Travelling to the beautiful Greece island: Destination Crete

Pavla Pluto
Oct 7, 2024
7 min read

Updated: Oct 9, 2024

This article is about a vacation in Crete containing some tips and tricks from what I have learned. Three of the top trips were picked and you can read about them (and see some photos). Hopefully, it will help to find you courage or inspiration for your next holiday destination ☺

As the summer this year was swiftly approaching, my best friend and I decided to go for our first vacation together. We knew the destination would be Greece; we just had to find the right location. As girls with a low budget, we had to plan something that would not ruin our packets, so we decided to use a holiday package offered by a digital travel agency – Loveholidays. The location was Crete – Almyrida.

It was simple to set on the vacation with the agency. We just had to book, fill up the details, and pay in full (yes you can do instalments with them) and then just check in, pack and go 😊

The Journey

Waking up early to get by car to Cambridge leaving the car there and continuing to London Stansted Airport by train, we began our trip.

Falafel and Lemonade while waiting at the Airport 😍

We flew to Chania Airport, which is quite small, but got everything necessary, including a taxi station and bus stop, which takes you to the Chania City Centre. So once we grabbed our luggage, we went to catch a bus to Chania Centre. The public transport within the island is provided by Ktel company. We found all the necessary information on the website (including updates, prices and times).

Just a short piece of advice regarding their public buses. All luggage always goes underneath storage, including any backpacks (yes, I was shocked when they asked me to put it down and refused to let me on the bus with it, so I had to take my laptop and wallet out of there). Sometimes they will ask you to put there any type of baggage you have (no matter the size). Arguing there is not enough space inside the bus (even if there is overhead storage). Additionally, the tickets are not very expensive – we paid I think 2.50 EUR per ticket and can be bought at the airport in the ticket booth beside the bus stop paying by cash or card. At other bus stops, if they don't have ticket booths or information, you can purchase the tickets in the nearby store (they are marked, so you know you can buy the tickets there), but you must pay by cash in most cases, and lastly you can pay in the board. Depends on the bus stop.

We arrived at the Chania City Centre, stop – the central bus station, which was the final stop, and then waited for about an hour for our bus to Almyrida. We exited the bus in Almyrida just 10 minutes walking from the hotel: Almyrida Village and Waterpark.

The Hotel: Almyrida Village and Waterpark

The hotel was part of our package with the Loveholidays, it is 3.5 stars according to Google Reviews. We checked in very late (around 11 pm). The staff at the reception was very friendly, they also gave us an upgrade – a room with a sea view. Due to our late arrival, we were not able to have dinner, however, they prepared us a small package, so we could eat it in our room.

The hotel was quite clean and because it was not very expensive, we could not complain about anything. All staff were helpful and friendly. At one of the dinners the hotel owner came to us engaging and asking for some feedback and a little chat.

Despite some bad food reviews we have enjoyed it. We paid for breakfasts and dinners, and I must say that for this type of hotel, the food was very enjoyable. Not luxury, but we always found something that we liked. I loved their tomatoes (I know it is not a cooked meal, but I can say, they were locally grown 😋).

The hotel had most of what you need on your holiday: a small shop to buy essentials, a swimming pool including parts for children, a bar, outside seating, or sunbeds. For an extra fee, you could rent a beach towel or ask about trips.

Thanks to the hotel, we chose 2 whole-day trips – Balos & Gramvousa, and Knossos.

Warning: What the travel agency did not tell us?!!!!

If you are planning a trip via an agency, ensure to have cash on arrival and be prepared to pay city tax, which is a common practice within EU countries. It is required to pay upon arrival, some places can accept cards but some are more old-fashioned. It is usually a payment per room, thus doesn’t matter how many of you are in one room (apartment). Loveholidays is quite famous for not mentioning this detail to their customers, leaving them angry and dissatisfied. You should not blame the hotel for missing out on this information, but the agency.

Top three trips we went to!

