Sitia: Discover the authentic Crete is a film released this past summer as part of a promotional campaign for the Municipality of Sitia. It highlights some of the spectacular scenery, charming villages, attractions and activities available in the Sitia region … 

… while this humorous follow-up video,  Sitia: So hard to say goodbye!, suggests visitors will love Sitia so much, they won’t want to leave.

Summer dreams: It’s just two days until Christmas and only the beginning of winter, but this week I have been preoccupied thinking about summer and our next trip to Greece.  We haven’t decided on any destinations yet, but I’ve been scouring websites and watching videos to get inspiration and ideas.

Today’s Internet surfing steered me to websites and videos about Sitia, a fairly modern town in the Lasithi area of eastern Crete.  I’ve heard of it but until today knew next to nothing about it.

My curiosity in the town and its surrounding area was piqued when I learned, on visitsitia.gr, that “Sitia’s hot and dry climate, with 300 days of sunshine annually, mild winters, cool summers and an average temperature of 20,76 C, is the ideal year-round vacation destination.” 

I grew more interested when I read, on the Sitia page from cretetravel.com, that the town is “one of the least ‘touristy’ parts of Crete,” while the Sitia region in general is “uncrowded” and “ideal for exploration.”

And the photos and travel information summaries on the Sitia page of the We Love Crete website made the place look and sound even more appealing, particularly with comments that the town is charming and spotless, has “a wonderful feel,” and offers “lots to see.”

Then I found three videos that really captured my attention and interest.

The two I posted above are promotional films for Sitia, with superb video showing some of the area’s beautiful natural scenery and attractions, as well as vacation activities visitors can enjoy –from shopping and dining to water sports, cycling and rock climbing, to nightlife and more.

The third, which I’ve posted below, is a nearly 9-minute-long film published last month by tripment.net, a travel blog based on short documentaries from destinations around the world. Entitled Ταξίδι στη Σητεία – Κρήτη (Travel to Sitia – Crete), the video shows scores of places visited on a road trip to Sitia and places within short driving distance. The narration accompanying the video is entirely in Greek, but even if you don’t understand a thing the narrator is saying (which was the case for me), you’ll still enjoy the beautiful sights and scenery.

Take a short roadtrip to Sitia and it surrounding area in Ταξίδι στη Σητεία – Κρήτη (Travel to Sitia – Crete)