BowenLinda

Will be in Greece this fall and have the first leg of my trip, Oct 10 - 14, available to visit outside of the Peloponnese and Athens (am tied to those dates). Am thinking of Chania or Rhodes Old Town and both have flights from Athens in the morning. Won't be renting a car, public transportation or hiring a driver to get outside of town would be fine. Relaxing a wee bit and visiting local sites are my priorities. Thoughts? Thanks for your help.

Pepper_von_snoot

4 days in old town Rodos is 2 days too much for October.

Keith and I stayed at Rodos Park Hotel, which has a swimming pool, and we were bored after three days. This was in July with great beach weather.

October is end of the holiday season in Rodos.

Thin

BowenLinda

Uh oh, thanks, Thin. Have you been to Chania or other parts of Crete? Any other suggestions for those 5 days? Beaches/swimming are out for me no matter what the season...

HappyTrvlr

I would go to Chania over Rhodes regardless of the time of year.
I found Rodos Town too touristic. Chania I thought, had more to offer and was a pleasant experience. I spent two weeks there and plan to return.

BowenLinda

Thanks HT, that is interesting. Do you have any other favourite spots for a 5 day stint?

PetrosB3

Both towns are beautiful, and with great day-trips.

Rhodes is the largest inhabited castle-town in Europe, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's a melting pot of Byzantine, Crusader, and Ottoman cultures including the ethnic minorities that also inhabited it. Visiting the town of Lindos is essential while in Rhodes, the second most charming town of the island crowned by an ancient acropolis and a great beach in front. The valley of the butterflies is another great destination, where thousands of butterflies stop in this particular forest on theri way to Europe. And the best day-trip you could do is in the island of Symi, a fairy-tale town with colored neoclassical buildings around a natural harbour.

Chania is a wonnderful mixture of Venetian and Ottoman architecture, the most beautiful city in all of Crete. You have some of the best beaches in the world around you, the essential being Elafonisi beach (voted multiple times best in the World) and Balos beach. And of course the Samaria Gorge, one of the most stunning natural attractions in Greece. Finally you will taste the Cretan cuisine, the queen of Mediterranean diet and the tastiest cuisine in the Greek World.

You can't go wrong with any of your choices, depends on what you prefer.

BowenLinda

That is a great summary, Petros, thank you. I may just flip a coin...

kja

@ PetrosB3: What an awesome summary!

artsnletters

I was on Rhodes for four days and plan to return again to see more. There was plenty to see and I was not bored. I am not a beach or pool person. I did rent a car for one day to explore more of the island; I went down the eastern coast for the day. But you can see Lindos very easily by bus (and doubtless other places you can visit by bus), and there's a lot to see in old Rhodes town. I visited in May and it was not at all crowded. Once off the main drag, I didn't find it touristy, and even the main drag wasn't too bad. I can see where it would be miserable in high season, though (July and August). I have not been to Chania yet (it's on my list), so I can't compare the two.

jwugg

I would also suggest Chania - a beautiful venetian harbour, lots of little ancient alleyways to wander around, plenty of renovated hotels at a wide variety of budgets. A large selection of tavernas, amazing fresh local produce, street markets etc. Then there is Aptera, easily reachable by car, a wonderful pre-Roman & Roman site in a spectacular location, lovely Souda bay, & the Apokoronas villages - traditional little places heading into the hills. Or a day to the South coast, over the White Mountains. There are beaches as near as 10 minute stroll from the city centre, lovely beaches with nice walks at Agoii Apostoli still within Chania, the monasteries of Akrotiri & much more. Too much for 4-5 days! The weather should still be warm during the day, but the great thing about the city is tavernas will be open, some with inside dining, as it will be colder at night. & if it does rain, then there are several excellent museums.

travelerjan

Another plus for Chania is that it is NOT visited by those MegaCruise ships. Even in October Rhodes has them on weekdays and thousands of cruisers clog the streets, complete with name-tags & confused looks, and you would need to strategize to avoid them. Chania by contrast will be busy with Greeks just going about their lives.

Tho you say this is the "first leg" of your trip, you do not share what comes next -- why not? It will affect our advice. If you're planning to ferry to Santorini, then y ou'll have to plan to be in Heraklion the night before because the only ferry leaves at 8:40 am -- you actually are lucky because that daily service ends Oct. 16.

