AliH1

We will be two couples travelling together by car. I am wondering whether people would recommend choosing a spot and doing day trips from there, or making our way around the island day-to-day. I apologize for not knowing the size of the Island and being ignorant of what there is to see and where things are located relative to each other! Someone suggested yesterday that we should add Crete to our itinerary and I am just starting to look into it!

Thanks,
Alison

brotherleelove2004

You can see a lot in a week with a car. Travel around instead of venturing out from a base and you'll maximize your possibilities. Crete is huge, the largest island in Greece by far. Have a look at this map:

http://www.west-crete.com/mapcrete_394kb.htm

Syl

Start your automobile journey in Rethymno.Drive south to Ag.Vasileios, west to Ag.Ioannia, & south to wonderful beach resort of Plakias to make your base for 3 or 4 days.Bus to Chora Sfakion & walk the Imbros Gorge (approx 2 1/2 hrs)unless you're real hikers & prefer the famous 6 hour Samaria Gorge. On another day,bus again to Chora Sfakion, but this time grab a taxi up to Anapoli, take loads of pics of the vista below & follow the amazing path down to serene Loutro where you'll want to immediately jump into the welcoming sea. After Plakias,drive north back towards Rethymno & west to Chania.Base yourselves in harbourside Chania for another few days.Explore the old Venetian harbour with its restaurants & shops,drive up the hill in Chania to see the vista & the memorials.Take in the Akrotiri Peninsula & drive to the tip of the peninsula where they filmed "Zorba the Greek". On another day, drive west & south to the the most glorious Elafonissi Beach. A trip to remember!

AliH1

Thanks for your suggestions. brotherleelove - please define "huge". I'm from Canada

Alison

brotherleelove2004

It is the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean with an area of 8,335 square kilometers. It has an elongated shape with an east-west axis and a length of 257km and a maximum width of 60km. Huge enough to have mountains with snow in the winter. Huge enough that 2 weeks would just barely give you a sense of what the island is really like.

Steve_James

Alison - You're from Canada?? Hey - Crete's tiny. You can see it in a day ...

If I were you I'd maybe choose 2 bases. Mine would be Chania and Agios Nikolaus. You can do some great trips from each, rather than moving on each day ...

Steve

Syl

AliH1,
I'm from Montreal. You? Crete's one of my favorite places in the world.

AliH1

New Westminster (just outside Vancouver).

Crete looks very intriguing!

Alison

wiz0rd

I'm from Toronto. Spent 5 weeks in Crete last year. It is a huge island but 257 km for our standards is absolutely nothing.

That's like going to a camping/cottage country from the big city like Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto, approx 200km.

Montreal to Quebec City is further than all of Crete =)

mewt

Crete is much more interesting than Montreal to Quebec City, that's why you need more time to see it. The roads are different, too, not wide, straight and flat, that's why it takes much longer to see all there is. I just came back from two weeks in Crete, and after reading Syl's post describing places haven't been to, I'm wanting to go again. Compared with other popular Greek islands (like Santorini) Crete is no day trip. It's more like a country, than an island (it once was independent).

sheila

Having done something like this a few times, for a week I'd either pick Chania, and trip around and about, including Knossos; or I'd go right out to the east, to Palekastro and Makriyialos, and I'd do the area round where you're staying.

I wouldn't go teh length of the island between two bases in just one week when there's so much to see at both ends (OK, I know Chania and Ag Nik aren't really at either end, but the principle holds)

stanbr

We just returned from Crete after a two week stay. We had a car the whole time and spent 2 nights in Rythemonon 4 in Chania 2 in Palachora and 4 in Plakias plus one in Hora skafion (that I'd rather forget.)

In a week I would visit the Fortezza in Rythemonon but then continue on to Chania and stay there as long as you like. You can make day trips from there to Gramvousa, Imbros Samana Gorge and Acroteri.
If you want a good beach experience spend a couple of days in Plakius. It is a town that exists simply because it has a very good beach and the whole town exists for tourist infrastructure but for what is it is pretty good. It is a two and a half hour drive from there to the airport on your last day.

sheila

stanbr

May we have a trip report, please?

stanbr

Yes a trip report is coming. Right now I am weeding a months worth of weeds out of my garden and editing our pictures. I will be starting the trip report in a week.

stanbr

I have not been able to start my trip report yet but we have edited 600 pictures down to 60 that represent our trip to Crete. go to;