csdmxp

We (50+ fit and sporty couple) will be visiting island of Crete for 4 full days (5 nights) on May 26-29 at the very end of our trip to Greece.
We are arriving on a ferry boat from Santorini (to Heraklion? do we have any other choice? ) late in the evening and leaving from Heraklion airport very early in the morning.
We would like to hike Samarian gorge and would definitely go to Knossos, probably Archeological museum, but overall won't be in the pursue off all the ancient ruins you could see. We really like beautiful nature, mountains, beaches, etc.
Is it warm enough to swim in the sea at the very end of May? 70-75F is good enough for us.
What is the best itinerary for our stay?
I guess we will have to stay in Heraklion on the first and last night.
What about remaining 3 nights? Which towns/ hotels to stay in (Heraklion included)?
We will probably concentrate on western Crete.
Should we rent a car? We drive automatic only.
Thank you for advice.

stanbr

The Greek ferry schedules for the most part are not yet available for May and will likely be coming out late March early April. Keep watching until you find other ferry alternatives. I am assuming you are not deliberately planning on arriving Heraklion late in the evening and are flexible enough to take a better timed ferry when they are available.
If there is an earlier ferry you might want to rent a car at the ferry port and head straight to Chania which has a lovely Venetian Era Old town and harbour area. The local bus system is also very good and yo can take the inter city bus as well. We always rent a car. I say that to suggest that you could do Knossos when you return to Heraklion for that last night. I would choose to spend the least amount of time in Heraklion as possible. On your way to Chania stop for an hour or two at Rethymnon. It has a Venetian Fortezza which is well worth a stop.
The Samaria Gorge is best done on an organized tour with buses provided ( because it starts in one spot and ends far away so you need to be dropped off and then picked up later)
Chania is a good starting point for that trip.
Chania is not known for its beaches but there is one just a 15 minute walk to the west of the old harbour and some interesting looking U shaped beaches about 4 km west of the old town area. One normally does not go to Chania for the beaches but rather to explore the lovely old town get lost in the back alleys, spend time at a bar on the waterfront and watch people.
For a day excursion there is an excursion boat to Balos which is a beach day or you could rent a car and go an hour west to the the beaches at Falasarnia. Ancient Aptera 18 km east of Chania gives you magnificent views of Souda bay and is an archeological site going back 1800 years. The best preserved ruins are from the Roman period. Yo can easily spend 4 hours hiking that site.
The air temperature will be in the low 80's and the water will be cool.
Here are our pictures of Western Crete
http://travel.webshots.com/album/559511069PIlVxI

Apostolis

Yes you will arrive into Heraklion port no matter what time you take the ferry from Santorini.

Agreed Heraklion is not the most enchanting town in Crete, for this reason we often suggest accommodation upon arrival or the night before departure in Archanes village - specifically the Archontiko Studios because it is so close to the Knossos and the Heraklion airport.

See our other help to travellers planning their trip on this page:
http://www.we-love-crete.com/crete-greece.html

For this itinerary it would be best to hire a car. See our page about getting around in Crete:
http://www.we-love-crete.com/getting...-in-crete.html

The previous answer is correct about the trip to Samaria Gorge. It is best done on a tour because it is a one way walk which ends at the tiny southern beach village of Agia Roumeli. Then you need to take a boat back and a coach back. It makes it really difficult to do it yourself, and would take days.

We agree that Chania is one of the most beautiful towns, for a beach along the north coast we suggest Agia Pelagia, in the west we suggest Elafonisi and Gramvousa.

http://www.we-love-crete.com/Elafonisi-Beach.html
http://www.we-love-crete.com/gramvousa.html

In May you should be fine for swimming and the crowds will be much less, it is a beautiful time to visit Kriti as the wildflowers are out. Inland visits include Arkardi Monsatery and the village of Margarites.
http://www.we-love-crete.com/margarites.html

In the west of Crete is the Elia Guesthouse in the little village of Ano Vouves;
http://www.we-love-crete.com/rural-a...ion-crete.html

These places we mention will engage your love for beautiful nature. We hope this helps and have a lovely visit to Kriti.

csdmxp

Thank you both for all the great info. This is exactly what I was looking for. we-love-crete.com is terrific. Will go thru it in detail over the weekend.

sheila

Couple of things:-

1. I'm not sure which are your 4 full days. If you are in Crete all day on the 29th, you should make that your Knossos/ Archaeological museum day. The museum has been closed for a few years for refurb, and before the new one could be opened- with a small exhibit in a portakabin. I THINK the new museum opened last summer. Someone with direct knowledge might please confirm.

You can easily do the Samaria thing on public transport- the saving is not much, but we did it when we got cancelled on at the last minute;

and, although I'm not saying you SHOULD do this, if it were me, I'd get the car, drive to Paleochora, ans stay there till the second last day. I'd leave earlyish (9?) in the morning and drive to Chania, and spend a full day there. After supper, I'd drive to Heraklion (2 hours) and do Knossos next morning and the archaeological museum in the afternoon.

Paleochora much more fits your requirements than Chania does.