Pearl1

We will be staying in Crete for approx. one week in mid-Sept. at the Archanes Village. We also have rented a car. What should we not miss, besides the Palace of Knossos? Is Chania and western Crete so far that we should stay overnite? How about southern Crete? We love natural beauty, flowers, wildlife, and authenticity.
We would like to take a ferry to Santorini for the day. Should we drive to the port in Heraklion?Should we try to find tickets online before we leave? Obviously this is our first trip. Any recommendations appreciated.

Weadles

I would highly recommend staying in Chania a few days if you have the time. It's a very interesting destination, and has a gorgeous old port to explore. Also it makes a good base for a trip to the Samaria Gorge, where you take an 11-mile hike through one of Europe's largest natural wonders.

Chania is about two hours from Heraklion by car. I have no idea how far it is from Archanes Village.

It would be almost impossible to day trip from Heraklion to Santorini.The trip takes about 2 hours by hydrofoil, 4 hours by regular ferry. I would definitely suggest trying to get your tickets online, since mid-September could still be very busy in Greece.

thursdaysd

Day trips to Santorini are advertised by some of the travel agents in Iraklion, but they don't run every day. You get back late afternoon/early evening.

If you're reasonably energetic don't miss the Samaria Gorge, it's stunning. It is 16 kilometers though, the first part is switchbacks straight down, the last part is over river rocks with no shade.

With a car and enough time I would try to see some of the other ruins besides Knossos. Not sure where Archanes Village is - can you spend some time on the south coast?

sheila

Do visit Chania, and maybe the monasteries on the Akrotiri. A nice, but not all day walk is down to the sea past Gouverneto.

Visit any more of the Minoan ruins. Chania is an easy day trip, and you might want to go up to the Lassithi Plateau.

Don't miss the archeological museum in Iraklio, as well as Knossos. They make a good double header.

Pearl1

The Village we are staying at (Kalimera Archanes) is approx. 10 kms from the airport. We are also told it is easy to find. We have no set itinerary, except we have been able to secure 2 roundtrip tickets(2 hour excursion via hydrofoil) to Santorini for Sept. 19th. It was very easy to book online.We just pick up the tickets an hour before departure near the port.
We will plan to do a day trip to Chania per several recommendations. Although we are both in our early 50's and in relatively good shape, except for arthritic knees, I doubt we will able to do extensive or vigorous hiking at this point. What is in southern Crete?
My husband is a big Greek history/mythology enthusiast.
The gorge interests me, but I'm already having nightmares over the driving part(after renting a car in Italy and driving from Umbria to Venice, among several other side trips, and I was just the passenger). Any other comments, or advice out there?
Thank you all for the previous responses that have been posted. We have found them to be very helpful.

HappyTrvlr

Southern and Western Crete have beautiful beaches, small towns but to reach them you do have to drive on narrow, winding mountain roads. Chania is a gem and merits more than a day.

thursdaysd

If your knees are already complaining, definitely skip the Samaria gorge!

From what I saw of the south coast it is much more scenic and much less developed than the north, which seemed to be wall to wall hotels, cafes & shops.

I stayed in Chania (and Rethymno, but preferred Chania) and would recommend getting there as early in the day as possible. In the morning it was fairly quiet but by afternoon it filled up with visitors.

I did not make it to the ruins at Phaestos, Agia Triadha and Gortys, and wish I had. Unlike Knossos, they have not been "restored".