Tasmania Village, Elounda

...Crete and settled on the Tasmania Village as our choice of accommodation, which we booked through Kosmar as a package at just under £700 for 2 weeks during peak season.

The Location....

After landing in Heraklion we travelled by coach for approximately 2 hours travelling along the main coast road when we finally snaked over the precarious hill from Agios Nicholas down into the village of Elounda, past the village square ...
...road to Plaka where the Tasmania sits on a incline about 15 minutes walk from the town square, with a small jetty and beach just across the road, although if you can't bare to walk the local bus stops hourly directly outside running towards Elounda and Agios Nicolas (excellent on market day) or in the other direction to Plaka a small fishing village a few miles down the coast. Taxi's are also abundant in Elounda costing about 5 euros from the square ... more

The Choice...

My partner and I have been travelling to Greece for many years and spend cold winter evenings browsing brochures religiously for a new place to visit. On one particular evening we decided on the charming fishing village of Elounda in North Eastern Crete and settled on the Tasmania Village as our choice of accommodation, which we booked through Kosmar as a package at just under £700 for 2 weeks during peak season.

The Location....

After landing in Heraklion we travelled by coach for approximately 2 hours travelling along the main coast road when we finally snaked over the precarious hill from Agios Nicholas down into the village of Elounda, past the village square - which is lined with an array of tavernas, bars and shops and the harbour where fishing boats and caiques advertising trips to the nearby Island of Spinalonga bob side by side... we continued through the village onto the road to Plaka where the Tasmania sits on a incline about 15 minutes walk from the town square, with a small jetty and beach just across the road, although if you can't bare to walk the local bus stops hourly directly outside running towards Elounda and Agios Nicolas (excellent on market day) or in the other direction to Plaka a small fishing village a few miles down the coast. Taxi's are also abundant in Elounda costing about 5 euros from the square back to Tasmania Village

The Accommodation ......Hospitality Greek Style and More...

On arrival we were greeted by Maria and George and their three lively children (who we learned later into the holiday are excellent traditional Greek dancers!!) and invited for a drink at the pool bar which is allocated up a steep path above the accommodation, which consisted of approximately 30 self catering apartments and studios for 2-4 people.

The pool is of medium size with ample sunbeds and a section for children and boasts a snack bar with a wide and varied menu from traditional English breakfast, healthy Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts, burgers, omelettes, Greek salad and sandwiches.

We accepted a cold Mythos beer poured into a glass straight from the freezer (bliss) and relaxed after a tiring night flight and enjoyed the spectacular view over to the Island of Spinalonga, which is a former leper colony and provides an interesting trip for inquisitive tourists interested in this colony which housed lepers from all over Greece until the 1950s.

So far so good, now for the rooms. Our studio consisted of twin beds covered with crisp white cotton sheets , a small wardrobe - with never enough coat hangers!!!, 2 small towels each and a basically equipped 'kitchen' - a two burner hob, a few utensils, pots and pans but not really enough to create anything more than a cup of instant coffee and a quick sandwich... but no worries - I was more tempted by the selection of tavernas in the village offering a delicious selection of fare for all tastes. The bathroom was traditionally Greek - no shower curtain or tray just a drainage hole in the floor - nothing new. The maid visited daily to empty the dreaded bin in the bathroom - something you have to put up with in Greece - no toilet roll down the loo unless you want a nightmare!! and our sheets changed once a week. We had a large balcony overlooking the bay and again Spinalonga, excellent for watching the sun rise and set!!

The family were great - providing a traditional Greek bar-b-que once a week offering a feast of pork chops, salads, chicken, traditional salads and starters, tsatsiki, rice etc etc, a few games, endless wine and the Zorba - a good laugh after a few shots of complimentary Raki!!

Towards the end of a fantastic holiday the owner George took us out on his fishing boat and on our return his wife Maria lovingly cooked our catch of the day - quite an experirence all in all!!

Guests at the Tasmania Village consist of a high percentage of 'repeaters' - people who return year after year, so this gives a good indication as to how enjoyable a stay here is!! We returned the following year for two weeks.

If you are wondering about the strange choice of name for the property i'll let you into a secret - the Greek family owners returned to Crete from Tazmania where their parents had emigrated in the 1950s and built the property - naming it after the place which was once home - this would also explain why they were so good at 'barbies' !! and ice cold beers

Any downsides??

The location would make the Tasmania village unsuitable for those with walking difficulties, as the paths up to the accommodation and pool are quite steep. Although there is a childrens section to the pool I feel the Tasmania is more suitable for couples - the third bed is a simple camp bed - which would make the studios rather cramped, and the location would make this that little bit too far out of resort for anyone pushing children in a pushchair. Another point to note is that some of the rooms are built slightly lower than ground level - so I would recommend you request a high room although this, of course cannot be guaranteed.

We didn't return a third time as on our second visit the family where planning to build several more blocks of accommodation on the hillside above the pool - and we didn't think the pool would cope with the numbers - not that we ever used it that much.. but sometimes you have to search for another piece of holiday heaven.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this insight into the Tasmania Village.

If you like the sound of Elounda I hope to write a more detailed review soon...

 

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