Eastern or Western Crete as a Base for Trip in Early June?
 

We are headed to Crete for 7 days in early June and trying to decide which would be a better base to tour out of - Near Chania in Western Crete or near Agios Nikolaos in Eastern Crete. This is our first trip to Crete and Greece. We are flying into Heraklion on a Saturday and will have a car. We could split the trip but everyone would prefer to stay in one hotel if we can. There are four of us in our 60's and the other three are on either side of 30. I have two hotels picked out, one in each area. Both are close to the beach for the days when some of us just want to relax. The youngsters in the group will be interested in a little bit of nightlife if it is nearby.

We are most interested in local experiences, particularly any festivals, religious processions, seeing crafts persons, food experiences and the like. We are not hikers. We will probably want to go to the museum in Heraklion and Knossos palace. Byzantine churches and their icons are also of interest. We are not particularly interested in spending time in museums.

Will you be crossing multiple time zones to reach Crete? If so, please please PLEASE do NOT try to drive until you've been there at least a full 24 hours! Driving after crossing multiple time zones is just as dangerous to yourselves -- and everyone else on or near the roads -- as driving drunk, and there is absolutely nothing you can do to minimize that risk, except to let your bodies adjust to the time zone.

Heraklion is a good base for Knossos, and the small archeological museum in Heraklion is excellent. I thought the city underrated, so you could easily spend a night or two there and visit the museum and Knossos before trying to rent a car -- but if you want to stay elsewhere, too, that would mean staying in at least 2 different hotels. Please, just do it!

I haven't spent time in eastern Crete, but loved Chania and western Crete. If you haven't already seen it, you might find some useful information in my trip report. The section on Crete begins with post # 48
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...reece-1460735/

I spent 9 days in Chania and loved it. Beautiful Old Town with lots of shops, markets and tavernas. Good base to explore the west of the island. Lots of out-of-the-way areas that the bus doesn't go to so a car is a must if you want to see the more traditional areas. A good number of archeological sites within easy driving distance that most people are not aware of also.

I haven't to other parts of the island so can't comment on it, but feel Chania is a lovely place to use as a base.