r/cretetravel

Hi all! My fiancée and I are planning our honeymoon to Crete for 11ish days. We are flying from Boston. Any advice on our planned itinerary or must-go places would be much appreciated. Things we care about are food, uncrowded beaches, farms, and side quests. We love hopping in the car or on a scooter and finding historical sites or other interesting things. The only things in our plan are to fly into Heraklion and see the Archaeological Museum but otherwise not spend much time there, then heading west. Definitely want to spend time in the Chania area for 5-6 days and take day trips from there, but otherwise wondering if it is worth it to go to Rethymno, the south, or something else. We are not really good at “chilling” so just want to go places where there is plenty to do. Doesn’t matter where we fly out of. Thanks!

Find myself in Chania for business next week. I need to know where I'll find stray cats (or are they everywhere?). I need to know if there are any rock or metal bars/venues there also.

Other than that, what's genuinely worth seeing? We'll go to some monastery along the coast, that's all I know so far.

I don't really care for grand tourism sites, I'm more interested in literal hidden gems, the courtyards with character, the winding staircase with amazing views from a certain angle, etc.

Me and my friends are thinking of going to Chania for 8 days in july (first day doesnt count we get there at like midnight, on the last day flight is also very late so i guess that one does count)
Basically we wanted to know where u would go during these 8 days, what do u think is important to visit, are there any places nearby to go to, restaurants and cafes to visit. Also what are best beaches aaaand are there any good clubs, like at least one?
Thanks a lot in advance!!

Hi everyone,

We’re staying in Gouves and planning a day trip tomorrow with a rental car. We were thinking about driving via Chania and choosing either Elafonissi Beach or Balos Beach.

For people who have done both: which one would you recommend and why?

We’re mainly looking for beautiful scenery, swimming, and a nice day trip (not necessarily hiking).

For Balos:
- Is the best option to drive to Kissamos and take the boat?
- Do we need to reserve boat tickets in advance or are there usually multiple departures and tickets available on the same day?
- Which boat/company would you recommend?

For Elafonissi:
- How is the drive from Gouves?
- Are the roads well developed and easy to drive?
- Is it comfortable with a normal rental car?

Would love to hear your experiences and what you would choose in our situation. Thanks!

Hello,

I’m going to visit Crete in June for 6 days and trying to find out which option is better - book car online and pay deposit or find rental company in airport.

Please advise me about that, it is my first trip.

Thanks.

Hi everyone,

this is a long shot, but is anyone planning to visit Kedrodasos Beach. I forgot a book on a dry wooden branch where I was sitting.

The book title is To noč sem jo videl (novel by Drago Jančar).

I left it there yesterday while reading and taking photos nearby. The approximate coordinates are 35.268658,23.558440 (https://maps.app.goo.gl/itLxi4GTicjaBBK88

)

If anyone finds it or happens to be going there, I’d really appreciate a message - I'm staying around Platanias - Chania but regardless of where you're headed I'll be glad to hear from you, if you happen to find it. Thanks a lot.

EDIT: Decided to have another day at the beach and got the book myself. 🙆

I am planning a solo 2 week stay in Crete, and have concerns that I might be a bit bored there with my current plan. I have no interest in hikes, and a preference for group tours and activities. No interest in fancy restaurants, definitely prefer casual atmosphere - I am single bagging it and won't have room for "nice" outfits; a couple button up short sleeve shirts and nice shorts with comfortable sneakers for walking. Please poke holes in it, add or remove suggestions as you see fit.

Rethymno -

Day 1 — Arrival / Recovery Day - Arrive in Chania, Rent car and drive to Rethymno

Options:

Nap / recover.

Walk Old Town

Harbor stroll

Early relaxed dinner

Dinner Options

🍽 Castelo

OR

🍽 Raki Ba Raki

🗓 Day 2 — Flexible Exploration Day

Optional:

Fortezza

Harbor cafés

Beach

Possible senic drive if something is close.

Dinner

🍖 Prima Plora

🗓 Day 3 — 🛥 Catamaran Cruise

Need options for rest of day, and dinner suggestions.

