| Tips and photos of Crete Island tourist attractions and tourist traps, posted by real travelers and Crete Island locals. Crete Island Map |
 | Crete Island Tourist Traps | Tips 1 - 10 of 20 |  |
OK, I don't know whether this rates as a tourist trap but when we visited in 1984 it was full of rooms to let and tourist tat. Admittedly, it's a picturesque place, with the buildings falling steeply down the hillside to the harbour full of boats (no longer just fishing vessels) but there isn't even a decent beach.
Many years ago this resort was well and truly "discovered" by the English holiday company, Sunmed and since those days things have spiralled. Hotels and accommodation blocks have sprung up everywhere.
Ag. Galini is open for business late in the season and some places even all year round. It could be a good "out of season" base from which to explore Crete.
Many who read this will disagree with my views on Ag. Galini. I don't like mass tourism so would definitely avoid this place from May to October!!!!
For better swimming take one of the boat trips to out-lying beaches and to Paximathia islets. Leave a Comment
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I don't know if this is a tourist trap, but I have seen so many suckered into it. It is not a must see, nor a warning, just a part of the city. There are a few groups of kids who wander around the harbor of Hania looking for handouts. They are very young and usually are accompanied by some sort of "drummer". These street performers will stop what they are doing and perform right in your path and expect a small hand out. Like many they will continually follow you, but you needent worry about your wallet. More than likely they will not touch you. But once you open your pocket expect many more to come running. Leave a Comment
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According to guide-books it's a lovely mountain village with cobblestoned little lanes and a marvellous fountain with 19 lions' heads
Unfortunately there's no cobbled streets and the fountain is very tacky and built around 1960 or so. Spili itself is just like any other village, except for the high concentration of tourist shops - not all good
If you want to see a traditional mountain village - you won't find it here. I suggest Karidi, but it's not in the area Leave a Comment
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Archanes, at a first glimpse, is a lovely charming, colourful village about 30 minutes from Iraklio. It's so beautiful that it has won Archanes has won an important award - that of the 2nd best restored village in Europe. If you scratch a little beneath its surface, the dirt comes out: it's surrounded by nasty and occasionally smelly industry. I call Archanes "industrial chic"
Stay on the main streets and don't venture to the outskirt of the village unless you're fond of industrial architecture and bad smells
Archanes is so evidently "fake", and so very little traditional in Greek terms, that anywhere else is a good alternative Leave a Comment
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Greece is a land of smokers so if you are one you'll feel like home.
If you are a smoker from a non-EU country, before you go to Greece please chceck whether it should be better to take your cigarettes with you for two reasons:
1. a pack of cigarettes cost some EUR 2.80 in Greece,
2. usually they don't have ultra lights, the lightest cigarettes you can get there are marlboro lights (hey, I wrote this in 2002 and in 2003 I got myself R1 ultra lights there).
ERRATA: It was in 2003 when I first saw ultra lights in Greece.
As an alternative you could... decide to take a smoking-free trip Leave a Comment
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when browsing the menus in front of the restaurants, check the price of 'cover', it may range from 150 to 300 Drachmas
also never book rent-a-car in your country, there are plenty of rent-a-car agencies offering huge discounts (pay 3 days drive 7 days, etc.) Leave a Comment
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I debated whether to place this in the Tourist trap or Must see tip. It is a beautiful part of Crete, the longest gorge in Europe and for Vulture fans one of the best places in Europe to observe them. So why am I putting it in the tourist trap section? Because it is SO popular, you have to buy a ticket to walk the gorge, I walked it off season in September and despite starting at just gone 8:00am there were already several coach loads of tourists on their way down. It resembled a mass sponsored walk and that spoilt the atmosphere of the gorge. In the high season the gorge must fill to bursting point with daytripping walkers shuffling down to Agia Roumeli (those that make it down alive in the heat of a Cretan summer!)
If you plan to walk the gorge, start very early and don't do it in the high season .. I would suggest early October, less daytrippers around then.
The Rouvas gorge in the Idi Mountains is much, much less frequented and arguably just as impressive. Leave a Comment
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We stayed on Crete for a week and discovered that there are excursion companies in most of the major cities and their prices are way cheaper thatn those same excursions as booked by an agent from the cruise ship on the boat. For example it costs 55 eu to book an excursion to the Samaria Gorge from the agent on the Cruise boat, but 29 eu from the agent across the street from our hotel in Hersonissos. The locally booked trip included the price of a guide, the bus to the gorge and from the ferry boat back to our hotel.
The guide was not that useful in the gorge, but acted more in the capacity of a shepherd to make sure that his travellers got back on the bus. Leave a Comment
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Usually most popular Cretean beaches are overcrowded in full season. This sometimes can make sunbathing and/or swimming annoying and tiring.
Try and find less popular beaches. Ask locals - they're very friendly and know less crowded places. In many cases those beaches are even more picturesque than the popular ones.
I suggest that you visit Crete in 'off-peak' period: May, June, late September or even October. Leave a Comment
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Maybe it's because I had already been to most of the rest of the island before I ever got there, but for me I must admit I felt sorry for the inhabitants of Agios Nikolaos, Malia and the coastal resorts along the north eastern coastline. Ok, they're reeling in the dosh from the thousands of package tourists that end up there but at what cost? I found the prices there higher by far, the manners of the 'guests' practically non-existent - especially the mainly English tourists billeted in Agios Nikolaos itself, a nightlife based mostly on alcohol, drugs and anything else inducing unconsciousness. I know I'm not a package tourist type person in any case and that for many people this is what a holiday is all about, but it's not Crete Leave a Comment
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