Archanes
We flew into Crete’s biggest city, Heraklion, in mid-April and took a taxi to our first destination, Archanes, a charming village 16 km south of the airport. We wanted to start our holiday in a relatively small and quiet place where we could relax in an apartment, recover from jet lag and gradually adjust to the island rhythm. Archanes more than lived up to expectations, and proved to be the perfect spot to kick off our holiday.
We spent much of our time wandering the village streets lined with colourful traditional buildings and neoclassic-style mansions, many of which have been carefully restored, and viewing dozens of wall murals and street paintings by local artists. We found plenty of cafes and tavernas, many located either around or near the main square, as well as some shops, a couple of bakeries, an archaeological museum and several churches. The village landscape is dominated by Mount Giouchtas; though we didn’t climb the peak, we did take long treks past forests, olive groves and vineyards on the gently rolling hills to the south of the village. Another natural attraction we had fun exploring is the lush gorge north of Archanes, where we carefully walked across a remarkable Venetian-era monument, the Morosini aqueduct.
Agia Galini
Our second stop was Agia Galini, a southern coast village we reached via private transfer from Archanes. The picturesque settlement is built amphitheatrically on hillsides that descend to a fishing boat harbour and port, from which a coastal walkway leads to the local beach. We passed our four days in Agia Galini doing a lot of walking: in and around the village; along the coast path, beachfront and a separate paved trail on the seaside east of the beach; up a mountain; and along numerous roads that wind through the countryside.
There weren’t many tourists in the area yet, so Agia Galini and the beach were both very quiet, and we rarely encountered any people or vehicles while walking beyond the village (though we did watch a herd of sheep briefly create gridlock on a road passing by a farm). After dark, one village street lined with bars and restaurants was lively with tourists out for dinner an d evening drinks, but away from that strip many businesses, as well as hotels and other accommodations, were completely dark — they had not yet opened for the tourist season. For us, the peacefulness was ideal — there were more than enough places where we could stop for coffee or enjoy a meal, and we didn’t need anything more.
Plakias
From Agia Galini we took a taxi to Plakias, where we spent six carefree days surrounded by breathtaking natural scenery — a row of hills and mountains that sloped to a long, curved sandy beach and vivid turquoise water. Our agenda included plenty of relaxing between long walks and hill climbing. We strode the length of the 1.3-km sandy Plakias beach several times, and took numerous day and night strolls along the paved beachside walkway that extends even farther — to Sto Limani beach on the west side of the village. We climbed to nearby traditional mountain villages of Myrthios and Sellia, trekked to a few of the area’s stunning beaches, including Foteinari, Souda, Damnoni and the Karavos inlet (often referred to as Kalypso beach), and wandered paths and roads in the countryside. There were plenty more places and sights we could have explored, but the sun and heat kept us from undertaking some of the extended hikes we had been hoping to do, while the area’s notorious strong winds blew away plans for a couple of boat tours we had been considering. Plakias is on our list for a return trip, and we’re glad there will be so many things waiting for us to experience that we couldn’t see or do on this first-time visit.
Rethymno
Our next base was on the north coast of Crete at Rethymno, the island’s third biggest city. We had booked a 6-night stay in an apartment just two blocks from the city’s vast sandy beach, and within 15 minutes’ walking distance of its historic old town and harbour.
As our taxi drove into the city, we were surprised by the number of people everywhere. In sharp contrast to the serenity and crowd-free open space of our three previous destinations, Rethymno was absolutely buzzing with activity. Streets were teeming with tourists and residents, roads were heaving with cars, trucks and buses. We knew it would be the busiest base of our holiday, but I suppose we just weren’t ready for the culture shock of a city environment after 18 days of exceptionally quiet village life. In Archanes, Agia Galini and Plakias, there had been barely any traffic to worry about. It was a completely different story in Rethymo, where it took us the full first day to get accustomed to dodging vehicles and hordes of pedestrians on our way to and from the old town.
Once we had adapted to the urban vibe and pace, we had fun exploring some of the city’s top attractions — the lanes and streets in the old town district; the historic harbour with its waters-edge cafes and its nearly 200-year-old Egyptian lighthouse; the massive 16th Century Fortezza Fortress; and the long sandy beach that seems to go on forever. A drastic change in weather brought cooler temperatures, heavy downpours, scattered showers, and overcast skies for several days, but the rain didn’t put a damper on our Rethymno visit and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.
Almyrida
Destination number five was Almyrida, a popular tourist beach resort in the Apokoronas district southeast of Chania, Crete’s second largest city. We had scheduled 10 days for this leg of our journey so we could see some of the many traditional villages in the vicinity, and have the chance to take a bus to and from Chania if we needed a change of scenery (we didn’t; we have been to Chania before, and once we realized how much there was to see in Apokoronas, we decided to spend our entire time there).
