Crete

Planning a Mykonos trip when you’re nearly 30 means planning a long trip after to relax and recover on another island. Our group had been to Paros, Naxos, and some of the smaller ones in previous years, so we opted for the larger island of Crete. I will say, getting here (and leaving) was a bit of a hassle, but it was stunning and well worth it. I would highly recommend Crete. It's such a good mixture of relaxing, adventurous activities, and incredibly fresh food. The waters are truly neon on the west side of the island - the picture doesn't even do it justice.

Getting to Crete

We were in Mykonos for a few days before Crete, so we either had the option of a layover in Athens or the ferry. In 2020, our crew had boated around the Cyclades islands, and they were the roughest waters I’ve ever experienced, so we opted for the layover in Athens.

As far as where to fly into, I cannot stress enough to avoid Heraklion airport at all costs. Chania is where you’ll want to fly into regardless based on location, but if you see Heraklion airport as an option, this is your warning. I flew out of Heraklion because it was my only option without a layover back to Amsterdam and it was the biggest travel mistake. It was 170 euros for a car to take me the 2.5 hours to the airport, then the airport was a scene from the apocalypse. They apparently are 3 times over capacity at all times, so you could barely walk, let alone get food, go to the bathroom, or sit down. Every single flight on the board was delayed at least an hour. I spent 4 hours here and did shed tears it was so awful. There were not even toilet seats in the bathrooms or soap dispensers. This is my very long-winded way of saying, fly into and out of Chania.

Where to stay

So, my group is full of foodies, so we wanted to stay somewhere relatively central to the best concentration of food options, which from our research, was Chania. We had 5 people and were looking for a relaxing vacation, so we wanted a villa vibe with a pool. You have to rent a car if you visit Crete (which is why they are so expensive - everyone does it and it’s a must), so we knew we didn’t need to be right in the city of Chania. We ended up staying at this AirBnB which was incredible. The location was great, the home looks even better in person, and the host was genuinely the best AirBnB host I’ve ever had. Make sure your accommodation has air con because Crete is quite hot in the summer!

Things to do

This will definitely be the most important section. For big cities, it’s typically the restaurants. But this island has so much to see and is absolutely massive, so you have to strategically plan the activities you want to do and things you want to see because you can’t do it all in a few days.

• Balos Beach was truly one of the most stunning beaches I’ve ever seen. The water was bright turquiose, the most beautiful water in the world, with a big mountain backdrop. It honestly didn’t even look real. This beach is an absolute must see. We got here by boat, which I would recommend if you can swing a boat day. You can get here by car but the parking lot is on the top of the moutain so you have a 40 minute wallk down to get to the beach (and the inevitable painful 40 min hike back up at the end of the day). Definitely save a day to see Balos.

• Elafonissi Beach, known as the pink sand beach, got recommended to us equally as Balos, which I felt was interesting. I much preferred Balos personally, but I think it partially had to do with how painful the car ride was to get there (shoutout to my car sick girlies) on the most windy roads. And right when you walk down, there are SO many people. We panicked frankly when we walked up to it, but we grew to like it. It’s known for being a pink sand beach, but don’t expect a ton of color like the pictures you see online. There is pink sand, but its sparse so keep those hopes down. The water is truly stunning here and there are a bunch of areas to explore because the water is so shallow which was super nice. We ended up having a lovely day here, but I don’t think it would be the top of my list to go back to given the journey to get here and all the tourists. It is amazing water to hangout in since its super shallow, the perfect temperature, and no waves.

• We stumbled upon Paralia Macherida beach to get in a quick sunset swim on our first day and it felt like a private beach with stunning views, it was amazing. To our surprise, it was a nude beach so be prepared for that. It was super close to where we were staying, so was a great beach that wasn’t crowded.

• Samaria Gorge is on every list as a must-do in Crete. It looks absolutely stunning, but it was sadly the one thing on our list we didn’t get to. You have to drive about 1.5 hours from Chania to get to the start, then the hike is 6 hours at a ‘brisk’ pace, so we assumed about 8. Then you ferry back to your car and drive back home. We just frankly didn’t have the energy for that day given we had come from Mykonos and had activities and big drives all of the other days.

• Boat days are always the best days. It’s hard to not be your happiest self boating through the stunning mediterranean through Greek isles. We did a 4 hour boat and he took us to Balos beach and the island right across. We snorkeled the shipwreck which was really cool. This was definitely my favorite day (as always).

• Agia Triada Monastery winery was something we truly stumbled upon on our last day because we had some time to kill before our flights. The wines in Greece leave something to be desired in my opinion. I’m not the biggest fan, so I didn’t love the wines, but they were super unique which was cool for a tasting. We all really liked the experience and it was super close to where we already were, so I’d recommend if you want an activity a bit closer, but no need to go far out of your way for it.

• We didn’t explore this area, but on my drive to the Heraklion airport, I passed a few beaches that looked incredible with amazing views and basically no crowds. The names of the 2 places I saw where Salty Goat and Kantina Summer.

Restaurants

Greek food is one of my favorites. In Crete, you’ll find a ton of meat dishes, seafood, their version of a Greek salad, zucchini flowers, and taramas dip basically everywhere. It was glorious, we loved most of our meals here. Their dessert culture is a bit odd. They almost never have a dessert menu and typically serve a free dessert of fresh fruit, raki (tastes like vodka), and this interesting cake that isn’t sweet that tastes a bit like corn flakes.

• Thalassino Ageri: We ate here on our first night and it was our favorite meal. The seafood was incredible and so fresh. The calamari, whole sea bass, zucchini flowers, little fried shrimps, and mussels were some of our favorites, but everything was truly fantastic. We referenced this meal all trip.

• Something's Cooking Grill House: Our friends picked us up some kebab from here as an appetizer and it was incredible. The lamb / meat stick was insane. The best we had all trip. It did take a while for them to prepare, but I’d definitely return.

• To Maridaki: This meal was a yummy one, probably somewhere in the middle of the list for me. It was really good in isolation, but considering all the other incredible meals we had that were very similar, I probably wouldn’t recommend this one at the top. Everything was good, but it didn’t blow me away like some of the other spots. A solid choice.

• Gramboussa Restaurant: We stopped at this place on our drive home from the boat and it was such an experience. It looked like we were in the middle of a pumpkin patch. There was a local musician playing. We had over an hour wait, but you can get drinks and enjoy the pumpkin patch area (there is tons of seating to wait) and I think it was well worth it. This was probably my second favorite meal behind the spot we went to on the first night. Everything we ordered was fantastic and the ambiance was incredible for a Greek island vibe. I’d definitely recommend, just prepare to wait!

• Neratzoula: This one was conveniently on our way home from Elafonissi. It was good, but not my favorite. It was all meat and no fish, which was a nice change of pace, but I was missing the seafood after a beach day. The lamb was yummy and so was the salad. Everything was good, but I wouldn’t go back or go out of my way to go.

• [The place on Stavros Beach] This one was our most expensive meal and the worst whole fish we got. The taramas was really good here and so were the grilled sardines, but the whole large fish and calamari left something to be desired.

• Gelato & ice cream

  • Oh La La: The pistachio soft serve here was really yummy!

  • Authentico Ice Cream Shop: I had a few samples from here and genuinely didn’t like it. It was way too sweet.