Crete Holidays
Compare Holidays, Hotels, Flights and Late Deals to Crete
Holidays in Crete - What We Know
The beautiful, the wonderful, the magical Crete an island just to the south of Greece has been attracting travellers for centuries to discover it’s mix of modern and ancient life. Crete is located in the south of the Aegean Sea. The island is separated into four regions: Chania, Heraklion, Lassithi and Rethymno. It’s not possible to explore the whole island when on holidays to Crete unless you have a large chunk of time, definitely more than a week is required for full exploration.
The island has so much to offer; whitewashed towns, picturesque villages and harbours, excellent food, beaches, rocky coves beautiful coastline and a plethora of ancient ruins and monuments. The island has a long and illustrious history and is the home of the ancient Minoan Civilisation and the ruins of Knossos.
With the fantastic beaches that surround the island it’s easy to forget about the huge amount of history that Crete holds and just find yourself relaxing and lazing about enjoying your holiday in the sun. If you do get bored of eating great food, drinking sensational drinks, swimming in the warm Aegean Sea, exploring the marine life... (hmm is it possible?) then there are plenty of other activities to keep you entertained so that your time spent on holiday in Crete will be enjoyable.
Crete – The Adventures To Be Had
As mentioned above it’s not all just about the lush beaches of Crete there is so much more for the adventurer! There are so many historical attractions that will blow your mind and it’s hard to believe they happened all in this relatively tiny part of the world. Let’s take a look at some of the whimsical and exciting areas to explore.
Just for starters there is the Knossos which was probably the ceremonial and political centre of the ancient Minoan civilization. Wow, that’s almost worth getting out of the sun chair for! But if you’re just not that into history there is the breathtaking Samaria Gorge where you can do a long bush walk that takes around 5-6 hours where you can appreciate the scenery that has made Crete such a popular holiday destination.
Or maybe you’d prefer to some city hopping and visit the port town of Heraklion which is the largest town on the island of Crete or over to Chania with its eclectic mix of markets selling everything you could ever want. Driving around the island is a great way to explore and see everything but watch out if you are taking a scooter to get there, the olives that drop onto the road can be awfully slippery.
Crete – The Food And Nightlife
As you may imagine, olives and seafood are in abundance on the island of Crete and according to Trip Advisor, the best restaurant on the island of Crete is Ferryman Taverna which is described as a family-friendly and romantic restaurant with an idyllic setting along the waterfront in Elounda. The Greeks value good food and it shows in their preparation, execution and service. A holiday in Crete would not be complete without a traditional Cretian Meze, including dishes such as Oktapodi, Marides, Loukanika and Gigantes. The island has its own vineyards and much of the food is locally produced. The Cretians produce a spirit from the grape skins left over from the production of wine. This fire-water is called raki in Greece and in Crete it is called tsíkoudia.
I hate seafood and olives I hear you crying. Well don’t worry because Crete has cows, chickens and vegetables too that you can get stuck into if that is the cuisine you prefer. Or maybe you don’t like food and prefer liquids? The good news is that Crete has a nightlife that is vibrant and exciting. If you are looking to go out then you have a range of choices. One of them being a club on a pirate ship, where you can run up and down the ship all night long with your goblet of lager and pretend that you are Captain Hook!
If this is too terrifying for you to be stuck on a pirate ship all night there are other bars located on roof tops or in cafes, or on balconies, in lounges and sprinkled all around the island of Crete for you to discover on your holiday.
Weather and Climate
The island has one of the longest summers in all of Europe which lasts from April until October. But in reality, it is a great destination all year round. You’ll never experience lower than 18 degrees and usually it’s about 9-13 hours of sunshine per day.
Keep in mind though that the cooler more mountainous regions in Crete actually receive snowfall during the winter (very high elevation).
Crete Holidays are a great way to spend your time and money. So make sure you visit Crete and check out what true pleasure is all about.
