A Week in Crete, Greece

A week in Crete – is it the magical wonderland everyone says it is? I think its close; Crete has earned its utopian reputation, for sure. The sunshine, impossibly blue water, fresh olive oil, vegetables, and fruits, roaming goats and cats; all of this is real, for sure. Add on the local wines, live music and dancing, and beautiful beaches and Crete is easy to fall in love with. One complaint? The island is way too big to scratch the surface of it in a week.

Chania

Wandering through the winding streets of Chania is scenic and enchanting. But also hot, so a cool drink or some ice cream is highly recommended. We made sure to bring some cat treats, which was greatly appreciated by our four-legged acquaintances.

The primary sites are the old Venetian fortress, the port, the Küçük Hasan Mosque, and the lighthouse. We took a hot and sunny walk to see them, and followed this up with some shopping in the small boutiques.

Agia Marina & Around

We explored throughout Agia Marina, our home base, as well as the other villages nearby, and also ate at some really wonderful restaurants. As we were up in the hilly/mountainous area, these villages felt more remote and secluded versus the beachfront. I went running in both, the mountainous area was pretty tough, but along the sea, even though it was beautiful, was often smoggy, and with quite a bit of traffic. Overall it was more relaxing to be up in the mountains.

Restaurants we tried:

• Mylos tou Kerata: one of the most beautiful restaurants, its as if you are eating inside an enchanted garden
• Mitsos Seaside Restaurant Bar: this was my favorite meal, and my favorite sunset. We got to enjoy the golden hour along the beach while we ate
• Pinakoti: in the tiny village near our rental, we headed to this restaurant. And lucky us, there was dancing and music. What an experience
• Horiatiko: this was a bustling and popular spot, up in the hills of Agia Marina, with a huge outdoor area, including a playground. I liked this area a lot, it was its own little village that I went running through a bunch, and there were the most adorable kittens, too

At Our Rentals

For the majority of our trip we stayed as a big group in a dazzling mountainside villa with a view of the sea. It felt like we were living in a magazine.

We also spent a few nights at the beginning and end of the trip closer to the airport, around Stavros. I know what you’re thinking, that near the airport cannot be very nice, but the area was so unspoiled and our rentals were wonderful, clean, and beautiful. Plus cats, which, for us, is always a big thumbs up.

A Day of Snorkeling & Boating

What a day! We rented with Seaze the Day boat rentals, and rode this gorgeous boat out of Chania, towards Menies Beach, into some caves, around a peninsula, to Gramousa Beach and also Balos Beach. We snorkeled, ate, relaxed, and applied copious sunscreen.

There was a good array of sea life and the water was so warm and inviting.

On the Road to Elafonissi Beach – Topolia Gorge Area

The drive from Agia Marina to Elafonissi Beach is over an hour, but luckily its also a really varied landscape, so there’s a lot to look at. Goats everywhere, views of the gorges as you drive, and little viewing and rest areas selling local honey, olive oil, whatever you might want. There’s also an apparently famous olive tree, the Ancient Olive Tree of Vouves, the oldest recorded olive tree in the world, proclaimed as a natural monument. Its age is estimated between 3000 and 5000 years.

Elafonissi Beach

I had heard so much about Elafonissi Beach that we just had to check it out. And it really was stunning. Calm, turquoise waters, rocky outcrops, and pink swirly sand. It is definitely not hidden, there were lots of people, but it was so large that the beach didn’t feel crowded.