Chania City

After the first day, when we spent discovering Almyrida village, and spending time on the beach and by the pool, we went to Chania City by public bus. The town in general seems like one of the most beautiful cities I've been to, and definitively the most beautiful on the island. The Chania's Venetian Harbour took my breath away, it is such a picturesque place, that we have had to take hundreds of photos. This place is definitively a must-see if you are travelling to Crete. Daytime is beautiful, but how about night-time? I bet it must be romantic (for those who feel like it 😂 ). The rest of the day we were just window shopping. However, we made some purchases. You just cannot resist! On the Chanian markets, you can find almost anything you imagine – from local products (honey, olive oil, soaps, cosmetics, and foods to clothes, jewellery or decorations). Chania City used to be the metropole, however, not long ago (1971) the city lost its title and Heraklion took over. There are many things to see, for instance, the Archaeological Museum, Nautical Museum (Naval Museum), Folklore Museum, Municipal Market, Public Gardens or Mosque of the Janissaries. We wanted to invest our time differently, thus, we just walked around, took photos, had some drinks, shopped a bit and were happy 😊.

Trip to Knossos, Heraklion and Rethimno

The first trip we took with the hotel was a day trip to Knossos Temple. For those who have no idea what is that, in short, it used to be a major centre of Minoan civilisation associated with the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. The dominant of Knossos is the Palace of Minos. The first parts of Knossos palace were built around 1900 BC (Neolith), however, the settlement foundations were built around 7000 BC, which makes the city recognised by many resources, as the oldest city in Europe. The place is located just outskirts of Heraklion (Cretan metropole). The trip included a guide, who gave us a speaker, through which we could listen to her talking us through the history of the place. As an experience it was very nice for someone who fancies all ancient 😂; however, I was not happy about the number of people there. They kept disrupting the overall experience, we had to rush when looking at something, and thus we were not happy. However, this is a disadvantage of every popular tourist attraction.

On the way back from Knossos, the tour took us to the Crete metropole, where we had a few hours to walk around. We went to Heraklion Old Venetian Harbour, one of the most popular locations in the city. The Port is located just in the city centre. The architectural style is unique as it combines Venetian and Ottoman elements reflecting the city's rich history. It was built in the 14th century and in the 19th century expanded by Ottomans adding new structures and creating modern infrastructure. Following this, we went to discover the city further inland, where we just browsed neverending shops and markets, aimed specifically at tourists, and the buildings around, thinking about where we could eat something (my friend had a small snack at the end).

Our final stop on the day was Rethimno, a city popular for its history, beautiful beaches and high-class resorts. As we were extremely exhausted, we did only a bit of walking discovering local architecture and trying not to get lost. I will plan more energy and time for this city for the next visit!

Balos Lagoon & Gramvousa

Both locations are close to each other (just 15 minutes by boat) and are officially Wildfire Refugees and uninhabited areas of natural beauty included in the European initiative NATURA 2000.

The bus picked us up in front of the hotel in the early morning and took us to Kissamos Port, from where we took the ferry to Balos Lagoon, where we spent 3 hours and at Gramvousa another 2 hours. Upon arrival at Kissamos Port, we were told which ferry was ours and given our tickets. One hour of waiting for departure we filled up by getting food and drinks from the only coffee shop. The ferry took about an hour to reach the Balos, where we disembarked and went straight to find the ideal spot to place our towels and umbrella and then jump in the turquoise-coloured waters. To me, this place had so much magic and beauty, that no words can even describe it. I went to many countries and saw many beaches and places (not that many, no..), but Balos waters were the most magical beaches I have ever seen in my own eyes.

After a few hours, we moved to Gramvousa, the Island of Pirates, which is an island close by dominated by a castle on the top (built by the Venetians in 1579) and by the beach if you snorkelling, you can go discover a rusty shipwreck of „Dimitrios P“, motor ship that crashed here in 1968 when heading to Northern Africa due to weather conditions.

The day was beautiful, I did my first „snorkelling “ – no swimming 😂. We both enjoyed it greatly, which I can say with honesty on behalf of my bestie.

If you are interested in more details of this trip, what it looks like and what will you see, please see the official website of Cretan Daily Cruises (not a paid promotion 😂 ).

And so this was a beautiful and probably the best and most fun vacation I’ve ever had (Thanks K :-*). I hope you have guys enjoyed this bit of information about Crete I’ve shared with you and that it might create a tiny little motivation in the back of your head to visit this beautiful island.

Despite paying for low-cost vacations, staying at 3* hotel, and using public transport and group trips, it was worth it, and I would do it again. Next time I would extend the stay (at least 10 days) and also would consider buying more sunscreen (yes, I got burned, but only the last day! And would not recommend to anyone with light skin as mine, to underestimate the sun strength).