Crete after the crowds have left
Country: Greece
Place: Crete
Visited in: October, 2004
I visited Crete at the end of the tourist season, when there was finally room for the local man and his donkey.
Crete was a last minute decision towards the end of 2004, when my partner and I found ourselves with 2 weeks off and nowhere to go. Neither of us had ever been on a package holiday before, and I in particular was expecting the worse.
I was partly right, but mostly wrong!
Yes, the flights to and from the island were horrible! The flight times were ridiculous, the seats were tiny, legroom non-existent and many of the passengers were at best horrendously drunk, at worst ASBO-prone. One passing comment from one of my fellow passengers (missing one of her front teeth) as we were waiting to go through security was: “…. if he does that again, I’ll bite his [censored] ear off.”
And yes the rep. (my first encounter with one of those) on route from the airport to the hotel was just a tad too enthusiastic at 4 o’clock in the morning for my liking.
But the holiday itself, the island and its people were absolutely amazing!
I will most definitely go back to Crete one day, although only towards the end of the tourist season, as I can’t imagine I’d enjoy visiting at the height of the season.
Some of the highlights of our visit include:
Síssi
We stayed at Hotel Vassia Beach in Síssi for the two weeks, we were in Crete. The hotel is small, but has its own pool, a restaurant and a terrace overlooking the ocean. The rooms were clean, the pool not too crowded (although we went to the beach most days) and the staff were very friendly.
Síssi is a wonderful, small village with a nice, little harbour and a few tavernas and bars. The Pink Flamingo deserves a special mention for its food and very friendly owner. I would also recommend walking up to Epáno Síssi for a meal at one of the tavernas up there.
We found a few small beaches close to Hotel Vassia Beach, but mainly used the small beach of Avlaki, which is a 20-minute stroll from Síssi harbour towards Epáno Síssi. Boufos beach is a little closer, and you can rent sunbeds there, but it is not as private as Avlaki.
Síssi is not for the party-hardy people (yes I do mean “hardy” not “hearty”), but was perfect for the type of holiday we wanted, which was somewhere where we could unwind, go for a swim, have romantic meals, laze about, but have easy access to the rest of Crete.
Mílatos
We had a long, but wonderful walk from Síssi to Mílatos and back. The walk is about 10 km each way, so probably not a good idea in the height of summer. The walk is worth it though for the beautiful landscape. We walked through Mílatos village to visit the Mílatos cave. Later we walked down to Mílatos by the sea and had a gorgeous lunch in one of the tavernas on the seafront.
Kremaston Monastery
On a drive to Lasíthi Plateau we stopped at Kremaston Monastery just 
before Vrises. An old woman sweeping outside told us to come over, and she unlocked the door to the church. Whilst my partner lit a candle in the narthex (entrance hall), the woman was chatting away in Greek about the church, the painting of the apostles, etc. We understood very little of what she said, but she seemed so happy telling us about it all that we nodded, as if we understood every word. We did understand though that Titus was the protector of Crete. We had no trouble understanding her either, when she shouted at a French guy that had walked into the church and was about to enter the sanctuary to have a look at the altar. “Orthodox only!”
The drive to the plateau was pleasant enough, but the plateau itself was rather disappointing. We found only a few windmills with their cloth sails still on, and Tzermiádo where we stopped was just too touristy.
Zákros Gorge
One day we drove from Síssi to Zákros Gorge (through Agios Nikolaos and Sitía). It was a gorgeous drive through mountains, and we saw a few guys out with their rifles probably hunting for rabbit. It is without a doubt the nicest, greenest part of Crete we saw during our visit.
We walked through the gorge in about an hour (5 km) known as the Valley of the Dead, and had a swim in the Libyan Sea at Kato Zakros. I had never heard of the Libyan Sea, but apparently it is one of a number of smaller seas that make up The Mediterranean Sea. We had an absolutely amazing lunch at Kato Zakros Bay run by Nikos Platanakis and Sons. The gorge had turned increadibly hot by the time we walked back. So remember lots of water and a hat if you attempt this walk in the early afternoon.
Aretiou Monastery
We stumbled across Aretiou Monastery on a drive in the mountains close to Eloúnda. The place seemed empty, or maybe they were all asleep, but we still had a look. Definitely worth a visit. We drove through Doriés and Karídi to get there, and then through Váltos and Skiniás on our way back to Síssi.
Margarítes, Réthimnon and Arkádhi monastery
We made a stop at Margarítes on our way to Réthimnon. It is know for its pottery, but is also a great place for just a wander.
I didn’t think much of Réthimnon, and got so fed up with the chaos they call traffic there that I ended up pulling the hand-brake in the centre of Réthimnon leaving it to my partner to get us out of there. We did have a nice lunch at Avil restaurant though in the Old Town of Réthimnon.
