We stayed in the area around Hersonissos and did some nice trip around the area. We would like to go back in a couple of weeks but would like to go to Ierapetra - Myrtos area or to Keratokambos –Tsoutsouros area .What is the nicest area ?
Thanks
hi
glad you enjoyed crete
just a thought - it may be shutting down ( as most of the greek islands do) towars the end of October - so make sure you can get on and off the island before making plans
can't help with your question as i have never been - although a friend owns a home there and loves it - shes there now actually
I am sure you had a wonderful time in Crete, I love it too! have been there 3 time, for two week each time and loved every second. Two weeks are long enaugh to plan a couple of main area and to get around a little bit, I higly reccomend you the Xerocambos area. Ierapetra have not much to offer besides using it as a start to go visit Chrissie island (but i am not sure the connection will be still working in middle october). Staying in the East part of Crete I would suggest you Agios Nicolaos too, it is close enaugh to Ierapetra to do Chrissi island with a day trip and to visit the lassithy plateau and the North-East Area. Dont miss the village of Kristsa (hope i spell it right), it is higly recomended for artigianal rug and sewing works.
I personally like the south-west area better but you can always go back again :-)
Thank you everyone for the great help
Greetings from Belgium
Roeland
This is really just a referral to a useful website for Cretan music lovers - don't mark me down : the website is great, I promise. You can even listen to some music.
http://www.sfakia-crete.com/sfakia-crete/crete-music.html
The prefecture of Rethymno lies between two mountain ranges, the White mountains and Ida or Psiloritis. Rethymno is the charming capital of the prefecture. Places to visit are the old town and harbour of Rethymno, the village of Margarites (a pottery centre), the traditional villageof Anogia, the monasteries of Arkadi and Preveli, and Preveli beach Preveli beach - with its sandy beach at the front and the river at its back. When I first saw it on pictures I thought it would be unreal. Once you hike down the path to the beach and swim in the sea, you can then walk away from the sea and follow the river to find freshwater pools for an unsalty swim
Nearly every single meal I had on Crete (except breakfast) was followed by a complimentary shot of raki, and in many cases an entire carafe of it. In other parts of Greece I have been served ouzo, but this was my first taste of raki. I got kind of used to it, but in all honesty I thought it was like swallowing an angry porcupine that has been doused in gasoline and lit on fire. In my tour book it said it's insulting not to drink raki that is given to you, but I asked a waitress about this in Paleochora and she said they only serve it to tourists, never to Greeks, and that it's no big deal at all if you don't drink it.
Good trekking shoes are a must. Take a pair of sandals as beaches may be full of stones. Some basic medicines should be taken on any trip. Pharmacies are easy to find and well supplied. Prices in pharmacies are lower than for example in Poland. You can get anything in photo stores in Crete but prices are unreasonably high and aimed at tourist who 'forgot something'. Ants can be found irritating especially if you buy a piece of cheese and do not put it in a fridge (trust my experience).
Going to the Samaria gorge (in the white mountains or Lefka Ori) is an adventure itself.
You climb with your car or buss to 1250 m along narrow turning and turning roads to Omalos.
The best time of the year to do this hike is May, June. It can be very hot in the gorge !!!! Even in May. When we were there (beginning of May) the gorge was not open. Normally it is open from the first of May. It only opened 13 th May. There was a lot of water in the gorge, but it was at it's best !! Beautiful with all that water. We had to cross the river a lot. Rocks are laying in the water to cross.
The hike is 16 km. Most of the books say it's 118 km but this is wrong, it is "only" 16.
13 km in the national park and 3 km outside to go to the sea, to Agia Roumelia. Be sure to be in time at the sea (last boat that leaves is 18.00 pm !!) There are no roads in Agia Roumelia, so you cannot reach it by car !!!!
You should be in a rather good condition to do this. Many people start the hike unprepared and have to quit. We saw people exhausted on the back of a mule (which will cost you 30 euro !!!). We also saw a rescue helicopter !!
Be carefull because if you break a leg or something you will be in big trouble, because you will not be able to reach the sea at the south coast in time.
Make sure you wear good hiking shoes, otherwise do not start this hike, it is on rough terrain !! Many rocks, and the first 5 km are descending, so be carefull not to slipp.
It's sometimes hard but it is really worth it. The Samaria gorge is a beautiful peace of nature.
For a few pics wacth my travelogue on the Samaria Gorge.
A good alternative is the Imbros gorge. Only 8 km, not so hard and no river runs through it, but also very beautiful.
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Address: Agia Pelagia, 71500, Greece
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