Hi

We are looking at booking 1 week in Crete, early September. Could anyone advise which town to stay in?

We would like to be close to a beach, and somewhere where we can walk out at night for a meal/drink. We would prefer somewhere with lots of traditional Greek restaurants, rather than really touristy. But at the same time we don't mind there being a few people around (we are 27)

Thanks

<b>PALEOCHORA!</b> (South West)

Long sandy beach; lots of cafés and restaurants (Greek or "international" cuisine), 2 little supermarkets (reasonable prices not "tourists prices")bakery, bank pharmacy.. NOT too many souvenirs shops.
Friendly people but not obsequious. Many tourists in season but definitely not a tourist ghetto (in the cafés there are as many locals as tourists)

Two places where I stayed:

http://www.interkriti.net/hotel/paleohora/klima/
http://www.manolis-marias-hotel.gr/

Paleochora Association of Rooms and Appartements:
http://www.paleochora-rooms.gr/rooms_en.html

Live webcams:
http://www.palaiochora.com/

Thanks for your suggestion.

I should have pointed out that we can fly into either airport, however flights don't land until 21:00 hours so will need to stay somewhere accessible by a transfer?

Would anyone recommend any towns a bit closer to either airport?

Thanks

My husband and just returned from 4 days in Crete. We are about your age and were looking for similar things when considering locations. Here's the challenge we encountered: the North shore, where the airports and bigger towns are, is extremely touristy and somewhat tacky, and the beaches aren't great. We ended up getting a car and driving South for little beach day trips, but that means you spend several hours in a car each day, because nothing in Crete is close to anything else and more often than not you are taking back roads through the mountains.

So, I would recommend flying into Heraklion or Chania and spending a night and a day there (we liked Heraklion better, plus you get to see Knossos, which is amazing...but Chania is nice as well). Then, you can drive or catch a bus (the bus system is awesome in Crete) to a smaller town on the South shore. We spent just a bit of time in Paleochora and enjoyed it. Elafonissi is another beautiful beach, but quite crowded. Sougia was also nice and somewhat less crowded, though the beach has stones rather instead of sand. Enjoy!

Timetable of the bus company:

http://www.bus-service-crete-ktel.com/timetable.php

We preferred Chania and one can easily walk along the waterfront away from touristy reaurants to better dining choices.

personally i would fly into Chania and do day trips from there - it's just lovely and there's loads to see and do in the area.

Thanks,

What trips would you all recommend from Chania?

We thought Chania the Gem of Crete last month. Lots of nice beaches just out of Chania too, as far as Panormos. Easy drives to Kissamos for the Balos and Gramvoussa boat trip - a highlight , and down picturesque good roads to the south coast Hora Sfakion to Matala.

2 of the best 100 beaches selected by CNN are in Chania.
http://www.oleavillas.com/worlds-100-best-beaches/

- Falasarna (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...ure_Crete.html)

- Balos (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...ure_Crete.html)

You should visit both. They are amazing!!
You should check the weather when you visit Falasarna, because if it is windy the sand is very thin and it is very annoying.

Chanis is not tacky at all.

We are thinking of Crete as well, but wonder is there a lot a history and historical places to visit or is Crete more well known for it's beaches?

If you end up staying in Chania, I can recommend Pandora Suites
http://chania-pandorasuites.clickhere.gr/

It is a few minutes walk to the harbour where all the restaurants and shops are. We had a spacious, very 'Greek' style room and bathroom Breakfast was served on the rooftop with stunning harbour views. Service was very friendly, they let us have free use of our room until quite late on our last night as we had a ferry to catch around midnight. This was off season so no one else was using our room, still we thought it was a thoughtful offer. We really liked Chania.

Kay

The Region of Crete has a new very interesting website :

http://www.incrediblecrete.gr

and this is the latest promotional video of the Region of Crete which i find amazing

http://tinyurl.com/jwy9g3w

Nanabee...The Minoan civilzation, the Minotaur, was based in Crete.

tinks, if u want the ideal combo of very nice beach, plus easy access to dining and to sight-seeing, that is a challenge. However, if your budget is in the mid-range, there is a wonderful solution just west of Chania -- Hotel Ammos http://www.ammoshotel.com/ -- consistently ranked #1 by Trip Advisor for the area, it's a 5-star experience without the 5-star price ... it has only 30 rooms, is right on a sandy beach, WITH a pool, and a restaurant w. a top Cretan Chef. PLUS, on the inland side, the local bus stops, and takes you to Chania Old Town in 10-15 minutes and runs until late night. Best of both worlds! That's why it's booked solid ... but you might get lucky!

We split our time between Chania and Iraklion (spell them however you like!), and loved Chania the best. We rented a car and drove to Falasarna, which is gorgeous and when we were there in late Sept '11 was virtually empty. Lots of lovely wandering and restaurants available in Chania. Rethymmon also interesting but the beach only so-so and filled with vacationing Russians when we were there. Iraklion is more of a big city but has a wonderful museum and Knossos nearby which is easily accessible by bus.
We loved Crete and hope to return someday.