On our way back to Síssi we drove to Arkádhi monastery. We got there just before they closed the gates, so we didn’t get to see much inside. But the views from there alone made it worth the detour.
The best parts of our visit to Crete were the landscape, the food, fantastic weather, clear water, but most importantly the friendly Cretans.
Photographs
You can view more photographs from Crete here >>
Please note that you need the Macromedia Flash Player to view these photos.
10 Responses to “Crete after the crowds have left”
Leave a Reply
The copyright to all content on this website belongs to the authors, unless otherwise marked. Any kind of reproduction, scraping or storing of any part of the design, text, images or other content on this website is not allowed without the permission of the owner. PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS OF USE.
Hi
We are thinking of spending a week in cret ethis september…we sont like staying in busy tourist resorts but like to stay where its pretty, and scenic…we like beaches for swimming, snorkelling too…any tips of places to avoid and places we might enjoy staying at?
Hi Sue,
I would have said that Síssi matches most of your requirements, as it was when we visited in 2004. Unfortunately I’ve read that Hotel Vassia Beach has turned into a 200-room, all-inclusive resort, which is bound to have changed the feel of Síssi.
As I haven’t been back to Crete since 2004, my best advice is to stay away from places like Malia and to perhaps post a question on the Crete Forum at Tripadvisor. A couple of the Crete Forum Experts have been to many parts of Crete, and will be able to give you far better advice than I can.
I can highly recommend renting a car though. We found some amazing villages and beaches just driving around.
I’d love to hear your recommendations when you come back from Crete, as I’m hoping to go back some day soon. Enjoy your trip!
Just looked at your fabulous photos of Crete. We are thinking of going to the Vasia Beach Hotel in Sissi in September, trying to book it online as a package, without much success. Maybe it is too early in the year. A friend of mine went in October 2007 and raved about it so much. I will print your photos and keep them in a reference book with the comments as a guide, if that is okay with you.
Thanks for your kind words Lorna! As long as it’s for your own private use, that’s fine by me. I’m happy if our photos can help you on your trip.
I’m also very happy to learn that your friend liked the place in 2007. I would like to go back some time soon, but was a bit worried that Síssi might have turned into Malia.
The company we booked our package with no longer offers stays at the Vasia Beach Hotel. Judging from Vasia Beach’s website (http://www.vasiabeach.gr), the hotel has gone upmarket since we were there, and maybe they don’t want to be associated with package holidays anymore? It might be worth giving them a ring asking, although they are of course always keener for you to book with them directly! Booking the flight and hotel separately should be relatively easy though, so don’t let that put you off Síssi.
If you do go to Síssi, please let us know what you think of the place. As I said, I’d love to go back, so your view on Síssi would be of great help to me and many others I’m sure. Happy travels!
Response to Laura:
Hi Laura,
My husband & I have just booked the Vasis Beach from 3-17 Sep 08 through freedomdirect.co.uk with flights from London Gatwick on Easyjet & all inclusive in a Junior Suite for £1280. The website books everything for you & you have to pay for flights & about 20% of accommodation cost at time of booking.
Olympic Holidays used to do a package but not any longer.
The prices on the hotel’s website seem very expensive to what we paid & booking flights ourselves seperately would have been more expensive too.
I’ve read loads of reviews on tripadvisor, holidaywatchdog, realholidayreports etc, mainly very positive.
We are also going to book taxi transfers online & car parking, any more Qs or help email me at sharon.walmlsey[AT]btinternet.com.
Sharon :0)
Thanks for sharing Sharon, very useful information!
Note: Please note that Sharon’s recommendations above are her personal recommendations and should not be seen as endorsements by The Travel Cooler.
I would just like to compliment you on your fantastic photographs. You have captured Crete beautifully. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your article. I hope you do return someday and look forward to reading about your trip.
Thank you so much, Vanessa, for your kind comment!
The photographs are a treat indeed. I came back from Athens recently after a conference but couldn’t make it to Crete for want of time. Would love to visit Crete someday. Did you look for a history trail on the island, which enjoys some great links to antiquity ? I saw one fortress among the photos, maybe if you can date it it would be great. Did you visit Crete after 2008 ? An update with present-day photographs would be fabulous.
Thank you. I haven’t been back to Crete since, a case of too many places to visit not enough time.
The fortress you saw is the Fortezza of Rethymnon.
As for historic sites on Crete, have a look at this website: Archaeological Sites and Museums in Crete.
Finally, if it’s more recent photos of Crete you’re after, have a look on Flickr, you should find many photos of Crete by other travellers there.
I hope you get to visit Crete soon.