Crete Greece - Plan Your Trip
How to see Crete Greece
Many people ask us their holiday questions and we are more than happy to help...
We have created a guide book in response to many of our readers' questions. This is a suggestion for travel in the west of the island...
Five Days in the West of Crete by Car or Motorcycle
Taking some time and a car will mean you can explore the ruggedly beautiful interior of the island of Crete as well as visit some exquisite beaches.
Take a back roads journey through the island of Crete in Greece. The 2012 edition of the Five Days in the West of Crete
helps you discover the real Crete — archaeological sites, wine
tastings, organic tavernas, hidden valleys and other gems in the west of
Crete. Get behind the scenes.
Anastasi, Apostoli and Katia of We Love Crete have put
together their favourite places in the west of the island to give you a
varied and interesting itinerary to follow. Or adapt for yourself.
It's all in this edition of the Five Days in the West of Crete.
Ferries to Crete Greece
Hi, I'm travelling to Crete next month and I was just wondering if there are any ferries from Kusadasi in Turkey to Crete? If so how much is it and how long is the journey?
Katie, Ireland
Heraklion, Knossos, Samaria and Elafonisi
Hello, firstly can I say how much I love your website! It is so useful and full of great information, while it also shines with how much you guys love Crete!
My boyfriend and I are planning to visit Crete Greece from 24-29 September, which is not near the amount of time I want to spend there, but we are very limited. I live in London but he is only visiting for 3 weeks.
We are flying into Heraklion the night of 24th and flying out of Heraklion the morning of 29th.
My initial thought was to hire a car at Heraklion as soon as we fly in and head off that night, and then return it the night before we leave, so we would only spend the one night in before we fly out in Heraklion.
But now I am thinking of maybe the following:
25th- having a wee look around Heraklion in the morning, and then hiring the car and driving to Knossos, then on to Chania for the night.
26th- having a look around Chania and then maybe driving down to Paleohora for the night.
27th- day trip to Elafonisi
28th- looking around Paleohora and Samaria Gorge, and then driving back to Heraklion at night to be back for our flight the morning of the 29th.
Even just looking at this makes me realise how much more time we need! But I guess my questions are:
1. Does this look at all feasible? Or am I missing something that is un-missable?
2. Do we need much time in Heraklion? We will be back there the night before our flight, though probably quite late. My other thought instead of Heraklion on night of 24th was to go to Agia Pelagia from the airport, then to go to Knossos from there on the 25th?
I would really appreciate your advice. Just to give you some background, it is my boyfriends first time in Europe so all of this will be amazing to him. I have done a lot of Europe, including the Greek Islands, but I have always wanted to go to Crete. We are both quite beachy and laid back. Also, we are Australian so we are used to driving long distances!
Thanks you so much for any help and advice, I am sorry that this is such a long email!!
Mandy, Australia
Honeymoon in Crete Greece
Hello, my fiance and I will be honeymooning in Crete Greece and will be spending 5 nights in Crete. We will probably fly into Chania and I was looking for suggestions of where to stay?
I really like Casa Delfino and have written to them already and am awaiting a reply. I am wondering if we should stay 3 nights in Chania and then go to another town for a few nights?
Or do you suggest staying the whole time in Chania and doing day trips?
The places I absolutely want to visit are Elafonisi Beach and also Agios Nikolas.
I also thought that Rethymnon looked kind of neat as well. We love to have fun, meet people, talk to locals and just relax drinking wine and eating good food. We want our honeymoon to have fun days on the beach but also stay in charming areas where we can really experience the culture and life of Greece.
Any itinerary suggestions?
Can we go to Agios Nikolas for a day and have dinner there then go back? How would we get there from Chania?
Thank you for all of your help!!!
Lisa, USA
Crete Greece, Santorini and Samaria
Hi - I'm planning a return trip to Crete with my family. 2 adults, 2 teenagers. My daughter would like to hike the Samarian Gorge again, and I would like to spend a day or two on Santorini. We have already bought flight tix from Riga to Heraklion, and have rented a car. We'd like to spend some time living very budget consciously, and then spend 5 days to a week in a more upscale environment or in a villa, though in Santorini a hotel would be great. How would you structure this trip? Our dates are June 5 to June 18.
Banuta, Latvia
Plan Your Trip in Crete Greece
Santorini and 10 days in Crete
Hi, your website is great and I loved reading your itinerary suggestions for other travellers.
My husband and I will be spending 5 days on Santorini (19-24 May, 2011)
and 10 days on Crete (24 May-3 June, 2011). I would love to hear your
suggestions.
Regarding Santorini, would you recommend that we stay in two different
villages across the 5 days or is one place enough? We love the sound of
Oia but the lodging is pricey. Any suggestions? What do you think of the
village of Imerovigli?
