Crete - help with planning travel
 

Hello,
I am planning a trip to Crete (with Athens latched on at the end for 3 nights) for the last week in Sept and first week in Oct 2018 as follows:-

We arrive in Heraklion late night 21 Sept and will spend 2 nights there taking in Knossos; we leave by hire car on the 23 Sept and will have seven days where we have not booked any accommodation after which we have booked two nights in Chania, one night in Rethymno and the final night in Heraklion before flying out to Athens.
I have been doing a lot of reading up and generally giving some thought to what to do with the seven days as above driving around Crete: originally I thought of going east to Lasithi as I fancied taking in the area overlooking the Gulf of Mirabello, it sounded like there were nice drives between small villages and I liked the idea of seeing Kritsa and Lato for its archaeological site, also Gournia.
However, I have now rather set my mind (nothing is set in stone though!) on going south to take in Festos and Gortys in the south of Iraklio, then heading to Spili via Agia Galini and towards the Amari Valley - maybe spending a day or two there including to the west of there, e.g. Agiroupoli (I would appreciate some recommendations for some good areas to take in in the Rethymnon region?).
Other thoughts are spending a day or two west of Chania and then driving south to Paleohora etc ( I prefer not taking in too precipitous roads!) - but I do want to divide my time equally with the Rethymno region.
I would appreciate any advice.
Thanks.

Our friends who live there highly recommended that we spend a night or two in Loutro on the south coast. We were so glad that we did. Drive through the White Mts south to park in Chora Skafion and take the ferry to Loutro. Beautiful warm water, mostly Europeans vacationing in this area. Very special experience.

Thanks HappyTrvlr, yes I have heard it is lovely taking the ferry to Loutro - would I have to book a place to sleep, or could one just pitch up there to find accommodation, this would be in late Sept/ early Oct? Also, when you say drive through the White Mountains - what route are you suggesting and from where?

We drove from Chania on the most direct route.
We had a reservation and recommend getting one ahead. It was very inexpensive, on the water. Trying to find Hotel name.

Hotel Porto Loutro, owner is a wonderful woman, Alison.

So the most direct route would be via Vrissis Imbros etc, i.e. setting off driving east of Chania, and then south? Would you say that is easier than driving to Paleohora (but then one does have a long ferry trip to Chora Skafion and Loutro)?
If you could find the name of the hotel that would be great!

Thanks HappyTrvlr, will look up Hotel Porto Loutro!

Hi AGain Pat -- I thought for sure you'd got all the tips you needed but no, here you are again! Here's my fave online crete map (click & it gets huuuge, navigate w side-slides) http://www.explorecrete.com/crete-ma.../Crete-eot.png -- to clarify my observations.

I am glad you are not doing that eastern trek -- that can wait until you've done justice to the Center & the West. I like the swing heading SW to Gortyn, since u have time, wander around ther, the site is HUUUGE, take along a printout from the Web or from a GOOD guidebook. Then Phaestos -- a good contrast to Knossos. Having seen the latter, you'll understand a "Nonrestored" palace, your imagination will fill in the walls, and the SITE is magnificent, over a fertile valley.

Since u are down there, u will either stay Ag. Galini or Matala for a swim & the night... I like Matala... not the row of ticky-tacky accommodations right on the beach, but back about 200 yards, https://www.matala.gr/en/dimitrisvilla-hotel/ -- view of mountains, nice landscaping, lovely family, good restaurant too!

Heading NW, Yes, you can jump off (see map) at bottom of Amari Valley, and take either the West side of the loop or the East -- Here's a good online piece on the route -- http://www.alpha-omegaonline.com/road/route_14a.htm --Writings on the area say that the Eastern loop has much older buildings than the villages on the Wstern loop -- for a tragic reason; The Nazis totally destroyed/burned/razed NINE villages on the Western Loop in what is called "The Holocaust of Kedros" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_of_Kedros --killed ALL the men, many of the women & children. some sources seek to call it retribution for the kidnaping of the German commandant, but later assessments call it an act of pre-emptive terrorism to damp-down Cretan resistance as German forces got ready to retreat to Chania, seeing defeat in sight. At any rate, a horrifying story. When driving in crete for the first time, back in '99, we used the small "old road" from Chania to Rethymnon. About noon we passed thru a very small village, no one at all around. In the center, a monument, with a permanent gilt wreath... the bronze on marble centotaph showed people & flames & a greek inscription. I was struck dumb; I couldn't read it, but knew it was awful. Later learned this was another village where all men were rounded up & shot. Be aware, as you travel western crete. Tragic memories.

