bon_voyage

I’m in the planning stages for a special 60th birthday trip to take place mid-June 2010. Normally decisive, I have been endlessly dithering over this one and will be most grateful for all suggestions and advice. The whole family (husband in his late 70’s and two boys in their 20’s) will be along for the ride. Would like the main part of the trip to be new for us all. Our departure date is dictated by the boys’ schedules. The current plan:

Crete:
3 nights Elounda to get over the jet lag and see a bit of the surrounding area
4 nights Chania
1 night Heraklion to be ready for the next morning’s ferry to
Santorini: 2 nights Oia, followed by
London: 4 nights

We’ve all been to London, never to the Greek islands. We like to travel independently, and my husband and I have driven in England, France, Italy, Greece, Austria, and Spain so would plan to rent a car on Crete. Travel to Europe has become an increasingly rare event due to a variety of factors which may be one of the reasons I’d so like this trip to be a particularly good one. Reflecting on the ideal trip, the components would include: sacred sites (Delphi, Chichen Itza, and York Minster all fit here), culture/history, art/crafts, seaside, countryside, good food, beautiful scenery/walks, and finally, a mix of city, town, and village. Our trip to Italy five years ago, which included Rome, a week in a rental in Umbria, a few nights in Santa Marguerita Ligure, and stopovers in Tuscany, had it all.

Other places considered and passed on, at least for now, for one reason or another:
Sicily, Veneto plus Bernese Oberland, the Amalfi Coast, Turkey (Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus), Bali, Southeast Asia, Egypt.

From what I’ve read so far, what appeals most about Crete are Chania, the villages, the tiny churches, the archeological museum in Heraklion (I know that for now the best stuff has been distilled into a smaller space), the physical beauty, the food, the crafts traditions, its layers of history, and the independent spirit of its people. The site at Knossos would also be a big draw although my reading suggests we might come away somewhat disappointed. We’re not serious hikers so the Samaria Gorge is not a must, but the boys and I had a spectacular day in the Cinque Terre walking from Riomaggiore to Vernazza so one memorable hike would be great.

My questions:
Is Crete likely to fit the bill? Did it make an indelible impression on you?
If yes, should we spend a night near the Amari Valley on the way to Chania to visit some of the picturesque, more traditional villages or are there similar places within easy reach of Chania?
Best 3-4 hour hike near Chania?
Thank you!

Cries_Van_Notebook

If you plan on visiting the Arch. Museum at Heralkion make sure that it is open.

We were planning a trip to Crete in July, 2007 and no one was sure if the museum was open or not. Because of this, we opted to go to Rodos instead.

Thin

grandmere

There are pretty resorts around the Elounda area, but if you're going for a true Cretan experience, I wouldn't spend three days in Elounda; the western and southern parts of Crete are much more interesting, IMO.

It sounds like a lovely trip!

bon_voyage

Thank you, Thin and Grandmere!
Re the museum. I realized that what I wrote was unclear. Even if it's still the Greatest Hits collection in the smaller space, that would be fine. Several of those items were featured in an Archeology 101 class that I took my freshman year in college, and it would be terrific to see them in person however they're displayed.

I'll take another look at the three nights in Elounda. Right now it works out to two days because we're coming from California, and it looks like we'd be getting in late the first night. We find it takes longer and longer for us to get over jet lag, but we also want to maximize our relatively brief time. We don't typically go to places like Elounda but thought the resorty, higher pampering quotient might serve well at the front end of the trip. Could check out Agios Nikolaos, Elounda, Kritsa, the nearby church with the frescoes, and Lato while our bodies figure out what day it is. If the Elounda area has a sterile, could-be-anywhere feel, that would be a big negative. Grandmere, what are your favorite places in the west and south?

grandmere

You're right; the pampering of a lovely resort would be good after the long trip. We spent 5 days in an apartment in the small village of Megala Chorafia overlooking Souda Bay and did day trips from there, inc. Fallasarna to the west and Frangokastello to the south, and of course Chania and Rethymnon. After that we spent a couple of days in Agios Nikolaos, and I guess that's what soured me on that part of Crete. The western part of the island seemed to be a much purer Cretan experience; a small but telling example: music in the west was all Cretan whereas in Ag Nik, everything we heard was American rock music. This was 10 years ago, so who knows what it's like now. We did not get any farther east than Ag Nik. There's so much history from WW II on Crete as well as the much, much earlier history; we really enjoyed our stay there. Our last night we spent in Heraklion b/c we were flying out the next morning; it was fine for that length of time. Recommend Ionia restaurant there, where they invite you into the kitchen to chose your meal. Again, check more up to date sources than my 10 yr old info!

Our trip was with two other couples, but I'd love to get my whole family over there as you're doing.

You will have a wonderful time on Crete.

grandmere

Oops, typo--"choose", not "chose".

Forgot to mention that when we did find lots of tiny churches with frescoes, etc., and those experiences were more interesting, IMO, than Knossos, etc.

amavro

Crete is a wonderful island and because of it's sheer size, is very diverse and there's much to see and do. With the exception of Chania and Rethymno, which are both lovely, the northern coast of the island is a virtual line of seaside resorts. Elounda is a beautiful area, but is west of Heraklion, so you might consider the order in which you're planning to visit the cities/villages you've identified. I agree with grandmere-western and southern areas will offer a very different experience. In the south, I like Plakias as a base. From this seaside village, you can vist southwestern and south central Crete.

amavro

meant to say that Elounda is east of heraklion

bon_voyage

Thank you, grandmere and amavro, for those additional comments! It definitely sounds like Crete has the potential to be a memorable trip. If we stayed in Chania, we'd take day trips, e.g. driving through the Innahorion, hiking the Imbros gorge (the story of the Allied forces' escape through the gorge draws me to that particular hike). An advantage I could see to basing on the southern coast is that it would be easier to get in and out of town for those day trips, and those activities would be in closer range. Love the seaside, but we live near the beach so being on a beach for much of the trip isn't a top priority.

bon_voyage

Grandmere, I had confused Souda and Sougia. See now that Megala Chorafia is near Chania and found this:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jun/08/greece

grandmere

Interesting, bon_voyage! There are two main organizations that have rentals in Crete (Simply Crete and Pure Crete), and I can't remember which one we rented through, but staying in MC was a lovely experience. Thanks for the link.

sheila

Absolutely Crete will fit your bill. It is the most wonderful place. If you would like to email me, I'll send you some trip reports.

The Amari is well off your route. Very worth visiting none the less. I think you will find more "traditional" stuff nearer Chania. Try Vamos, or Vrisses, or just go up the hill behind the city.

Please don't write off Knossos. It's not famous for nothing.

Have a look at this web site for all sorts of everything

http://www.explorecrete.com/crete-sightseeing-tours.htm Like good walks. And teh Sunflower guides are great for walking a nd exploring routes

bon_voyage

Sheila, thanks so much for that link and for your take on Crete! At this point, I'm sold and have ordered my Sunflower guide for Western Crete.