one4choice

My wife and are are spending 9 days in Crete during the first 2 weeks of June. We've booked Casa Delfino in Chania for 5 days and want to book for 4 days in or around Agios Nikolaos. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated

grandmere

We did approximately the same thing in '98 and found that we greatly preferred the area to the west of Rethymnon to the eastern part of Crete. Agios Nikolaos is pretty, but it's very touristy. We stayed at the Hotel Hermes, which was "ok". A couple of miles north of A N is Elounda, where there are some very lovely and posh hotels. Elounda Mare is the name of one; a google check would find any others. If I had it to do over, I think I would check out the southeastern coast after leaving the Chania area. Crete is a wonderful island; you will have a good time!

Patrick

Congratulations, you'll have a great time. We spent only 7 night in Crete and could have spent longer. <BR>We also stayed at Casa Delfino, you'll love it. In Agios we stayed at the Hermes Hotel which was nice -- nothing grand like the big resorts, and not so tacky as many of the tourist hotels we saw. It was a bigger, more typical modern hotel than we usually like, however, I still think it was one of the better options there. The breakfast in the panoramic dining room upstairs was very nice and our room with a sea view was really quite nice -- but all in all it was much like staying in a Holiday Inn or somewhere (well, maybe a step up from that). <BR><BR>We drove all over the island and you will be able to do that from your two locations. We also stayed in Iraklion for two nights before leaving there for Santorini, but it is done as well by day trip. <BR>Do drive out to the eastern end of the island -- I found it strangely beautiful and a total contrast with the lush green of the western end.

sheila

We to prefer the west. I found the area around Agios Nikolaos far too developed for my taste. However we stayed further east, In Palekastro, close enough for a day trip, if taht's what you want to do. Save a look at Sitia if you want to be in larger town.<BR><BR>Makriyialos is very pretty on the south coast, but it's a chill-out rather than a happenning place.

Mykoniatis

where to eat?<BR><BR>A greek taverna :Virtomartis is on Elounda village,a another one is Manolis's taverna near Elounda,exactly on Plaka village with a terrific view on Spinalonga island.<BR><BR>For my part I stayed with my familly at Grecotel Elounda Village.<BR>but try to stay a little hotel like:<BR><BR>Spinalonga village

michaeld

Another vote for western Crete if it;s not too late.<BR><BR>I did 2 nights Chania, 2 nights in a fantastic 'restored village' in the hills called Milia, then 2 nights on the south coast in a village called Anidri, just inland from a superb beach and some gorgeous hiking, and 2 nights in Rethymnon which I thought is an underrated city.<BR><BR>I based myself on the Crete itin in<BR>www.i-escape.com/greece.php<BR><BR>Kalo taxidi!<BR>

leslieyoung

Having visited Crete in May 2002, I agree that Chania is a great starting point for your adventure. While it won't take you 5 days to explore the town, it'll give you plenty of time for day trips to the surrounding areas. We ventured to Elafonisi on the western coast (about 2 hours from Chania depending on how lost you get in town!) which was certainly pretty but frankly not nearly as pretty as the tour books made it out to be. Truthfully, once we ventured off the beaten path we discovered the true beauty of Crete. For example, try the Rodhopou Pennisula (just outside of Crete). We found a side road with spectacular &quot;I gotta stop and take a picture&quot; vistas, at the bottom of which was a deserted beach. From Chania we headed south to hike the Imbros Gorge (far more manageable than the 11-mile Samaria Gorge). Watch out for the wild goats! I cannot rave enough about the southern coast of Crete. We toured Frangokastello, a Venetian castle built in 1340. Wow. Make time to visit the quiet little beach below. Our highlight of the trip in terms of quaint Greek villages was Plakias. Little more than a 1-mile strip of sand, it was charming to say the least. And at 27 euros a night you couldn't beat the price. The monastery of Previeli and ajoining Preveli beach were incredible- a must see (but the water was cold in mid-May!). Our next destination, Matala, would seem quite the tourist destination given its infamous home to hippies in the 60's but it was by far our favorite town in Crete. Big enough to allow for a little night life but totally lacking in tourists (at least in the off season) we very much regretted cutting our trip short to head north. In fact, it took us less than 2 hours to reach Elounda on the northern coast of Crete and less than two minutes to realize it sucked. Situated on a bay, Elounda felt less like an ocean resort and more like a summer camp for German tourists. The &quot;sandy cove beaches&quot; turned out to be little more than strips of pebbly shoreline. For the heck of it we stopped at a couple of mega-resorts where one guy acted like we were looking to buy a car as he reviewed the glossy brochures and tried to justify the $350 a night rate. Yes, the views of Spinalonga Island in the background are impressive but by the time we reached the most desirable of the least desirable areas, Malia, it wasn't nearly cool enough. We ambled past dozens of Italian/English/German/Indian restaurants and grew increasingly wary of our ability to find Greek food in this part of Greece. In case I haven't been clear enough- avoid the northern coast of Crete! We found it to be a European tourist nightmare!! If you're going to experience the real Crete, stick to the west and the south (granted- we never made it to the east). In hindsight, we'd have headed east to Vai rather than spend one minute in the Elounda area. Enjoy your trip- Greece is so wonderful!<BR><BR>

sheila

You wouldn't have enjoyed Vai in high summer either- for the same reasons!

Syl

To Leslie Young:<BR>Thanks for your advice.We're also very interested in the mid and southern part of Crete.Please tell me the name and website, if available, of the Plakias hotel for 27 euros. As well, please recommend hotel in Matala. Where's the Rodhopou Peninsula? <BR>Thanks so much.

sheila

Rhodopou is about 40 miles west of Chania on the north coast. It's the bit that sticks up at the top left

Andie_Newton

Leslie, I loved your candid analysis of Crete and especially Elounda. You can't get that in the guide books.