Exiting at Spili, do stop to fill y our canteens at the famous Fountains!! As for Rethymnon -- it's OK, but never knocked me out... iNever knocked me out…. I usually tell people, drive as close as you can to the Fortezza, get out & explore it, take pix from top, skip the museum (Chania’s is better) get back in car, go to Chania. Up to you.

Staying btween Rethymnon & Chania?? There’s a village called gavalachori that Cretophiles say is lovely, has a craft center, someone on another forum is staying there in what sounds like an upscale place. Georgeopolis is fun to drive thru as a “total Brit” experience (It is named for 1st modern kin of greece yet another of Victoria’s grandsons, and as a result Brits flocked there, its a totally UK “hive”)… the drive in from the big road is lined both sides, giant Eucalyptus trees, smells like driving thru a Mega Cough Drop!.

West of Chania?? One of my cherished memories is staying at Falassarna… on a bluff overlooking amazing beach. The Met/Aegean has no tide you know, so there is almost never surf, but this beach has it… due to the wind — it comes all the way from SPAIN. I loved little Hotel Petalida… run by family w. fishing boats, they serve the day’s catch, known in the area fo best seafood restaurant. Parents speak no english but their young adult children do. We stayed in separate 1-story building w Patios right on he view STUNNING Sunsets! Here is where I'd have MY final Greece swim! You can drive s to Paleochora, very winding roads just saw a posting on Facebook by wife of my friend "Stanbr" who's now in Paleochora... she notes it is "Very Quiet" -- even quieter in 2 weeks?

Heading back to HEraklion on the Big North road, you might decide to jump off At Panormos and go 10 Km inland to the Cave of Melidoni …. gorgous stalactites … and again, memories of tragedy. There’s a somber memorial of 1825 massacre — Turks trapped 325 mostly women & children who fled there for safety, blocked cave, set a smoking fire, suffocated them. The memorial is a large marble slab but in one corner, even more touching, a pile of stones with a hand-scrawled inscription Never Forget. No wonder Cretans opposed Nazis so bravely! They’d already experienced the worst that could happened, under Turkish oppression.

If you do go down to Chora Sfakion, on the rim road of Imbros Gorge u can also picture how Cretans led Brit, Aussie, NZ soldiers down the gorge to escape in Subs… and when Germans began following Sfakian sharpshooters (they were the “Hatfield & McCoy” dead-eyes of crete) stood a mile above them and picked them off w. long rifles. After WW II, Aussies came back to the monastery where clerics had hid them, and brought altarpieces as thanks.

I wondered what you were talking about re replying on Fodors, travelerjan - have just seen this!

I wrote this on FOdors, then went to the other forum (Thorn tree) and saw you'd posted an identical thread, so I just copied this text & pasted it on THorn Tree. And then YOU did it in Reverse, I guess, and saw Thorn Tree FIRST.

FWIW:

I was disappointed in Spili. I thought it made sense as a place to take a break, if and only if necessary.

Agia Galini worked well as an overnight stop for me. I’m not sure I would have stopped there if not for convenience to my particular purposes.

I found the Amari Valley interesting. If I were to stay in that area, I would want to stay at the Taverna Aravanes, and I would book ahead to be sure I could do so.

When I was there (2016), most of Gortyn was closed to visitors.

Unlike travelerjan, I enjoyed a night in Rethymno. No right or wrong answers – just different experiences.

If you haven’t already seen it, you might find some useful information in my trip report:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...reece-1460735/

I hope that this time, you will respond to my comments (or not!) with grace, even if without gratitude.

Thanks kja, I have read the TR you refer to, as a matter of fact I dug it out about a week or two ago to look at the Crete part again! It's good. I am actually busy, in between planning my travels (am also going to Japan again over Xmas and have just spent a weekend in Amsterdam) writing my TR on my holiday in the Peloponnese almost 2 years ago!!
Thank you for you advice, - I'll look up Taverna Aravanes.

Hahah, Travelerjan!

I'm glad to hear that you are finding some useful information in my trip report. And thank you for your gracious reply.

Hello again HappyTrvlr, just to let you know that hotel is fully booked for the whole of September, Alison advised me -what a pity, it sounded like such a lovely way to spend a couple of days! I'll see if there's anything else in Loutro.

I believe there was another hotel there. Hope so!

Another hotel there, Daskalogiannis Hotel, has some available rooms in September.