Prefecture of Heraklion Travel Forum

I am planning an 8 day vacation in Greece that breaks down like this:

4 nights in Crete
2 night in Santorini (Fira)
3 nights in Athens

I am travelling by plane to and from Athens, and by ferry between Crete & Santorini. That's all figured out. I'm just not sure about what to do in Crete. I don't want to rent a car, but I do want to be able to do things, like go to Knossos, Samaria Gorge, etc.

I'm torn as to whether to stay in Heraklion or Rethymnon. Or maybe both. I've read Rethymnon is prettier but Heraklion might be more convenient. I want to keep it simple. Can anyone make recommendations? Please be specific. I'm looking for hotels between 50 and 100 euros.

I should also mention that this is a honeymoon. I am NOT interested in doing any stereotypical resort crap for my honeymoon (I can sit around and do nothing at home!) but I would like to stay somewhere that is good for a couple.

Any thoughts?

Crete a big island, definitely better to rent a car especially if you plan to travel around. Knossos is near Heraklion but Samaria Gorge is closer to Rethymnon. We took a ferry too from Santorini to Crete and the port is in Heraklion which is more like a city and not very pretty.

Would be better to stay in Rethymnon or even Chania, both have charming ancient port-city feel. Please see my travel page for Chania where I stayed.

For beaches, they are found in Agioss Nikolaos (east side), Preveli (south of Rethymnon or beyond Chania (west side).

Travelling around Crete - in many ways you'll see more not hiring a car. We usually travel around on the KTEL bus network:

http://www.bus-service-crete-ktel.com/

Heraklion- I have grown to love it, but most visitors to Crete go once, hate it (it is very noisy and ramshackle on first acquintance) and don't go back. If you go to Knossos you should also go to the archaeological museum as it puts the placae in context and the frescoes and artefacts are exquisite. Even out of season - and i'm not sure when you are going - both get VERY croweded. You could go late (in the last hour and half) to the museum, stay overnight in Heraklion and go to Knossos very early. I've done that, and both experiences were heavenly; i've gone at other times and the experiences were hell.

Rethymnon old town is very very pretty but avoid the sprawling touristy resort around it. Unfortunately, a lot of the north coast of Crete has got very developed but it is still a magical island to visit if you find your way to the right places for you. For me personally, some of the mountain villages are particlarly special and unique and there are some lovely beaches on the south of the island. It is difficult to be spoecific when it is such a big and varied island and I am not sure what would appeal to you personally. But because I can relate to not wanting to <sit around and do nothing> (though I am particularly good at this at home) you might find my Crete page and separate Rethymnon page of help. I've got very spewcific hotel and rooms recs - though I tend to stay in very simple (up to 30 or 35 euro places). Also have a look at lots of other VT pages on the island- there are so many excellent ones out there. And the tips usually make specific recommendations.

Four nights is very little time for Crete, so concentrate on a small area rather than trying to see a lot of it. Rethymnon is a MUCH better city than Heraklion, by a long shot. Unfortunately Knossos is close to Heraklion, but quite a distance from Heraklion. If you want to avoid resort areas, you need to get away from the north coast because it is almost an uninterrupted string of overcrowded resorts, especially near the major cities. My travel pages contain loads of information about good places to visit. As for renting a car, I highly recommend doing it. It's by far the easiest way to see the island. The bus service is extensive and reliable, but then you can't stop when you see something that looks interesting (and there's lots of it) and you're stuck on someone else's schedule.

Visit some monasteries. Go to some villages; for instance; Spili, Panormos and of course the town of Hania.

I would suggest to look for an accomodation in Rethimnon. This is a beautiful town.

Oops, I meant that Knossos is close to Heraklion but quite a distance from Rethymnon.

Thanks everybody. Don't worry, AcornMan, I figured that out :) I found all your guide pages useful, and am going to look into the Makri Steno place Acorn recommended - it looks like my style.

I am going the end of May, btw.

My suggestion: Take the ferry from Santorini to Heraklion. Take the time to see Knossos & the Mioan museum....eat one meal by the Fountain of Lions downtown...it's quite nice. 1 day.

Then head to Chania: the Venetian harbor is increadible! Spend a day just wandering around the town. From there it's a short bus ride to Samaria for a morning hike & afternoon swim in the ocean there. That will be another full day plus you can spend another great night in Chania. Balos or Elafonisi are also a bus trip away for a day at a beautiful unique beach. That would be 4 great days on Crete.

From Chania you can catch a flight back to Athens for your departure. I used Olympic airlines & it was very reasonable.