Crete for a week in October?

[Clariman]

Mrs C and I have never been to Greece, other than me being at a conference in Athens.

Looking at flights from your provincial airports, there are flights to Crete in October on a day that would work for us. I know nothing of the Greek islands but can see that Crete is a larger one and seems to have a mix of busy and quiet place, along with good food and history.

Seen some nice accommodation in Elounda Village on Mirabello Bay. Is that a good base and a nice area?

Thanks
C

[Alaric]

Seen some nice accommodation in Elounda Village on Mirabello Bay. Is that a good base and a nice area?

It's "high tourist" Crete and has been for at least thirty years if not forty, It remains an attractive area and even in October, you should get mostly decent weather.

[swill453]

I love Crete, in fact I'll be there in September/October too! There are plenty of things to do in that area, Agios Nikolaos town is fine, Spinalonga "Lepers' Island" is fascinating and evocative, nice coastal, forest and mountain walks too.

However I prefer the west of Crete, Chania is a fantastic city to stroll in, and has coastal suburbs with all the beaches you'd need. If you like walking you'd be spoilt for choice, plenty of mountains around, possible day trips to Samaria Gorge, Elafonissi Beach etc. The quieter south coast is accessible too, Palaiochora could be a good base.

Don't underestimate how big Crete is, nearly 150 miles end to end (about the same distance as the size of Wales north to south), it would take about 6 hours to drive across.

Scott.

[montehampster]

Hope I'm not too late to contribute but I've just found this site (I'm not too bright)!

I was in Crete back in May for my third visit. I stayed in Agios Nikolaos back in 1984 and Rethymnon in 2009 but for my latest trip did something a little different and stayed in Koutouloufari, a village just inland from Hersonnisos (about a 15 minute walk downhill and 30 minutes back up if you don't want a taxi at 7/8 euro) and an easy transfer from the airport. There are three villages very close to each other, the others being Piskiopiano and Old Hersonnisos and all are full of traditional Greek tavernas, bars and shops.

There was an excellent local travel agent (Eye Travel - apps on iOS and Android) from whom we booked a couple of trips including the aforementioned trip to Spinalonga (via Ag Nic, Elounda and Plaka which really is a "must") in a minibus of just 4 English people so it felt almost like having a personal guide! We stayed self catering at the Marni Village (but there are numerous other apartments and hotels in the villages).

The nearest beach, Star Beach, is at the bottom of the hill and a walk along the road will take you to several others. Also from the bottom of the hill you can catch buses to the capital Heraklion (with numerous other beaches and villages in between) or Ag Nic in the other direction.

Crete is a fabulous choice and October is a good time to visit as the weather should still be good without the oppressive heat that makes traveling about seeing the island something of a chore. As others have said it's a very large island and in one visit you will barely scratch the surface but that should be enough to make you want to come back again. Just don't leave it as long as I did as I barely recognised Ag Nic and Elounda as they'd grown beyond belief.

[flyer61]

Love Crete and all it's contrasts.

If you are interested in military history then I would recommend a visit to the Commonwealth war graves cemetery at Souda bay. A most beautiful place. After that head west past Khania too the German Cemetery at Maleme. Very different to our military cemeteries. Plenty of explanatory information at the site for the uninitiated of the events of May 1941 and subsequently.

[cavebat]

Hi Clariman

We are going to Crete in just over two weeks time - our second visit. We did a Saga archaeological tour in 2012, staying just outside Hersonnisos.

We really liked Elounda when we went previously and it was on our list of places to stay this time, but just didn't work with available accommodation and flights for us.

cavebat