Now’s still summer and we continue to fight the incredible heat, but maybe it’s time start considering your choices for the Christmas holiday. Have you made your plans? Well hurry up, because people are already making their reservations.
One of the recommendations I will have for you is to consider spending the holidays in Crete. It’s [...]
Crete Travel Guide
Your Guide to One of Europe’s Finest Vacation Spots
Tour of the Town of Rethymno
Rethymno consists of two parts, the old and the new, the latter being an extension of the former towards the south. Since 1970, the town ...
Why Spend Your Holidays In Crete?
I like to travel. Visiting new places, learning about them and meeting new people is my passion. My last trip was in Crete, Europe’s southernmost point and also the best place to meet people from all over the world.
Every new place you visit leaves you with a powerful impression, but what I experienced in Crete made me not want to leave the island for the foreseeable future. Already I’m considering moving there, but that’s a whole other story…
Crete is Greece’s biggest island. Equidistant as it is from Asia, Africa and Europe, it developed into a kind of bridge at the crossroads where the three continents meet. It constitutes a geographical, historical and cultural entity of its own, with considerable originality, especially where the folk culture is concerned.
No wonder, Crete has sometimes been described as a separate continent.
What I’ve learned traveling is that it takes two or more trips to one place to really discover the land, to really get in touch with its culture. Even with a two week trip, with new adventures every day, there’s still not enough time to do everything there is to be done.
And it’s always a great idea to learn a few things about the place you’re going to visit before the trip. This way, when you are there you’re no longer at a loss and you actually start to see how each piece fits in the huge cultural puzzle.
Don’t worry that you’ll spoil the surprise by learning a few things in advance. In Crete, you’ll run into lots of unexpected and beautiful things.
That’s actually the purpose of this site. I want to offer you some bits of information that will help you enjoy your trip to Crete at its fullest.
Recent Posts
Five Reasons to Spend Your Christmas Holidays in Crete
Tour of the Town of Rethymno
Rethymno consists of two parts, the old and the new, the latter being an extension of the former towards the south. Since 1970, the town has also spread along the coast to the east, in the direction of the village Perivolia.
The town is carefully laid out, with multistory buildings and an adequate number of parks, [...]
Tour of the city of Herakleio
Although Herakleio has been destroyed and then rebuilt many times in the course of its history, it still has a good number of monuments and sights which are worth seeing.
It consists of the Old Town, enclosed by the Venetian walls, and the New Town which has spread outside of these. The walls form a triangle [...]
Tour of the Town of Chania
Chania consists of the Old and the New Towns, which blend into a harmonious whole. The Old Town is the historic centre of the city, and all its building are scheduled for preservation.
There are five quarters, without any distinct dividing lines between them: Top Hana (or Topanas), Ovriaki, Syntrivani, Splantza (Plaza) and Kastelli. Narrow alleyways [...]
The Terrain and Natural Environment of Crete
Crete is the largest island in Greece, accounting for the fact the Greeks often refer to it as Megalonisos, the ‘big island’. Its area o 8261 square kilometers also makes it the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean.
Crete lies in the south of the Aegean Sea, in the centre of the East Mediterranean basin, at [...]
Rethymno – Vrysinas – Amari valley – Ayia Galini – Spili
For this route, we head out of Rethymno the direction of Herakleio. When we reach the village of Perivolia, we bear right for Amari.
The main road winds up into the mountains, through Prases (a charming village with many Venetian houses), Potami with its fertile fields, Apostoli and Ayia Foteini.
From here, a turning to the left [...]
Rethymno – Perama – Anoyeia – the Idaean Cave – the Melidoni Cave
Now we must take the old main road in the direction of Herakleio. First, we come to Perama, chief town of the sub prefecture of Mylopotamos.
Here we can turn south to visit Margarites, the village where the famous storage jars are made in the ancient style, and Eleftherna, which occupies the site of an ancient [...]
Rethymno – Kourtaliotiko Gorge – Preveli Monastery – Damioni – Plakias -Myrthios – Rodakino – Kotsyfou Gorge
We complete our tour of the western part of the Prefecture of Rethymno by leaving the town in a southerly direction, towards the hinterland.
After driving through olives groves and oak forests we reach Armeni, at an altitude of 380m. In the vicinity, 167 shaft tombs hewn out of the rock have been found.
After 19km we [...]
Rethymno – Asi Gonia – Myriokefala
From Rethymno, We take the old main (‘national’) road towards Chania, coming to the village of Atsitopoulo and then to Prines, with an interesting church of St. Nicholas.
After 16 km. along the road we can turn left to visit the village of Ayios Konstantinos, with attractive villas and mansions which have been the summer residence [...]
Rethymno – Arkadi Monastery
Among the important sites near Rethymno is the Arkadi Monastery, a sacred symbol of liberty. It Stands 22 km. along the road from Rethymno to Herakleio, on the edge of a fertile plateau, with a view to the hills behind and down the sea.
The inaccessibility of the site on which the monastery stands combined with [...]