Though it is clearly been geared to tourism, with more of a purpose-built resort feel than a working Cretan village look and vibe, Almyrida was enjoyable. With a variety of beaches along its seafront — some sandy, some a mix of sand and pebbles, and one a strand of pebbles and stones — Almyrida gave us ample opportunity for sunbathing and seaside relaxation when we weren’t busy trekking through the countryside. Which is what we did most of our time, until high temperatures forced us to shorten hikes and cancel plans for others we had hoped to undertake. Still, we made it to Kalyves, Plaka. Gavalochori, Aspro, Kokkino Chorio, Armenoi and Neo Chorio, leaving other villages to get acquainted with in future.
Besides heat that made extended walks inadvisable, another weather phenomenon significantly impacted our time in Apokoronas. For seven days, the sky was filled with dust that had blown across the Mediterranean from the Sahara desert. With no strong winds to carry the dust away, and barely even a breeze some days, the sky remained hazy and dull most of the time, even obscuring views of the mountain range south of Apokoronas. Some days were a little brighter than others, but the haze simply refused to clear. On the day we planned to walk a circular village route that a local resident had recommended for us in the Kalyves area, the sky turned a dreary dark gray and the air became difficult to breathe. It wasn’t pleasant conditions for walking, and definitely not for photography, so we cut the trek short and took taxi back to our hotel. As our luck would have it, winds picked up on our final day at Almyrida, and on our departure day the sky was gloriously blue and clear.
Kalathas
Our final destination on Crete was Kalathas, a beach area on the Akrotiri Peninsula northeast of Chania. We chose Kalathas so we could end our island holiday at a beautiful seaside spot while staying within a short ride of Chania airport for our flight back to Athens. I began to worry I had made a seriously bad location choice when our taxi driver wondered why we had picked Kalathas (besides a beach, there isn’t much there, she said, asking if it was too late to change our plans and stay in Almyrida). I grew more concerned at check-in when the hotel receptionist seemed surprised that we didn’t have a rental car. There is only limited bus service in the area, she explained, adding that taxis to Chania or other places would be expensive. But we knew we would be fine getting around on foot, since we’d be there only four days.
Kalathas isn’t much of a village — it’s mainly houses, apartments, a few hotels and luxury apartment rentals, with no shops and no restaurants apart from two tavernas by the beach. But we were able to walk to Chorafakia village about 2 km away, and to the nearby town of Kounoupidiana. The drawback was that getting to both required walking along a road that was extremely busy with vehicles, didn’t have sidewalks, and had several sharp, blind curves with practically no shoulder space for us to stay out of the way of oncoming traffic. It certainly gave us a few hair-raising, white knuckle moments as we worried we might get clipped by a passing car.
From Chorafakia, however, the roadside walking was easier and safe, and we enjoyed worry-free walks to three gorgeous beaches. One was Tersanas, a small sandy beach in a pretty bay below Chorafakia, while the other two were at Stavros, a village made famous as the filming location of a beach dancing scene in the 1964 Anthony Quinn movie “Zorba the Greek.” The staff at our hotel were amazed to hear we made it to the beaches, and even more incredulous that we also hiked to and from the beautiful Agia Triada Monastery, which they had insisted was too far to reach on foot.
Artemida
After arriving from Crete at Athens International Airport, we taxied to an apartment we had booked for three nights at Artemida, a coastal suburb of Athens in east Attica. It’s a popular overnight stop for travellers who prefer to stay in a beach area close to the airport, rather than in the city center, at either the start or the end of a holiday in Greece. We found a good selection of shops, tavernas and restaurants there, but the seafront and beaches are truly Artemida’s signature feature. The long sandy coastline includes sections organized with loungers, umbrellas, bars & clubs; parks with shade trees and benches; and wide stretches of open space for those who wish to lay a towel on the sand away from the sunbed areas. There also are a few excellent tavernas that offer seating right on the sand, and many casual restaurants and bars on a main road near the beach.
Nea Makri
On June 2, we relocated north to Nea Makri, another Athens beach suburb in Attica that we have enjoyed staying in at the conclusion of three previous Greek holidays. Like Artemida, it’s close to the airport but boasts a beautiful seaside with a pedestrian promenade that extends all the way to Marathon. The coast features lovely parks, sandy beaches (with a few areas organized with loungers, umbrellas and bars), fish tavernas, restaurants and cafes, and even an historic site — the Sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods. A strip of cafes, bars and restaurants sits directly opposite the Nea Makri harbour, and is a bustling hive of activity at night and especially on weekends. Nea Makri has become our favourite place to stay in Attica, and we look forward to wrapping up our Greek holidays with a few days there to enjoy the restaurants and the fabulous seafront.
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