Remember: more complete info = better advice.

crazyh

I haven't been to Rhodes so can't comment on what to expect. However, I have been to Chania in early-mid October and found it lovely.

Beautiful waterfront, great Old Town, lots of shops, markets and tavernas and there is another area known as Splantzia that is off-the tourist map, quieter and just as pretty but far less tourists.

Several archeological/historic sites right in town or just a short walk away.

If you get tired (how can you get tired) of the Old Town then the New Town is just a few minutes walk away with lots of up-to-date shops, small and locally owned. In addition the Agora which is on the edge of Old/New Town is filled with shops and eateries for great low-cost shopping and eating.

Chania is one of Greece's most beautiful towns with lots of character, charm and Old-World atmosphere and I would highly recommend it!

stanbr

Just my opinion but Chania is my first choice. Nothing against Rhodes it is a pretty good destination as well. It is however far more touristy than Chania.
Perhaps this will help you decide
Lindos and Rhodes http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7634754696058/
Western Crete http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632115757899/
Aptera images 38-62 Balos Gramovossa images 79-106
Chania http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632117917828/

kja

I haven't been to Rhodes and so can't compare.

I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed Chania -- despite the hordes of cruise-ship tourists that descended upon it one day while I was there (early in May of this year). I'm not sure what constitutes a "megacruise", but the number of tourists that afternoon seemed close to the limit of the city's tourism infrastructure -- every table was taken, every shop was crammed, streets were clogged. The owner of my B&B told me that cruise ships don't visit the city every day, but when they do, it is problematic.

But when they weren't there, ooooh what a delightful little city!

Hope that helps!

BowenLinda

Home from work and amazed to find so many great responses - thank you, everybody.

I arrive late'ish Oct 9th, will fly to Chania early on the 10th and return to Athens on the 14th, 15th - 22nd are on a archaeological tour of the Peloponnese, and 22nd to 25th I will spend exploring Athens.

I've decided on Chania and have a reservation at a recommendation of yours, Jan, the Elia Palazzo Hotel. The location and price suit me.

Stan, your photos are beautiful - will enjoy them in more depth later.

Very much appreciate the insights of everyone.

Another question: I am looking for history tour guides for Athens and Chania - recommendations?

kja

So you have 3 stays in Athens? You might want to see if you can book straight on to Chania (with the same ticket, even if with a stop).

I'm a bit confused about your time in Athens -- sounds like he 22nd is a transit day, so really only the 23rd and 24th there? Not much, IMO!

BowenLinda

Hi, Kja. I know, just not enough days. There is a about a five hour gap between arrival in Athens and soldiering onto Chania. I can get the night of Oct 9th at the airport Sofitel on points and think that's what I'll do. Boring, I know, but I've done enough of those 24 hour travel days and will be working horrendous hours at work the week before.

The tour spends the day of Oct 15th in Athens, and I will then have the 22nd evening and 23rd and 24th there before returning to Vancouver at the rude hour of 6 am on the 25th.

I was thinking of taking a day off of Chania and adding it to Athens but that would leave me just 2 1/2 days in Chania.

I am guessing I will return to Greece one day...too much to see!

kja

It's always hard to fit remarkable destinations into one's limited travel time, isn't it? FWIW, because Athens is the most easily reached city in Greece if traveling from the US, I would also give it short-shrift simply because it will be easier to visit in the future than (say) Chania. And to be clear, I did enjoy Athens immensely, was very glad that I had 4 full days there, and could easily have enjoyed more! And IMO, 2.5 days in Chania is a great way to begin a trip to glorious Greece.

Enjoy!

stanbr

Oh yes the famous Vancouver to Chania flight series. Done it many times. Its pretty close to 24 hours of travel time.

Its a drag but once you hit Chania your Adrenalin will kick in and you will love it. We arranged to meet a couple from Montreal who arrived at 9PM We took them to a bar and dinner and left them at midnight. Within minutes they were restless and we heard them sneaking out and returning at 3am. Chania has a way of doing that to you.

Here are some additional images of Chania.
Chania 2015 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...57655164548880
Theotokopoulou St area http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632118491316/
Chania 2016 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr...57671465596275

cherie2125

I've been to Rhodes Town many times and think it is much more interesting than Chania any time of year. The medieval town is outstanding and you can the bus to Lindos. Chania is nice but there isn't that much to do there.