At the end of August we decided to go on a trip to Greece and more specifically Crete. This was our first time in Crete and first trip in general since Covid started. You can’t even imagine the level of excitement (and anxiety, haha) I had! It was more of a last minute trip because we weren’t sure how the situation with the pandemic would go so I’ll tell you what we would have done differently to save more money. But let’s start with our trip because I have so many things to share with you!
It was our first time in Crete so we didn’t know what to expect. Crete is quite big so you need many days to explore it. We had 9 days and we still couldn’t see that many places. We decided to stay in 2 big cities and do day trips to different areas and beaches. One city was Heraklion and the other was Chania. We flew from Amsterdam to Chania and back again. Although we found a pretty good deal with the tickets we hesitated for a few days and the deal was gone. If I could change it I would have bought the tickets the moment I saw the deal but with the option to be able to change it. Heraklion and Chania are about 2 hours apart so we decided first to go to Heraklion and then Chania to be closer to the airport.
Were we stayed
We rented a car from Chania and we kept it for the rest of the trip. For the first four days we stayed in Heraklion in the Infinitity City Boutique hotel in the city center. It was in a walking distance from everything we wanted to see in the city. The location of the hotel was great but it got a bit tricky with the car so we had to leave it in a paid parking place while we were there. We had breakfast included in the price we paid and there was a very good selection to pick from. My favourite was the mini apple pies, so yummy! In Chania we stayed at Alegria which was also in the heart of the city. Amazing place to have quick access to everything by foot and the owner was lovely. We didn’t have any problem with the car in Chania as there were a few free parking spots near by. Overall I was very happy with both
Places we visited
Heraklion
The first city we went to was Heraklion. I liked it but the vibe of it is more of a big city than island. It’s a beautiful city with a very alive city center but it doesn’t have the magic vibe of an island. I enjoyed the areas with the little shops the most and the view from the port was amazing! From Heraklion we visited Malia, Agia Pelagia, Matala and Knossos. Malia was the most expensive beach we went to the whole trip but the sea was good. Agia Pelagia was ok in my opinion but nothing too special.
Matala
Matala on the other hand was amazing! The man-made caves on the cliff by the beach were very cool and interesting. Never seen anything like this before. Pro tip though. If you want to climb there wear steady shoes like sneakers and avoid sandals or flip flops as they will make it more difficult to climb. Also get yourself covered with sunscreen, clothes and hats because the sun is very strong.
Knossos
I enjoyed also Knossos very much. I found it fascinating being in an ancient place and imagining how people used to live back then. Also it’s very fascinating to see how many things they achieved back in 7000 BC, yes BC! Definitely worth visiting if you like history.
Chania
I’m not gonna lie, I prefer Chania from Heraklion. The vibe of the city and the architecture were the best. The city center of Chania was extremely beautiful and the port was lovely as well. I enjoyed walking next to the sea at sunset, so magical! After Knossos we went back to Chania and from there, in the course of the next 5 days, we visited Phalasarna, Elafonissi, Balos, Gramvousa, as well as a few beaches closer to Chania.
Phalasarna
Phalasarna was by far my favourite in the whole trip! The water was crystal clear, wasn’t too crowded and in general I loved it. Elafonissi and Balos/Gramvousa were also great but too crowded so I didn’t enjoy them as much as I would like to. But both had crystal clear blue water, especially Balos which looked like a swimming pool!
Elafonissi
They told us that in Elafonissi the sand was pink but truth is it wasn’t. Well it had a pink hue in specific places but overall it wasn’t pink. And of course it wasn’t as pink as I had in mind, haha! It was also very crowded in the middle of the day but as the sun went down most people left. Sunset was amazing though and I was glad that we stayed till then to enjoy it. My advice is to go for a late afternoon/early evening dip in the sea to avoid the crowds. The land divided the sea and you get two beaches. One that is deeper and one that is extremely shallow. The water temperature on the shallow part was amazingly warm!
Gramvousa and Balos
Gramvousa and Balos were a one day trip as it took in total 7 hours. You get the boat from Kissamos and the first stop is Gramvousa for 2 hours and then Balos for 3 hours. In Gramvousa there was a Venetian fortress that you could visit but it is up high on the hill and you NEED good shoes like sneakers to climb. Don’t be stupid like me and go there with your sandals, haha! Then you get to Balos for the rest of the trip and also there you had two beaches. One very very shallow and one with deeper water. The sea temperature was great in both. Crete has truly amazing beaches
Were we ate
Now to the most important part, food, haha! Honestly in the 9 days in Crete we didn’t once had a meh meal. Everything was freaking amazing! From the 4 days we were in Heraklion we ate 2 of them in the city. One time at Paralia (got grilled octopus) and the other at Ligo krasi ligo thalassa (got swordfish). In Matala we ate at Petra & Votsalo (got souvlaki). Although we stayed 5 days in Chania we ate there only twice. First was at Kavouras (good food, got schioufixta with apaki, didn’t like the vibe) and the second time at Kaiki (got the grilled octopus and it was extremely fresh!). In Phalasarna we ate at Gramvoussa (it’s in a little village nearby that is called Kaliviani). I got Ossobuco which was very tasty but unfortunately heavy for my stomach. In Elafonissi we ate at Glykeria (got burger). Almost in every place we got ntolmadakia but our favourites were at
My thoughts
Overall I have to say that I LOVED Crete and I want to visit again. It didn’t disappoint at all! Regarding food, my favourite was Kaiki and from beaches Phalasarna. On our way to Elafonissi we stopped at the Agia Sofia cave and outside that there was a street vendor who sold honey, jams, sweet spoonful and olive oil. We bought strawberry jam and I kid you not it was the BEST jam I’ve ever eaten in my life. It was so good that we even searched online to find him again and ask him to send jams in here! Unfortunately no luck so next time we’ll go we’ll bring more jars for sure! If you are thinking to visit Greece any time soon I would definitely recommend going to Crete.
Did you go anywhere this summer? And if yes where did you go?
