Pro

Dramatic Scenery, Hania, Beaches, Samaria Gorge
Con

Iraklion, Heavy Tourism
In a nutshell

Beaches, Stunning small towns, Nightlife and home of Greek Mythology
53 Reviews Also known as Labyrinth or Knossos Palace,it is the largest Bronze Age Archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilisation and culture.The palace appears as a maze of workrooms,living spaces and storerooms close to a central square,detailed images...
47 Reviews The Venetians began construction of the city walls in 1462 and they took more than a century to complete. The walls are about 4km in length and of a triangular shape with seven bastions. The walls proved their worth when the city was besieged for 21 years, one of the longest sieges in history. The...
2 Reviews and 199 Opinions Porto Elounda Hotel is situated in the Elounda Town near Aghios Nicholas city in Crete Island. This...
12 Reviews Skewered pork meat, a traditional Greek dish. It is served with french fries and there is also chicken, lamb and swordfish souvlaki.Apart from the classic pork souvlaki, you can also try chicken or any other meat. One shop in Athens even serves ostrich souvlaki. All these variations were invented to...
1 Review You can not miss the Armida bar as it’s the Pirate ship moored in the small harbour near the Tourist Office. We called on board for a drink as it is open during the day as well as at night. it's well worth a visit just for the photo opportunity. The Drinks were not expensive (about average price)
22 Reviews We were trying AUTOTRIP company in summer 2007. Litsa , the agent will always wait for you with your name on the sign. First time we used this company in 2007. We took and returned car to Chania airport. We ordered Hyundai Accent but it was not available and we ended au with Fiat Albea. Next time...
14 Reviews I would strongly advise taking the local bus. They are now air-conditioned and much more comfortable than they used to be when I lived there in the 80's. A taxi from Heraklion to Chania will cost you around 200Euros - it's a 2 hour drive!
6 Reviews Municipal markets can be found in most towns in Crete (as well as all over Greece). They're open from the morning till early afternoon. There you'll be able to buy fresh food, some local crafts, drinks, even clothes. I especially adore municipal markets in which one can have a cup of coffee or...
15 Reviews The evil eye is big in Crete, where I lived for four years, and possibly elsewhere in Greece. If you go into someone's home, don't look too enviously at their things and don't pass too many complements-they believe your jealously an bring them bad luck and will not invite you back. If you see gaudy...
14 Reviews This tip is not about any one particular restaurant but a comment on our experience of several restaurants in the eastern end of Crete ( all in the Prefecture of Lasithi). All of these eating places were popular with the locals and/or Greeks and had very few, if any other, non-Greek tourists. We...
8 Reviews I must say I have read a lot upon this subject before I have decided to go to Crete by car. However everything I have read was extremely exagerrated. Of course I live in a pretty jungle traffic city, Bucharest, nevertheless everything I have read about Cretan driving is not completely true. Of...
3 Reviews Recently it has come to my attention that two tourists from my country lost their way in the Gorge of Samaria. It's hard to believe that such thing happened but as a result they were found several kilometers from Samaria - one of them still alive, died in hospital, the other one was already...
3 Reviews One of the best excursions you can do while in Crete is visiting the old Venetian Castle Island of Spinalonga. It is a short sail accross the lively town of Agios Nikolaos and the village of Elounda in Lassithi. The castle is somehow well preserved, the walls are impressive. This little island was...
5 Reviews 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...
3 Reviews Even if you have a decent base tan the intense Sun on Crete can burn you in no time at all if you don't use sunblock. And if you wait to buy it until you get to Crete the incredibly high prices for it will make you regret not bringing your own. Fortunately we brought plenty, so we did not have to...
22 Reviews Leaving Sitia we headed off to the east for Vai the beach with the palm forest. The road to Vai was pretty new and looked like it had been resurfaced which I was glad about as I could imagine it had been one of those roads!! During the 70`s when the hippies were thrown out of matala they made there...
17 Reviews Now this is what we had been searching for!! What a beach!! We actually missed the turn off to the beach from Kavousi so stopped on a clifftop to turn round and view the beach. What a stunner!! We couldn't wait to get down there! The road runs alonf the baxck of the curved bay and ends in a tiny...
5 Reviews Preveli beach is a ery scenic beach, especially when seen from high up: there's the sea at the front and a river at the back. In one day you can get a salty and a resh water swim. You can also walk along the river and admire the canyon and vegetation, or rent kayaks to go upstream. There's soft sand...
11 Reviews Bali is a small, picturesque village between Heraklion and Rethymno. People go there usually when they buy the whole package (flight, hotel, food etc) Bali used to be a fisherman village, but now during the summer it is a family vacation destination. There are few large hotels and many small hotels....
22 Reviews Chania (Hania) is the capital of the Prefecture of the same name and the second biggest town in Crete, with a population of 60.000 inhabitants. As for me Chania is one of the nicest towns in Crete with wonderful houses, parks and squares and a well designed town-plan. Visit Public Market in the...
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Alternative Crete. - "Crete 's mystery is extremely deep. Whoever sets foot on this island senses a mysterious force branching warmly and beneficently through his veins, senses his soul begin to grow" Nikos...
29 members live in Crete Island
Q: I am trying to plan a trip to Balos beach next August. From what I can tell, the two options in getting there are (1) the ferry...

A: You really need to be there early to appreciate Balos at its full beauty! I was there in 2005, I drove the unpaved road with a small rented car. It have been awhile so...
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1

Our base was Gouves on the north coast of Crete Island and to the east of Heraklion, this municipality spreads from the lovely beaches a few kilometres inland to the fertile fields and picturesque...
2

* 8 000 years of history... * birth-place of the first high-level civilization in Europe... * land of Ikaros and Minos... * home of El Greco, Kazantzakis and Venizelos... * located between East, West...
3

"Crete 's mystery is extremely deep. Whoever sets foot on this island senses a mysterious force branching warmly and beneficently through his veins, senses his soul begin to grow" Nikos...
4

Crete is a very large island, so large it could actually be a country. It has on it 5 or 6 largeish cities as well as numerous towns and villages. Most of the holiday resorts are on the North coast,...
5

With miles of beaches, cities that never go to sleep, deep gorges, rugged mountains, quaint villages, and all kinds of archeological sites, Crete is an island with something for everyone, no matter......
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