I still read, rate and comment but rarely write on here.
I still read, rate and comment but rarely write on here.
Member since:26.04.2001
Reviews:115
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Introduction ~~ Having just got back from Crete I thought I perhaps should write an opinion on the Greek island that has something for everyone. Out of the 1,400 odd Greek islands Crete is the largest and the most popular place in Greece for tourists. And having now been there twice I can see why its so popular with English tourists…
Places to stay ~~ The main towns of Crete are on the North of the island and all of the main towns are on the coast and most hotels are in the towns or a few miles outside of them. I stayed very near Rethymno in the Rithyma Beach hotel which was part of the Grecotel chain. Though I won't go into detail about the hotel I'll stick to category - Crete in general! Places to stay in Crete vary quite widely and there are hotels to suit every budget. Though the overall cost of the holiday will be a bit more if you are going to Crete as its quite a lot further from England than what Spain is. Our flight to Crete took
about 3 ˝ hours. I said I would not go into much detail about hotels but if you are going to Crete I recommend you look at one of Grecotel's hotels. Grecotel are the biggest Greek hotel chain and they have lots of hotels in Crete, about 5 I think. Most of their hotels are 4* or 5*. Though I think a 5* hotel in Crete for example is the equivalent to a 4* in England.
Shopping! ~~ If the duty free at the airport isn't enough shopping for you then you might as well go bargain hunting in Crete. Near where I was staying there were lots of shops that called themselves supermarkets. These weren't supermarkets at all, I think the Greeks just think they can stick an English word on something and tourists will flock there. Anyway most of these supermarkets sell a wide variety of things including souvenirs, chocolate, soft drinks, cheap booze, cigarettes, English newspapers, English magazines, BB guns, lighters, bread, fruit, postcards and inflatables. These supermarkets seem to be everywhere in Crete and they are very cheap and you can also barter at them! In all of the supermarkets I went in the staff seemed very friendly and spoke good English. They often ask what your looking for when you walk in and if it's a gift ask how much you want to spend, etc. They also wrap things up free of charge, they often seem to wrap things up even when you don't ask. Which if your buying a gift saves you the hassle of wrapping it up when you get back home. Bargain buys in Crete are olive oil which they use ever such a lot of in there food and the high amount of olive oil they use supposedly explains why they live so long. Other bargain buys include booze, which is really cheap there. Especially the local stuff like Ouzo some weird spirit and Mythos a Greek lager which is really nice. Pottery and other hand-crafted items are also cheap in Crete though you'll have a job taking back some of the Greek pottery as there quite big and heavy.
Restaurants and bars ~~ Cretan food is supposed to be different to Greek food though as I haven't been to Greece I can't compare the two. We mainly ate in the hotel where the food was a mixture of Cretan, Greek, Italian and English food. But we did eat in traditional Cretan restaurants while we were there and I thought the food was similar to Italian. They eat a lot of fish, veal and lamb. A lot of the actual food is similar to what we get here but they make things differently for example I had lamb in a yoghurt source. Sounds a very weird combination but it did taste nice. Other food that's really good over there is Greek yoghurt, it tastes brilliant. Much better than Greek yoghurt here. Its probably the fresh ingredients and fresh cream that made it taste so good. Even though we stayed outside Rethymno there were lots of bars outside the hotel on the road to Rethymno. Beer and that is very cheap in bars in Crete and lots of bars give you free shots with your drink! They also are very relaxed over there about drink and let anyone drink.
Weather ~~ It is cooler in Crete than it is in mainland Greece, while I was in Crete it was about 30c - 35c. Whereas in Athens it was between 40c-45c. I think that it was cooler in Crete than in Greece because Crete is an island and we were on the coast. Obviously sun cream is a must in Crete.
The Airport ~~ All flights to Crete from England go to Heraklion. Out of all the airports I have ever been to Heraklion was the grottiest. The airport has low ceilings and although smoking is supposedly banned everyone smokes there. The air-conditioning is crap and on a hot day which is most days in Crete you boil. Heraklion has two duty free shops. One is just a newsagent sized shop selling fags and booze, the other a tiny crowded perfume/aftershave/fragrance shop. I know most holiday airports are not nice but Heraklion really is not a nice airport, so if your ever there have your fingers crossed for no delays!
Scenery and tourist spots ~~ Crete has some great scenery in the mountains and we were lucky to see some of the breathtaking scenery on the coach from the airport to the hotel. You can do tours and trips to the mountains but as it is so hot it is far nicer to be just by the pool or near the beach. Though if you are in Crete and there is a cooler day it is probably worth going up into the mountains to see the scenery. Knossos is a very popular place for tourists, it is where one of Earth's first civilisations was and there are lots of ruins there. If your going with Thompson's you can go on a coach trip to Knossos.
Overall ~~ The airport aside Crete is a fantastic island that is not just a Greek island but is Crete and has its own culture and identity. Most Cretan locals are very friendly and welcoming and are always very helpful in shops, restaurants and cafes. The beaches are very clean and the "Sea of Crete" is unpolluted and clean. If you are staying near Rethymno you will also see the endangered sea turtles. They are really cute little turtles, we saw some baby turtles that were tiny and some adults that were 1 metre in length! These turtles bred and lived on the beach that our hotel was on and often turtles would land on the beach. Luckily our hotel was very protective of the turtles and were taking lots of measures to help the turtles that are getting closer to extinction everyday. So overall I would say Crete is a good holiday destination and I'd reccomened it to other Ciaoers.
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Superb opinion! I went to Mali in April. I totally agree with you about Heraklion airport - I went in the quiet season and it was still extremely smoky and grotty, it must have been a nightmare peak season!
Howiemon 26.08.2001 14:34
Eugh, Heraklion airport - horrid. Spent 8 hrs there in a thunderstorm. Nicely written Jim.
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Advantages: Long sandy beach, village feel, friendly locals, good base to explore Disadvantages: Mosquitos can be a nuisance, maybe too quiet for teenagers
Sandroulla 28.04.2006 (28.04.2006)
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Review of Crete (Greece)
![Crete Greece [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/87607063.jpg "Crete Greece [DVD]")
Aug 24th, 2001
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