🗓 Day 4 — 🍷 Food & Wine Walking Tour

I am not a wine drinker, but a food tour sounds great. Might spend time at a local brewery instead.

🍸 Living Room Lounge Cafe

🗓 Day 5 — Open Flexible Day

Options:

Harbor wandering

Beach

Reading a book at a cafe

Casual exploration

Drive to nearby attraction spot (suggestions?)

Dinner

🍽 Zefyros Family Fish Taverna

Relaxed seafood dinner.

🗓 Day 6 — Check out and drive to Chania

Check into hotel, walk around a bit.

Need suggestions.

Dinner

🍽 Tamam Restaurant

🔵 CHANIA — Day 7–14

🗓 Day 7 — Harbor / Orientation Day

More wandering, need suggestions.

Drinks

🍸 Pallas

Dinner

🍽 Semiramis Restaurant

🗓 Day 8 — 🛥 Balos + Gramvousa

🏖 Balos Lagoon

Evening Dinner

🍖 Mistos BBQ

🗓 Day 9 — 🤿 Dive Day #1

🤿 Omega Divers - 2 dives

Evening:

Dinner

🍽 Chrisostomos

🗓 Day 10 — 🌅 Sunset Sailing Cruse of some kind

Drinks

🍸 Sinagogi Bar

🗓 Day 11 — 🚗 Falassarna Sunset Day

🏖 Falassarna Beach

Beach later in the day, still need early day options.

Dinner Stop

🍽 Gramboussa Restaurant

🗓 Day 12 — Flexible Day

Options? Possible 2nd Dive Trip.

Elafonissi IF highly motivated, likely not.

🗓 Day 13 — 🌿 Biolea Evening

🌿 Biolea Astrikas Estate

🗓 Day 14 — Flexible Final Day

Options?

Repeat favorite spot

Casual harbor taverna - suggestions?

Mistos BBQ again if desired

🗓 Day 15 — Departure

CHQ-ATH - leave at 9:20AM, arrive at 10:10

Depart ATH for home at 12:35, will I have enough time to make it thru the airport after landing from CHQ?

Will I be able to take buses to Chania or would I need to rely on taxis?

Hi everyone — we’re a family of 4 visiting Crete for the first time in early July and would love some local advice.

We’ll be staying in a villa in Almyrida for 9 nights and renting a car the whole trip. Our kids are 6 and 8 and are pretty adventurous/travel-friendly.

A few things we’re especially interested in:

- Kid-friendly activities
- Ancient/historic sites
- Easy/moderate gorge hikes
- Great authentic Cretan food
- Boat rentals / small boat excursions
- Beaches that are beautiful but not total chaos with crowds

We definitely plan to:
- Spend time exploring Chania Old Town
- Eat in Vamos
- Do lots of swimming and beach time
- Explore villages and mountain areas

Some places already on my radar — would love opinions on whether they’re worth it with kids:
- Imbros Gorge
- Argyroupoli
- Aptera
- Souda peninsula
- Balos
- Falasarna
- Elafonissi (worth the long drive/crowds in July?)
- Any boat rentals around Almyrida/Kalyves/etc.

A few specific questions:

1. Is Imbros Gorge manageable and enjoyable for kids those ages? Also, are there any other kid-friendly gorges not too far from the Apokoronas area that you’d recommend instead? I’ve also heard about Agia Irini — curious how it compares for families. (discoveronfoot.com)

2. Is Elafonissi still worth visiting in peak season, or are there better alternatives on the west side?

3. Any favorite family-owned tavernas for authentic Cretan cuisine around Vamos, Almyrida, Chania villages, or the mountains?

4. Are there particular mountain villages or inland drives we shouldn’t miss?

5. Any hidden gems for families that tourists often overlook?

Thanks in advance — really excited for the trip!

Where could we buy decent Turkish beach towels in Heraklion that isn’t a tourist trap? Same question for sunscreen. TIA.

Looking forward to our June trip to Crete ☀️

We'll be landing at Heraklion after midnight, and will need to make our way to Ierapetra. The hotel has quoted €145 each way for transfers, so just wondering if there are any better options at that time of night?

Happy with a transfer or to rent a car for the 10 days, if any will be open at that time of night?

