Crete-Kokkini Hani vs Hersonissos
 

We are travelling to Crete in the 3rd week of October and the travel agent is recommending that we stay at one of the above 2 places. Which is better? Or should we stay in Chania which I've read much about on this site? Thanks.

Personally i wouldn't stay at either. Chania is much nicer IMHO. But what do YOU like?<BR><BR>The area around both places is (over)developed, and busy and frankly, pretty charmless. But if what you want is a nice beach and a decent resort, especially with young people, at least in the case of Heronissos, you won't go wrong

Without knowing what you want from your holiday its difficult to answer. If you are young and into clubbing you would like Hersonissos( or Malia).We stayed at Stalis and went in to Hersonissos for an evening and were glad we hadn't chosen there. However we are 40 years old!

Thanks for your replies. The travel agent thought that we would prefer those areas because they are closer to Heraklion. We are in our mid 30's and definitely not into clubbing. Does Chania have nice beaches. How long would the drive be to Heraklion?<BR>Thanks Again.

Well, I'm over 50 and I stayed in Malia and thoroughly enjoyed, isn't a holiday supposed to be a fun time with lots of lively people and places? You might as well visit your local library if you are looking for total quietness.

Chania has nice beaches round about. Why do you want to be near Iraklion?

Stay in Chania. There are places near the beaches, or the Casa Delfino in the old town was wonderful. Heraklion and surroundings are not the nicest part of the island, and I am not sure why your travel agent is not salso giving you other areas as an option. There are a couple of Hersonissos locations, so you may want to inquire which one your agent had in mind.

What are your hotel choices in Hersonissos?

If you have a chance- hire a car and discover Crete by driving around a bit. The south side is much quieter than the north side. Matala and further west are nice places and there are some good beaches. The north - I think - is very spoilt by tourism. Having said that we found that there is really lovely long, sandy beach east of Rethymno which is itself worth a visit on the way to Chania it that is where you choose to stay. Some advise on car hire: choose an established company - Hertz and Avis. SOme of the local car hire companies are unreliable with the quality of their cars. October might also be better to drive around and discover some other parts of the island as the weather will be a little cooler. <BR><BR>I agree with Sheila that some of the areas on the north are very charmless. I thought the Venetian harbour in Rethymno is nice - perhaps nicer than Chania. Heraklion is a busy town - not very charming. Altough this was the few places in Greece where we saw some 'real people' go about their business. The museum is a must in Heraklion and of course Knossos. <BR><BR>The drive between Heraklion and Chania is about 2- 2.30 minutes. Avoid the midday heat- Most of the road runs along the beach so you can always stop for a dip if you are too hot. THe drive is very nice. Make sure that you have enough petrol as we found that some of the petrol stations were closed and there are not that many in between.