After reading about Crete we decided to devote 10 days to the island but
I still don't think it will be enough time. Here's our thoughts on an
itinerary:
Land in Heraklion by ferry from Santorini and spend 3 nights in Agia
Pelagia. From there we would explore the Palace of Knossos, scuba dive
for a day, enjoy the beach or explore the Amari valley.
Then 1-2 nights in Rethymnon. We'd like to do a daily walk with Happy Walker.
Then perhaps 2 nights in Sougia as a base to hike the Samaria Gorge. We
then thought of 2 nights in Paleohora with a day trip to Elafonisi.
Could we take the ferry from Sougia instead? Is there a better base than
Sougia for doing the gorge?
We then thought we'd spend two nights in Chania before flying from the
Chania airport. I think we will stay in the old part of the town and I
read about the area around Vamos which sounds interesting to explore.
It's hard to give up going to the eastern part of the island near Agios
Nikolaos and I'm also drawn to the villages near Plakias.
Any suggestions on an itinerary and lodging (4 star)?
Also, if we could scuba dive in only one island, would you choose Crete or Santorini and from which location?
Thanks for your ideas!
Maggie, USA
Kerames to Kato Zakros - Crete Greece
Hi, I like your very useful website. I would be grateful for some advice. My husband and I are flying in to Heraklion, hiring a car, and hope to stay for a week in the Kerames / Plakias area, and then ... what?
We don't know whether to drive westwards or eastwards for the second week.
We like quiet, beautiful places, by the sea, self-catering or B&B. A friend has recommended the Kissamos area, from where we could explore south to Elafonisi. But we are also interested in the eastern end of Crete, particularly from your description of Kato Zakros beach. We also don’t want to spend too long driving. What would you recommend?
Secondly is there a ferry running along the south coast of Crete, and would that be a way of getting from say Plakias to Elafonisi? How frequently does that run in July?
Sam, UK
Samaria and the West - Crete Greece
Hi, your willingness to help travellers to Crete Greece is very appreciated. This is one of the most difficult destinations I've tried to plan because it all looks so interesting and wonderful.
We will arrive late on 14 May at Heraklion airport and departing early on 23 May.
For this reason we planned to stay nearby both of those nights.
The only definite plans are to hike the Samaria gorge and hopefully stay at the Elia Guesthouse on 20 May to 22 May.
Our plans are to stay towards the western side of the island. We have friends who stayed in Matala and loved it, but not sure if we will try to go that far east.
Our goal is to combine great beaches and swimming with experiencing Greek culture and meeting locals.
Would also like to incorporate a farm, winery, or olive grove visit. In regards to the Samaria hike, I would appreciate your suggestions on the best place to stay in order to make a return there after the hike via ferry/bus.
Thank you for your suggestions.
Diane, USA
Beautiful Old Towns, Scenery & Horseriding - Crete Greece
Hello, my husband and I are planning to spend 4-5 nights on Crete, and then head to Santorini for 3-4 nights.
We would love suggestions on what towns to stay in (budget accommodation) and sites not to miss. This is our first time to Greece.
We are interested in seeing the real Crete and how real people live and want to avoid tourist hotspots as much as possible. We like nature and scenery, great food and wine, historic sites, horse riding and ambling through the streets of new towns. We want to make the most of our time.
We don't want to feel rushed but we also don't want to sit on a beach all day and do nothing.
If you could help us out at all with our planning it would be very much appreciated. Thankyou
Ally, Australia
Santorini, Athens & Crete Greece
Hi, my husband and I will visit Greece, travel to Crete, Santorini and Athens next September.
We will arrive in Heraklion on Sept. 21 in the evening and sleep there for a night. We will rent a car.
Next day, we will visit Knossos and then we would like to stay in a hotel on a beach between Matala and Hora Skafion for a couple of days.
We would also like to stay a few days in the old Chania, walk the Samaria Gorge and also see Elafonissi.
Is this OK for number of days we will be there and where should we stay? We thought about hotels 3 or 4 star.
We will take a ferry for Santorini on Sept. 29 in the morning from Heraklion, stay in Santorini for 3 days and then go to Athens for a few days.
Thank you in advance for your ideas.
Louise, Canada
Crete Family Holiday
Hi, what a great site! My family is travelling to Crete Greece August 24th - September 6th. We are thinking to spend the 25th in Athens and take an over night ferry to Crete to the port in Chania on the 26th. Between myself, wife and kids we have a range of desires for this trip.
I am interested in visiting Elafonisi and Matala. My wife wants to explore the Minoan ruins and my girls (7 and 11) want to spend a day at the Limnoupolis Water Park. We were thinking to spend 5 days on Crete and then move on to Santorini or Naxos for another 4 days. I'm thinking maybe we should give Crete our full attention and visit the Cyclades on another trip...
Tony, USA
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