Any recommendations around Ierapetra for if we do/don't rent a car?

Thanks!

Me and my brother (both 25) are looking for a chill bar in Crete. We just want a relaxed night out, not a super loud club full of drunk people. Any recommendations for cozy bars with a nice atmosphere where you can actually talk and enjoy the evening?

We (2 couples in our 30s) are visiting Crete in the beginning of June. We are looking at renting a car now and found a company called Kalives travel.

Did anyone rent from them? Good experience?

Currently they have the best offer an offer 3 drivers as standard.

Thank you

My family (including toddler) and I are traveling to Crete this summer for one week and will be staying in the Almyrida/Kalyves area.

We’ve been to Greece many times but have never made it to Crete yet! Because we have the little one with us and it will be hotter than hell in July, we’re limited to an hour-ish of driving to any location. We’d like to make it to a beach other than Almyrida at least once if possible.

Thank you in advance for opinions on the preliminary list below and any additional recommendations. Extra points for any authentic food or farm experiences or as my sister is a chef…

-Aptera Ruins

-Gavalochori Village

-Chania harbor

-Saint George Monastery

Hi everyone, im travelling to crete from may21 to 26, i come from a very hot climate, i checked the weather app and its 23° most days. is this concederd sunny and hot or chill?

for my city this would be cold weather, so im confused.

please help :)

I'm attempting to plan our Crete honeymoon in September and I'm flailing when it comes to logistics.

We want to explore a lot, and not every accommodation has to have a perfect honeymoon vibe or anything.

We plan on renting a car and road tripping around the island. I also understand a lot of places we will want to see will be day trips from wherever we are posted up. That being said, I am trying to avoid days where we personally have to drive to a beach and drive back. The idea of driving back an hour sundrunk after a full day of sun and swimming and cocktails just doesn't sound like our cup of tea. I'd rather pack up and move around accommodations more frequently than have to drive back from a beach. If driving to a beach and back in one day, I'd rather book through a service - either boat or driver or something.

Also about us: We are ok with doing a couple of "join the crowds" bucket list things like Balso Beach but we're not big on feeling like we are in Disneyland. You're not going to catch us waiting 2 hours in a queue to go to a famous restaurant and we are not Instagram people. We prefer to be on our own time and being able to walk to good food options without having to make a ton of resos.

Here's what I'm thinking:

Chania
Falassarna
Paleochora or another south coast town
Archanes for one night (I'm really attached to this town for some reason)
Agios Nikolous/Plaka area

Here's what we want to do (all of it may not be realistic):
- Wander and eat around Chania
- Visit Balos Beach (reluctantly...I know the crowds kind of suck)
- Go on an olive oil tour
- Visit Elafonisos (again, aware of the crowds)
- Post up in the south and take boat trips to the towns and beaches we shoud)
- Have our luxe honeymoon stay in Agios Nikolous/Plaka area
- Hike the Samaria Gorge
- Archanes

Here's where I am struggling:

- What excursions do we do from Chania vs the south vs Falassarna?
- Is it worth staying in Falassarna or do we go straight to the South and hub everything out of Chania and wherever we stay south?
- Anything we should add or cut?

THANK YOU soooo much to anyone with advice!

I bought tickets for the gorge tomorrow, but the website still says it's closed. Does anyone know if it will be open again or roughly when it should be?
Thank you.

Hey Guys, iam currently enjoy crete in Georgioupoli.

I would Like to buy some honey, herbs, oil and SeaSalt from local Producers/Shops.

Where ia the best seller to buy from? Any advice?

And i think to send a package to Home (Germany), good Idea? And where to send from?

Regards yggi

Hi,

I'm looking to book a trip to Crete at the end of July for 2 weeks. We are a family of 4 with two kids under 10. We'll hire a car, so can travel around and would definitely like to visit Knossos and Heraklion. Some snorkeling and being close to a nice beach are a must. Can anyone recommend a location to stay for the 2 weeks? I was looking at Rethymon but the current prices seem quite high so maybe I've left it too late? This was looking on Vrbo/Booking.com for a 2 bed holiday home. Thanks

I'm heading to Chania in July and wanted any recommendations for good places to eat & visit during our stay.