Crete is an island you can drive through in a couple of days. However, on every side
of the island there is something so interesting, that you cannot have just one day to
see it. That is why we have prepared a couple of trips with romantic sleeping on the
beach and discovering the most beautiful places. On this website, you will find all
the important information needed to organize the trips.
Western Crete
We are going to start from the town of Chania which
you can reach by plane from home (or Poland) or by bus from Heraklion for about 13 euros.
It is best to rent a car here but if you prefer public transport, you can go from Chania
to Elafonissi,
Falasarna, , Falasarna and even Balos, but here you will need to travel by boat for
some part of the journey. Current timetables can be found herebut it is more convenient to rent a car, then you have
the freedom to choose where to stop for food and where you can take pictures of
mountain view. If there are more people traveling, it is cheaper to rent a car.
1st day
We will spend the first day sightseeing around Chania, which can take up the whole
day, but if you arrive before noon, you can manage it in a couple of hours. We will
leave Chania in the evening hours but before sunset. Before our departure, we will
need to buy some food, probably from the local Carrefour (Μαρινόπουλος), which you
can find on the
map Carrefour in Greece, if you type ΧΑΝΙΩΝ in the first window, XANIA in the
second one and in the last one choose the option "Όλα τα καταστήματα".
After shopping we will carry on to the beach Falasarna, where it is prohibited to
sleep over but we have a great romantic
spot on the beach nearby to spend the night. You can have a BBQ between the
rocks and then fall asleep under the sky.
2nd day
After waking up we can go across to the Falasarna beach which has been awarded
the blue flag, take a dip in the sea and continue to the famous pink beach
Elafonissi.If you get hungry on the way,
you can stop in the mountain tavern on
the road. We will spend the rest of the day on Elafonissi and as it is not
allowed to camp there, we will return to the same place near Falasarna in the
evening and spend the night there.
3rd day
The last day of our trip will be the most adventurous. Right at dawn we
will head off to Balos beach, which has
quite a long road leading to it. This beach is quite expensive so it is better
to buy some food and drinks beforehand. After arrival we will spend the whole
day here and in the evening, return back to our usual spot. If we are returning
to the east or to the centre of the island, we can also stop for some refreshments
and swimming in thelake Kournas.
Eastern Crete
The eastern part of Crete is least famous, therefore, the public transport is
the worst. If you want to visit this part of Crete, it is inevitable to rent a car.
The best place to do this is in Heraklion, if you don’t happen to go through this
town, you can find some good car rentalns in Hersonissos or Agios Nikolaos.
1st day
The most suitable first stop in eastern Crete is
Lasithi Plateau, which is a huge plateau, which is full of original windmills and
surrounded by gigantic Cretan mountains. In the vicinity of this plateau you can spend
a pleasant morning and have a nice lunch in one of the nearby village taverns.
After lunch, we can continue back to the main road from Heraklion to the east and
keep on going to Vai, which is our goal. We won’t
reach it today, so we will buy some food for a BBQ and find a spot to sleep over on
the nearby beach.
2nd day
We will wake up with the sun, as the sunrise is really something to see. As its
rises quite early in the morning, we will go and find a place to sleep a little longer
on the beach Vai, which we didn’t visit yesterday and we will spend the rest of the day
there. In the evening, we will pack our things and head off to
Agios Nikolaos, where we will have a nice romantic evening. It is better to save
some money for this evening as the port is quite expensive and the best way to spend
your time there is with a bottle of good wine.
Southern Crete
The south of Crete is a very mountainous and not very densely populated area.
Nevertheless, there are many interesting places to see here. You will definitely
need a car here as the bus connections are poor. We start our trip on
Matalawhere there are not many car rentals,
so it is better to rent a car in Heraklion or in a bigger town than Matala.
1st day
We will spend the first day exploring the town of Matala and sun bathing on the
beach, which is right in the center. In the evening (about two hours before sunset)
we will load the supplies, which are best to buy in the supermarket with parking in
Matala, so we won’t need to delay the purchase for later and we can head towards the
sand dune on the beach Agios Pavlos that you
will enjoy properly during sunset. From there, after a moment's rampage in the sand
we will move to a
small beach near the beach Damnoni, which is ideal for our overnight stay. Keep
in mind that the road from Agios Pavlos to this beach lasts about an hour.
2nd day
In the morning, after a romantic breakfast on a private beach called Amoudaki, or
sometimes Mikroamoudi, where you may encounter a naturist once in a while, mainly
after 9 a.m., we continue our journey. More precisely, to
Preveli beach where we will take a unique walk around the palm forest and the
estuary of a mountain river into the sea. Here, we will spend the whole day as we
don’t really want to climb back up to the car park in the hot weather. If you don’t
buy any food for the beach in the village supermarket in Lefkogia, you can visit the
tavern on the beach which, despite its location, has reasonable prices. We will
return back to Matala in the evening , where we can choose from two
places to stay overnight.
3rd day
No matter if we slept over on Red Beach or on the beach Kosmos, it is best to stay
on that place in the morning. As soon as we become hungry, we start off our journey to
find some tasty food - to the village of Kapetaniana.
We stuff ourselves with the greatest food you can find and the more money your account
is, the smaller the percentage of the amount you pay in the mountains. In tourist
centers, it is unfortunately the opposite. And this is where we finish our trip on
the south of the island.
Northern Crete
The north of Crete is the most densely populated and less mountainous area. Along
its coast runs a wide road, which is in a good condition and it is ideal for traveling
around the island. Except for the high road there are some big cities, which,
unfortunately, don’t make Crete seem as romantic as it really is.
1st day
We will start our trip on the Bali beach. It
is possible to spend the whole day here. You can have lunch in one of the taverns
around the beach as there are enough for everyone. Around midday, we will continue our
trip to Rethymno. We will enjoy the sunset,
take a walk around the port and through the narrow historical streets and in the evening,
go to Heraklion. This is because in the north,
there are few beaches that are far from civilization, which means we don’t have a good
place to sleep over. You can find a good hotel via www.booking.com in Heraklion if you
want, too.
2nd day
On the next day we will take a walk around Heraklion and after that, go and discover
the more commercial side of Crete. You should definitely visit Star Beach, which is full
of attractions like waterslides or the banana ride, and even bungee jumping into the
sea. In the evening, we will decide whether to stay at a party near Star Beach , where
they have the best parties ever, or we will opt for the sinful (and nearby) town of
Malia. Another option is to return to Heraklion which offers a pleasant atmosphere for
a drink or a stroll around the city.
