alldaytravel

Hi Everyone - Have been in Greece for a week now and having a wonderful time...Visited Mykonos and Santorini and arrived in Crete last night.

I had big plans of hiking the Samaria Gorge, etc. and now I am a bit tired from all of my Greek travels and just looking to chill out a bit...

Here is my dilemma. I am in Chania (Casa Delfino) for 3 more days...I don't want to rent a car as I was hoping to do some "packaged" excursions but other than the main ones (Knossos and Samaria), they seem tough to come by or are not available on the days when we will be here.

Any suggestions on some mellow and easy things we can do in and around Chania while we are here?

Thanks all! I'll have some ouzo for all of you while I'm here...

P.S. I am aware of Elafonisi and Falasarna, but quite frankly both of them seem like hikes from Chania - bus schedules are very limited to get there (like one bus a day!) and again, I would prefer not to rent a car if at all possible...

elina

Take a bus and visit Rethymnon. They are more frequent.

Weadles

There are half-day boat tours that leave from the harbor in Chania. You can visit the islands around Chania and swim at one or two of the stops. My husband and kids did this last year and really enjoyed it.

Any chance you're into biking? There are guided bike tours to some of the villages near Chania. There's a travel agency in town ( I'm blanking right now on the name because we just returned yesterday from Greece! that will arrange this for you, and it's lots of fun. I posted about it in response to someone else's question, so maybe you can find it that way. If not, I'll try to check my files.

And even though it's a hike, I'd strongly recommend getting out to the beach in Elefonissi (spelling??). It's one of the prettiest beaches we've seen in Greece, although we have about a zillion more islands to get to!

travelerjan

Have you checked out the HAPPY WALKER menu of daily walks??
http://www.happywalker.com/pages/daily_walks_e.php
unlike some others, HW also has walks on Saturday & Sunday --

I would advise a direct phone call to them to find out how to get to the start of the walks. This outfit has been doing this for years, and has very good feedback.. Probably only 3-4 hours walk, and a taverna ending!

Also, there's a 7 am bus to Vamos (the traditional village) with walks that go from there...or you are in a van that takes u to the walks. If you want to walk closer by, they have customized walk itineraries they provide. Here's one link;
http://groen.maakum.nl/~faragito/hom....php?page_id=3
and here, Vamos village home link:
http://www.vamossa.gr/content/view/1/37/lang,english/

...vamos itself is an enjoyable place to spend a few hours, and available by bus.

elina

How could I forget Vamos. I have been to a cooking course there. They cherish the Cretan food, and also teach all about collecting horta (wild vegetables). There are couple of good Cretan tavernnas there. In fact the best Cretan meals I have had have been in Vamos.

alldaytravel

Hi All - Thanks for the great ideas!! We'll definitely check out the boat trip in the harbor area. Would love to make it to Vamos, but have to look into a taxi. Apparently no buses run there on weekends ...We may drag ourselves out on Monday to see Elafonisi. Or, there is a slight change that a travel agency might be able to book us for a Crete countryside tour...We'll see what happens, but I just wanted to thank all of you for the quick reply. Just got back from Cafe Kriti and had a great time! And of course, dinner at Tamam! Thanks again...

mjs

Wish I was back at the Casa Dellfino. Although You want to relax a bit I would still rent a car through the front desk. Driving around Crete is actually very easy and it is the best way to see the island. Parking and getting in and out of Chania takes alittle work but not much.

sheila

Go and see the two monsteries on the Akrotiri, and walk down to teh sea- maybe swim a bit? You will need a car, but a taxi would do it.

If you want a wee walk, get a taxi man to take you to Therisson.

You can then walk as much or as little as you want on the way back down.

http://travelrat.wordpress.com/2007/...issos-express/

me? I'd buy a book and chill on the harbour

alldaytravel

Hi All - Thanks for the great advice..Today, my hubbie and I walked around Chania leisurely and explored the town. Then we walked about 10 min to a really pretty beach called Nea Hora. The locals consider this just your average beach, but I thought it was beautiful. We then bounced around to a few tavernas having some Mythos and greek appetizers along the way. Great day! Tomorrow, we are taking an organized tour to Elafonisi with a stop at a village along the way. We still decided not to rent a car, so I think this is the best idea for us...So much to do here, wish we had more time. I will be posting something separately in a minute re: getting to Vamos which is something we're considering doing on Tuesday before our flight back to Athens. Thanks to all!

emiller444

Hi alldaytravel-
We are going to spend 4 days in Chania the beginning of October and we, also, would rather not rent a car. Where did you find the organized tour to Elafonisi? Did you get to Vamos?


Help!
We have 4 more days in Crete once we leave Chania and would love suggestions of where to go(and how to get there) for these 4 days. We will be leaving Crete from the port at Heraklion.

travelerjan

E Miller, allday travel is not going to answer your HELP! Typically when people get their own answers, they disappear -- a few come back to thank but not that many.

If you are in Chania, click on the links to Vamos and contact them directly. YOu probably will get the Elafonisi organized tour at a local agency... just look around. If you are staying at a pricey hotel like Casa Delfino, the desk will have info.

Another tour is a "swim tour" boat excursion from Kissamee/Kastelli that goes up the Gramvousa Peninsula and also stops at Balos beach, offers a picnic. You could bus to where it starts.