The largest Greek island, located south of Greek between Greek and Turkey in the north and Libya in the south, with its capital and largest city Heraklion located on its northern coast. Crete is one of the most popular tourists’ destinations in Greek, with most of the tourists spending at least one week in one of its many beautiful beach resorts, while exploring the numerous great attractions around the island.
Crete was the center of the Minoans civilization, Europe’s first advanced civilization, from 2700 to 1420 BC. The Minoan civilization was overrun by the Mycenaean civilization, to be followed by Rome, Byzantine, Andalusian Arabs, the Venetian Republic, and the Ottoman Empire, until it became part of modern Greece in 1913.
Each of the empires and countries that ruled Crete have left its mark in the Island.
Explore and enjoy the Knossos Palace and its famous labyrinth near Heraklion, the Diktaion Cave in the Lasithi Plateau the birthplace of the Greek Mythology god Zeus, the Fortezza Castle of Rethymno the beautiful venetian old town and harbor, the Ottoman mosques of Chania, and more.
Crete is mostly mountainous, with a high mountain range crossing from west to east, and numerous canyons and rivers flowing from north to south, among them the highly popular for hiking Samaria and Imbros Gorges.
In the mountains you will enjoy in addition to the overwhelming landscapes, picturesque traditional villages with whitewashed houses and winding alleys such as the weaver’s village of Anogia and the pottery village of Margarites.
Between the mountains and the coast enjoy lakes such as the beautiful Kournas lake, beautiful valleys, and the rural plains of the Island such as Lasithi Plateau, where olive, apples and almonds groves are growing.
Crete northern coast is home to the five major harbor towns of the island including the highly popular Chania in the west with its beautiful Venetian old town and harbor, charming Rethymno, Heraklion the capital. In the east, enjoy the highly popular resort town of Hersonissos and the charming Agios Nikolaos with its beautiful beaches and resorts.
Chania Archaeological Museum
Chania
Spinalonga
On Crete’s southern coast you will find quaint small coastal villages and towns, suitable for those who wants to escape the crowd and have a tranquil beach vacation. There are good mountain roads with great scenery connecting the northern towns with the southern coast.
Crete is all about the 1,200 km of coastline with its numerous beautiful sandy and pebbled lagoons and beaches with clear turquoise waters and magnificent beachscapes. In general, in the northern coast you will find the larger towns with bustling beach resorts, highly organized beaches with all the required facilities, numerous bars and taverns, shopping opportunities, and vibrant nightlife.
The remote southern and western coasts are usually characterized by beautiful beaches in charming smaller towns, and a more tranquil environment, with secluded or partially secluded beaches with limited facilities if at all.
For the beach resorts in the northern coast, note the description of the major northern towns, and for the southern and western coast note the respective description for the beautiful and much less crowded beaches in these coast stretches, such as Matala and Preveli Beach in the south and Elafonissi and Balos beaches in the west.
Agios Nikolaos
Hersonissos Beach
Psiloritis Mountain
The best seasons to visit Crete and fully enjoy what the island has to offer would be Spring to Fall, expecting Mediterranean weather of warm Summer and pleasant Spring and Fall.
Arriving to Crete will be by flights from Athens and most of the European major cities, to the international airports of Heraklion and Chania, and the smaller airport of Sitia in the islands’ northern tip. A second option would be by sea with a ferry, mostly from Athens’ Piraeus to the main harbors of Heraklion, Chania, Rethymno, Agios Nikolaos and Sitia.
Visiting Crete for 5-7 days, TheTjoy.com recommends making a beach resort your base in the island, while taking few 1 Day Trips to your favorite destinations and attractions.
