hotels and itinerary in Crete
 

I finally got my husband to agree to go to Greece this September--it is amazing what nonstop nagging can do--and hope you wonderous folks can help.

Thought we'd go from Athens to Santorini and Crete (we have a total of about 15 days), basing our stay in Crete in Chania. We like old stuff (each other, for example), hiking, and exploring, so I know no matter where we stay, we will get a car. My questions are 1) does Chania make sense and if so 2)any hotel suggestions (we like charming and small, not resorts) and 3(can we fly to Santorini from Crete?

Thanks!

Julie

I think Chania is a good base since the western part of Crete is so much nicer than the east, especially if you like charming places. I don't know about hotels, since we stayed in an apartment in a little village a few miles west of Chania, but I'm sure someone will have some recommendations. Chania is a wonderful port town,with a decided Venetian influence, very different from ports you will find on other islands, for example, Santorini, which is beautiful in its own right.
Driving is very easy on Crete; I would not attempt it on mainland Greece, myself.
The Samarian Gorge is an 11 mile trek, downhill. You take a bus back. Folks love to do it; beautiful scenery and not very difficult to do (I did not do it, however!).

I cannot imagine anyone not liking Crete! Have a wonderful time!

Consider going by sea to Santorini, there is nothing like the experience of approaching this amazing island by boat and seeing the tops of the cliffs looking like snow covered mountains.

Hi--

It sounds you will love Loutro on the south coast of Crete. You can hike the Samaria Gorge, then take the boat over to Loutro. You can book a room on the web. You'll find tons of info at Loutro.com & follow the links.

My husband & I will also be going to Crete in September starting in Athens, to Paros to Santorini and ending with a week's drive around western Crete. We got a great deal on an automatic car from [email protected]. Check out http://www.creta-info.gr,www.infocre...www.loutro.net,
www.sfakia-crete.com.& www.cretetravel.com. We're also looking forward to hiking as we've been researching for months now. We plan to base ourselves in the north in Chania & in the south probably in Plakias. Because it's low season, we're not pre-booking hotels in Crete.Enjoy!

I would aim for Chania, unless you'd like to be in one of the smaller places around about.

I don't really do hotels myself, and I've never stayed in Chania before this month. There's much more by way of antiquities within striking distance of Chania than Paleochora, but give or take that minor inconvenience:) you might want to consider staying there instead. (See trip reports passim)

We stayed last week in Erietta Apartments right on the harbourside and it was great, except for one thing- it was above some noisy bars, and that put us off initially. It is fair to say that we didn't even notice after the first night.

We had been going to stay in Pandora apartments on the other side of the harbour. (we didn't because I couldn't get them to answer the phone or emails). It was definitely a better location than Erietta, being slightly set back and over restaurants rather than bars.

It was also a gorgeous building.

One thing I would add; we came across a book called Fenny's Chania which had a really well explained walking tour in it.Do get a copy.

Thank you for all the Chania info. When you rent an apt, can you do it by the week or less?

Certainly by the week. I think you CAN rent for less but it's down to availability

We rented a rustic apartment in the little village of Megala Chorafia, not far from Chania, through Pure Crete: www.purecrete.com

I went to this site and it looks like an interesting, and much less expensive, option. How far from Chania "proper" has your apt been and did you mind having to drive everywhere (assume that's what you did?)?

Also thanks for the recommendation on Loutros, that looks like somewhere really special. I guess like everyone else who is planning a trip to Greece, my head is now exploding with options.

If you're asking me about our Pure Crete experience: our village was about 20 min. drive from Chania. Megala Chorafia was such a pretty setting (our apt., set high atop a hill, overlooked Souda Bay) was so charming that we didn't mind having to drive almost everywhere. Even if we'd stayed in Chania, we'd still have had to drive everywhere else on the island. A day or 2 exploring Chania itself is plenty, IMO.

Try the Casa del Fino in Chania, it was a very nice old Venetian rental with a central courtyard that was within a a block or two of the harbor..very nice proprietor. Limited to about three to four rooms overlooking the courtyard where breakfast is served.

You can fly Olympic from Santorini to Crete (we did the opposite tack).