Experience Crete island like a the local
To be honest, Grece was never the top destination on the list. It looked nice but that was it. Felt rather like a good option for retirement. 😁 But since in 2023 the Chania flight frequency was increased during the weekeds, we gave it a try. Initially, we went from Friday to Sunday but we ended up going there for 4 times in a row. Every time doing something different and discovering new places. I must say, it is not the most epical island in the world but it felt very confortable and hassle free to go there. On top of that, it has a bit of everything for everyone: beaches, hikes, food, wine, you name it. We met some locals along the way which not only made our experience amazing, but kept reccommending places to go to.
This being said, we would like to share all this stuff in the article below. Keep reading!
We will skip the part about times to go there and general info as the internet is full of that. However, considering the mediterranean climate and southern position, Crete has a great weather starting from end of March until end of October. For swimming though, it`s best to consider the shoulder season in September and October, when the water is still super warm.
Chania or Heraklion ?
These are the two main airports on the island. In our opinion, the region around Chania is better in terms of everything: beaches, mountains, restaurants. However, they are not that far from each other, about 2 h drive.
Getting around
You need to rent a car! We found this amazing small and local car rental company which made our life so much easier. They are called U DRIVE. What we loved about them was the fact that they are super relaxed, do not ask for any deposit, deliver the car at the airport and then they pick it up from the airport as well and ask for super decent prices. You can also purchase full insurance at a decent p
rice for your peace of mind. The cars are not very fancy but you don`t really need fancy cars here.
Best restaurants
Here is a list of restaurants reccommended by the locals, where locals eat, which we absolutely loved. Most of them are in Chania area. To be honest, there weren`t any bad restaurant in Crete, but these ones are the best.
- Gramboussa Restaurant – in Kissamos province
- Dihalo Restaurant ( Το Δίχαλο Χανιά ) – in Chania
- Anopoli Taverna – in Sfakia region / exact location here – this place belongs to a family and they have their own farm, providing fresh ingredients ( more about it later on )
- Tzaneris & Archontissa – in Chania area
Nice beaches
Most of the local people reccommended us Falassarna beach. This is located on the western side of the island, so plenty of sunset watching opportunities. There are many nice places to stay in this area, as well.
In the south west, you can see the famous Elafonissi beach, however this one is obviously super crowded. Further down, close to Elafonissi, there is Kedrodasos beach which is way quieter. However, bear in mind that this one is also famous for nudist people.
However, we really loved the area around Loutro and Hora Sfakion and all the beaches in between these places: Glyka Nera, Perivolakia and Timios Stavros beaches, Ilingas beach, etc. These are less crowded, generally rocky and a bit more wild. They can be accesed by a nice hiking trail along the sea shore.
Loutro village and the hike on the shore
This is, by far, our favorite village on the island. It is a fishing village, very secluded but with nice facilities. It is located on the southern shore of the island and you can get here by car + 20 minutes walking or by boat. From here, you can do the shore trek that we mentioned above. The nice thing about this trek is that combines walking and swimming. We went all the way to Hora Sfakion ( 20 km ) and we stopped at several beaches for a swim, but you can make it as long as you want.
Some nice places to stay
The one that we saved for ourselves is called Georgos house Taverna & Rooms and is very simple but exclusive, on Likos beach. We found it by mistake, when we visited Loutro for the first time. They have a website but you can also call them directly.
Another place that we liked was Diamond Star hotel in Falassarna beach.
Trekking
Did you know that this island has 2500 m mountains? And yes, you can hike them.
Cretan mountains are mainly grouped into three ranges: the Dikti range in Lassithi, the Ida (Psiloritis) range in central Crete and the White Mountains (Lefka Ori) in Chania. Here we are talking about the White Mountains and more specifically, Pachnes Peak, the highest mountain the this range, at 2452 m.
The shortest route is from the south. The full route from Anopolis village to the summit is 15.5 km. The ascent would take about 7-8 hrs and de descent about 5-6 hrs. However, this would most likely mean camping in the mountains, as there is no palce to stay over the night.
Alternatively, you can follow the easy ascent to Pachnes by driving along the 4×4 dirt road ( 21 km ) and get to Rousies. From there, follow the yellow/white markings to the top ( 1.5 hrs ).
The nice thing is that we found a family who owns a taverna and has a bussiness in Anopolis village. They provide accommodation, fresh food from their farm ( which is delicious!! ), bike rental and 4×4 pick up and drop off to the mountains. They are called Anopoli Rooms and Anopoli Taverna. They can be found here, on Google Maps or alternatively you can call them directly on +302825091171 or e-mail them at info@anopolirooms.gr .
We chose to go by car at 9 am, drove about 1 hr and then we climbed to the top ( 1.5 hrs ). After that, we did the full decent on foot, which took us about 6 hrs.
Wine tasting
This is another thing to do, especially if you go off season. We found a really nice wineyard close to Heraklion. It is called Lyrarakis Winery and they are famous in the region for saving form extinction some Cretan grapes. The white wines are all pretty nice and from the red ones we highly reccommed Mandalari.
We went there offseason, in October, and we just walked in, without any booking. We only did the wine tasting tour but they also offer wineyard visits and other stuff.
Other places to visit
- Chania town
- Sisi fishing village
- Hora Sfakion
- Livaniana remote village
- Sfakia region and the mountain road in between Vryses and Chora Sfakion ( quite scenic )
- Balos lagoon ( we haven`t been there but we just saw it from the plane and heard it is nice )
- Rethymno town
Where to buy local products
Greece is famous for its great food but the food in Chania is really special. We found some amazing olive oil and natural honey, as well as great tea and spices. The best place for all of these is Sfakia region.
If you go on the road from Vryses to Hora Sfakion, you will cross the mountains and find different villages along the route. There are many small shops or local tavernas that sell fresh olive oil and honey. This is, by far, the best place to buy things.
One place that we particularly loved was Anopoli Taverna ( the place we stayed at ). We bought amazing olive oil ( which they sell by kilo ) and super good and natural honey, as well as dried oregano. We will definitely come back for more!
There is also the mountain tea that they sell everywhere in this region. We found it everywhere, including in shops in Hora Sfakion.
Additionally, we bought good olive oil from Lyrarakis winery.
Next, feel inspired by our photo gallery. Hope you`ll enjoy!
