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CRETE - Rethymnon area or Chania area ??

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CRETE - Rethymnon area or Chania area ??

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Old May 11th, 2012, 01:51 PM
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CRETE - Rethymnon area or Chania area ??

CRETE - Rethymnon area or Chania area ??
For a beach vacation, where would you stay?
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Old May 11th, 2012, 02:23 PM
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Outside of Chania, a little to the west of the town, there are several beach resorts.
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Old May 11th, 2012, 02:26 PM
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Both areas are nice, and have great sandy beaches.

In Chania, most beach hotels are located outside of the city, like Platanias .In the prefecture of Chania there is also the long beach of Georgioupolis, with many hotels, and located in the middle between Chania and Rethymno.

In Rethymno, the very long sandy beach begins right in the old city and is 10 km long.

Both cities are very nice,both have a lot to do and see, plus beautiful old cities.....

Easier to get to is Chania, as it has an airport, while Rethymno is only 45 min away....

Both cities are the base for some great day trips....

As you see i couldn't say which city would suit a beach holiday best.... i love both, and they are in a way very similar.

Base your decision on a suitable hotel, make a search through www.booking.com they have many hotels in both areas, and prices are dropping this year.
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Old May 13th, 2012, 06:18 AM
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Neither. The trip west of Chania is heavily built up and tacky; and whilst there are nice places on the Akrotiri, it's really very touristy nowadays Geoegiopolous is a big sandy (boring) beach. Some of the wee towns east of Rethymnon are more interesting; but me, I'd go to the south coast, or right out west.
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Old May 13th, 2012, 06:52 AM
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I have been to those areas and did not see boring or tacky. Yes, the far western beaches are beautiful as is the south coast but being near Chania or Rethymno is fine and probably more practical.
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Old May 13th, 2012, 08:05 AM
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I wonder what would make a beach boring.....
The areas west of Chania are everything but tacky.... other areas like Kissamos or Falasarna are nice for day trips, but to a first timer to Crete i would absolutely recommend the vicinity to either Chania or Rethymno...
Georgioupolis is a nice small village, touristy or not it's nice.... The beach is very long ( second longest beach of Crete), so that there are always spots without any "tourists"
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Old May 13th, 2012, 10:59 AM
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I love Kissamos and Falassarna but they're hardly in Chania area.

No point in arguing; just my viewopint
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Old May 13th, 2012, 11:28 AM
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Kissamos and Falasarna are both in the prefecture of Chania sheila.... so from my ( greek) point of view, they are in Chania area.....
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Old May 13th, 2012, 11:47 AM
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The beach at Stavros to the north of Chania used to be very nice - and the eating in the harbour area of Chania is quite decent.
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Old May 13th, 2012, 11:49 AM
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Stayed at the Hotel Halepa which is a bit out of town but used to be an embassy

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_R...ure_Crete.html
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Old May 13th, 2012, 11:25 PM
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Yes, clausar, I know that, but I don' think that's what the OP meant.

I stayed in Stavros the first time, and it was fine. That's what I meant when I said the Akrotiri was OK. But it's much more built up now
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Old May 19th, 2012, 09:34 AM
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thanks for the comments!
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Old May 19th, 2012, 12:35 PM
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I thought the area west of Chania was great, and it was the area east of Rethymnon that was tacky! As an example, west of Chania we heard Greek music, and in the east it was all rock and roll. Regretted having stayed in Ag Nic.
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Old May 19th, 2012, 01:53 PM
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grandmere, the area east of Rethymon is 10 km long... there are all sorts of restaurants,cafes, shops and bars there....

Both areas are quite similar.... none of these areas is tacky.
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Old Feb 26th, 2014, 01:35 PM
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At Akrotiri is very nice with a lot of beautiful beaches and places. Stavros the famous beach of the Zorba movie, also there is Kalatha and Tersana a quite beach for relaxing vacations
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Old Mar 4th, 2014, 01:25 AM
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I prefer Chania! It's way more beautiful city and area than Rethymno. But that's my personal opinion..
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Old Mar 4th, 2014, 06:30 AM
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Barry, depending on your budget, there are a couple of beach-side places just west of Chania, that enable visitors to have their cake & eat it too! That is, they enjoy a beach (and pool), and on the inland side of each hotel, there's a bus stop for the local bus that whisks them to Chania in about 15 minutes. The smaller of the 2 (30 rooms) is Hotel Ammos, which gets raves from Trip Advisor reviewers ... and the other is Corinna Mare, larger ... rates are above the pension level of course, but not posh-level.
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Old Mar 4th, 2014, 06:56 AM
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Barry asked this question back in 2012 !!
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Old Apr 19th, 2014, 04:15 PM
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I'm topping this thread with a slightly different question than the OP... What if it's not a beach vacation?

Seems to me these two towns are a toss-up. One has the somewhat more interesting Old Town, and the other is more accessible to, well, most things.

If you had 5 days on the island, in shoulder season ( early October), what would you do?
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Old Apr 19th, 2014, 05:40 PM
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Can I ask-would you go to Crete for a family Christmas vacation?
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