This text is a complete handbook to the largest of the Greek Islands. Features include: listings of the best places to stay and eat, in all price ranges and all areas; accounts of the great Palace of Knossos and a host of other sites; and practical details on walks and unspoiled beaches.
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Excellent, and characterfully written. -- The Times, London, UK
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Where to go
Every part of Crete has its loyal devotees and it's hard to pick out highlights, but on the whole if you want to get away from it all you should head for the ends of the island - west, towards Hani‡ and the smaller, less well-connected places along the south and west coasts, or east to Sit'a. Wherever you're staying though, you don't have to go far inland to escape the crowds.
Whatever you do, your first objective will probably be to leave behind the urban sprawl of Ir‡klion (Heraklion) as quickly as possible - having paid the obligatory, and rewarding, visits to the archeological museum and nearby Knoss--s. The Minoan sites are of course one of the major attractions of Crete: as well as Knoss--s itself there are many other grand remains scattered around the centre of the island - Fest--s and Ay'a Tri‡dha in the south (with Roman G--rtys to provide contrast) and M‡lia on the north coast. Almost wherever you go though, you'll find some kind of reminder of this history - the town of Gourni‡ near the tourist enticements of çyios Nik--laos, the palace of Z‡kros over in the far east or the lesser sites scattered around the west.
For many people, unexpected highlights also turn out to be Crete's Venetian forts - dominant at RŽthimnon, magnificent at Frangok‡stello, and found in various stages of ruin around most of the island; the Byzantine churches, most famously at Krits‡ but again to be discovered almost anywhere; and in RŽthimnon and Hani‡ cluttered old towns full of Venetian and Turkish relics.
The mountains and valleys of the interior also deserve far more attention than they get. Only the Las'thi plateau in the east and the Samarian gorge in the west really see large numbers of visitors, but almost anywhere you can turn off the main roads and find agricultural villages going about their daily life, and often astonishingly beautiful scenery. This is especially true in the west, where the Lefk‡ îri - the White Mountains - dramatically dominate every view, and numerous lesser gorges run parallel to the Samarian one down to the Libyan Sea. But there's lovely country behind Ir‡klion too, in the foothills of the Psilor'tis range, and especially on the other side of these mountains in the Am‡ri Valley, easily reached from RŽthimnon. The east also has its moments, in the Dh'kti range and in the spectacular cliff drive from çyios Nik--laos to Sit'a.
As for beaches, you'll find great ones almost anywhere on the north coast. From Ir‡klion to çyios Nik--laos there's very heavy development, and most package tourists are aiming for the resort hotels here. These places can be fun if nightlife and crowds are what you're after - especially the biggest of them, like M‡lia and çyios Nik--laos, which have the added advantage of being large enough to have plenty of cheap food and accommodation, plus good transport links. M‡lia also has sand as good as any on the island (if you can find it through the crowds), but çyios Nik--laos really doesn't have much of a beach of its own. Further east things get quieter: Sit'a is a place of real character, and beyond it on the east coast are a number of beautifully tranquil places - especially Z‡kros - and V‡i, very busy with day-trippers. To the west there's another tranche of development around RŽthimnon, but the town itself is relatively unscathed, and a rather lesser cluster of apartments and smaller hotels near Hani‡, the most attractive of the big towns. Other places at this end of the island tend to be on a smaller scale.
Along the south coast, resorts are far more scattered, and the mountains come straight down to the sea much of the way along. Only a handful of places are really developed - Ier‡petra, Ay'a Gal'ni, M‡tala, Paleoh--ra - and a few more, like Plaki‡s and Makriyial--s, on their way. But lesser spots in between, not always easy to get to, are some of the most attractive in Crete.
When to go
As the southernmost of all Greek islands, Crete has by far the longest summers: you can get a decent tan here right into October and swim at least from April until early November. Spring is the prime time to come: in April and May the island is relatively empty of visitors, the weather clear and not overpoweringly hot, and every scene is brightened by a profusion of wild flowers.
By mid-June the rush is beginning. July and August are not only the hottest, the most crowded and most expensive months, they are also intermittently blighted by fierce winds and accompanying high seas, which make boat trips very uncomfortable, and at their worst can mean staying indoors for a day or more at a time. The south coast is particularly prone to these. In September the crowds gradually begin to thin out, and autumn can again be a great time to visit - but now the landscape looks parched and tired, and there's a feeling of things gradually winding down.
Winters are mild, but also vaguely depressing: many things are shut, it can rain sporadically, sometimes for days, and there's far less life in the streets. In the mountains it snows, even to the extent where villages can be cut off; on the south coast it's generally warmer, soothed by a breeze from Africa. You may get a week or more of really fine weather in the middle of winter, but equally you can have sudden viciously cold snaps right through into March.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The best guide to Crete, but flawed,
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This review is from: Crete: A Rough Guide, Fourth Edition (4th ed) (Paperback)
The largest Greek island is well described in this entertaining book, which is very thorough in its coverage of all the major and minor sites. An essential aid for any visitor, it is marred only by some out of date information which should have been checked before this latest edition was published
11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A book for backpackers.,
This review is from: Crete: A Rough Guide, Fourth Edition (4th ed) (Paperback)
I travelled to Crete on a package holiday and stayed in the popular (read overdeveloped) resort of Hersonnosis. I found that the Rough Guide had no interest in covering this particular area and is particularly scathing towards package holidays. It is written as a guide to backpackers, and is probably useful for finding cheap restaurants and rough hostel accomodation. It is not as useful as a travel guide. I had travelled to Crete previously on an archeological tour and I know a good deal about the Minoan sites, the Venetian harbours and the Natural amenities such as the Samarian gorge. I found that the rough guide had litte to say about what was important and much to say about what is not important to the package holidaymaker. It was a lesson to me, in future I will be careful to choose the right kind of guide for my holiday!
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