mr_go

Thanks again to all. dcd and odie, I can assure you we had a blast taking those pics!

And Deb, we'd love to meet up again for dinner & drinks with you and the hubbie on any future trip.

DebitNM

You got it, the NM's and Go's , part II

WWanderer

Thanks so much for the great reporting! I admit, I was on Crete for several weeks, uh, ...almost 45 years ago. So I'm past the age, regrettably, of doing the Samaria gorge, but would love to spend a week or two there next fall.

As for Santorini, I wonder if the "up and down" would be too much for mid-60's joints and muscies. I'm fairly fit, but my husband is over 70 and might have trouble--do you have an opinion?

Meanwhile, this can serve as a bookmark. We're thinking a couple of weeks in the Peloponnese (we've been to the eastern part before), and a week or two on Crete, where I have always wanted to return. Thinking mid-September to mid-October timeframe.

Clousie

Wonderful report and photos as usual.

Please comment on the driving on Crete. A Greek friend advised us against attempting it if we didn't understand the language (road signs) I so want to go back on my own rather than a chaperone for 40 teenagers, but am concerned about driving there.

ms_go

Thanks WWanderer and Clousie!

On the "up and down" in Santorini...I don't think that is much of an issue in the towns. The ups and downs we encountered were on the 9-km walk between Fira and Oia, which you certainly don't have to do. Bus service between the towns is frequent, easy and inexpensive. There are some steps in the towns, but if you select your accommodations with that in mind, you may not have too much up and down. And if you want to go down to Ammoudi Bay for dinner, I think it is possible by taxi.

Re: driving on Crete, I'll let mr_go comment on that, since he actually did the driving and I did none! But I will say that on the highways, the road signs were in English as well as Greek--usually Greek signage with the English version a little after it. I don't recall any point where we had significant problems following the road signs. Driving in Chania was a little challenging, as the street signs are hard to read (small type; bad eyes). We studied the maps in advance, and that helped in recognizing landmarks to guide us.

Ian

>but if you select your accommodations with that in mind

True. We had 83 steps to get to street level from our suite in Imerovigli. By the end of our stay, those 83 steps were like climbing Kilimanjaro.

I found driving very easy in Crete. The trick is to drive 1/2 on the paved shoulder so people - in both directions - can pass in the invisible 3rd lane in the middle. A GPS + a good road map are highly recommended.

Ian

ms_go

Ian, we've stayed other places with that kind of killer climb, e.g., Positano.

Our hotel near Oia had relatively few steps down to the room, and some of the rooms didn't have any at all. Although it was a bit of a (flat) walk into town, it was also right at the bus stop. We also walked by other places where the rooms weren't far off the path, so I think it's possible--it may just take some research.

Good points on driving. I was just thinking about the signage. We didn't have a GPS, but I downloaded some fairly detailed maps onto the iPad (non-cellular, so no GPS on it either) and used them to navigate while he was driving.

mr_go

As Ian observes above, the only "trick" of driving in Crete is staying halfway on the shoulder most of the time. You pick up the rhythm and flow of driving there pretty quickly... I wouldn't call it especially hard, but as always it depends on the driver.

The other thing to keep in mind while driving in Crete are the distances. Again, it's not really like being on an island. It's a full-scale landmass with hours between sites (and mountainous terrain, jagged coastlines, slow zones in villages, etc.). Even with a good car and a great map, it still takes a while to get from point A to point B.

Most road signs use both alphabets...either on the same sign, or on consecutive signs about 100 yards apart. Again, not a big deal. And after a while, you start to sound out the Greek signs phonetically. It's oddly fun.

WWanderer

Thanks for the reply on Santorini and steps. We had one of those killer hotels in Lisbon last year--uphill to get there, and further uphill to get to the desirable restaurant area in Chiado. Further humiliation was watching local senior citizens marching up the hill with no problem. In Lisbon, thank god for the elevadores!

As for driving, my DH has driven in the Peloponnese--if he can manage that, he can manage Crete--the advice about driving on the shoulder is a good one. I did have a good roadmap of the Peloponnese--I assume I can find one for Crete if we decide to do this?

My ancient experience on Crete was entirely the east end--Phaistos was a newly-discovered ruin in an olive orchard, Matala was full of hippies, Agia Galini where I stayed a tiny fishing village.

HappyTrvlr

We ordered excellent maps of Crete from www.road.gr. They were mailed to us in the US at a low cost.
There is a map for each side of Crete, W and E.

dutyfree

MR and MS Go-thank you so much for the trip report on Crete. We are leaving next month to spend our Christmas in Chania and New Years back in Athens.
I think that you guys are on the Fauxdor FB page so will write you there as I have some questions. The hubs and I live up in the NW suburbs of Chicago-were you at the GTG in Chicago two years ago? Would love to pick your brains-thanks!

ms_go

Hi dutyfree, yes, we did meet at the GTG! We're happy to connect on this. I'll look for you on FB.

HappyTrvlr

For friends and lovers of Chania, Crete... the area has been hit with the New Year's storm of the century. Water is being held back somewhat by a medieval moat. The seas have churned down to the muddy bottom turning the water brown, something life long residents had never seen. The water is up to tavernas on the harbor. Lots of flooding. Keep this beautiful place and it's residents in your thoughts. Apparently this storm has hit all over Greece.

mr_go

That's absolutely terrible, HT! Love that town. Hope it all works out ok for them.

Sberg

Bookmarking. I would love to follow in some of your footsteps. This is on my list. We are following your Norway trip this summer. Thanks for all your tips!

mr_go

Good to know, Sberg. Glad that our TRs are at least somewhat useful! Just...please don't follow too closely. We probably make 100 different mistakes on all our trips, and we're almost always first-timers everywhere we go. That was certainly the case in Norway (and Crete).

I look forward to reading your trip report!

kja

Having finally read this trip report, in preparation for my upcoming time in Greece, I can't thank you enough for your wonderfully informative words and inspiring photographs -- much appreciated!

I was particularly delighted to see your praise of the Lato Boutique Hotel in Heraklion, as I reserved it a few days ago.

mr_go

You are most welcome, kja...hope you enjoy it as much as we did. The thing I'll always remember most about the Lato are the planes coming in for a landing a couple hundred feet overhead!

I'd like to reiterate my recommendation of the archeology museum in Heraklion/Iraklio. It's top-notch.

kja

Thanks, mr_go -- Heraklion's archeology museum is a must-see for me, as is the one in Chania, and Delphi, and several different museums in Athens, and.... ;-) I'm sure I'm going to have a glorious time!