If you would like to discover the real beauty of Crete, choose a car or morotorbike from Euromotor and will help you to find, sandy beaches, wild mountains, traditional villages and the finest restaurants. Because a great experience awaits you!!!
Crete car rental - Crete bike rental.
Our company has brand new safe cars and bikes for your holiday tours in the island of Crete. With office in Chania,Platanias, Agia Marina, Stalis, Heraklion and Malia
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Crete Info
Heraklion
Heraklio
Knossos Palace
A panoramic view from Iraklion, the biggest town in Crete. We see the port and on the left the Venetian fortress KOULES.
Knossos, the ancient palace of Minos, 5 km south of Iraklion ... 4000 years ago people used to live here in luxurious palaces!!!...
Kazantzakis Museum-Heraklion-Crete-Greece
The Kazantzakis Museum is situated in Varvaroi, approximately 20 km. to the south of Herakleion. It was founded to preserve the work and to record the life of the Cretan writer. It includes some of the writer's personal belongings and those of his family, documents, letters, the first Greek editions of his books, and translations in 49 languages in 54 counties, photographs, busts, works of art, as well as documents referring to stagings of his theatrical works and of novels adapted for the theatre, posters, programmes, models of stage settings and costumes as they have been presented in performances al over the world. There is also radio and television material as well as a collection of press reviews which refer to Kazantzakis and have been published in Greek and foreign newspapers
Chania
Chania's Port
As for what to do in Chania it's a case of passing the day until the sun goes down and the lights of the cafes, restaurants and bars around the harbor come on and life begins. Like most harbor towns the expensive cafes have taken the best spots on the waterfront and the cheaper and more traditional restaurants are on the fringes and the back streets.
There are also some interesting non-traditional restaurants scattered around the old town which you will come across in your wanderings. Most of the bars, discos and nightclubs are located in the inner harbor. For traditional Greek music in a traditional Greek setting try the Café Kriti at 22 Kalergon, the next street up parallel to the inner harbor.The port of Hania. The second biggest town in Crete, capital of the prefecture of Hania. In the background we see the mountain range of LEFKA ORI.
The beaches are to the west and for a town beach they are quiet pleasant, but can fill up in the summer. Restaurants line the waterfront so you can enjoy a good meal by the sea after toasting in the sun. But, for adventurous travelers to be in Crete without a car is like being in Manhattan without a wallet. Your days should be spent exploring the island. If you came to lay out on the beach and watch people you should be at Elounda beach or Ag Nik.
Antiquities in this area include Phalassarna with its Cyclopean walls, tombs and sculptures carved out of stone, the ancient city of Aptera, about 15kms from Hania south of Souda, where there is a Roman theatre with enormous vaulted cisterns, a temple of Demeter and the Cyclopean walls.
From the Byzantine era there is the Monastery of Our Lady of the Angels or Gouvernetou with an impressive facade, the Rotonda of Archangel Michael with mosaic floors and frescoes and the Agia Triada monastery with a fine gate built in 1632.
Fallasarna
Elafonisi
Panoramic view of Falassarna, a beach on the west side of Crete. Interresting finds of an ancient port were excavated in Falassarna. There are many tourist facilities.
Just a couple of cantinas and amazing stretches of rose colored sandy beaches with a small island you can walk to. This is Elafonissi !!!
Georgioupolis
Over Georgioupolis now.A lovely village on the north side of Crete with numerous friends
Samaria Gorge-Chania Crete
Classified as a National park, Samaria Gorge is one of the most spectacular natural parks in Europe. Starting south of the settlement of Omalos, 42 Km south of Hania, spans for 18 Km as far as the south Crete coast.
The only way to see the gorge is to walk through its entire length, sometime between May and October when passage is permitted, but rest assured that the five or so hours that you spend in this gorge will award you with incredible views.
Take the pedestrian path walk at Xyloskalo, the gorge's entrance, and start your descend in the gorge. After about three hours of walk at a normal pace, you will have descended by 700 meters of altitude on a zigzag path that brings you to the deserted village of Samaria with its 14th century chapel. You will notice that although the sun is high in the sky, the gorge is always in the shadow.
Used as a hide out during war years, is now haunted by the Cretan "ibex" known as "Kri-Kri", the chin bearded wild goat of Crete with thick, curved, ridged horns, and only if you are lucky you might catch a glimpse of one. Equally rare is "Dictamon" a herb very much appreciated locally, found on the cliffs of the gorge.
One mile before Agia Roumeli at the southern exit of the gorge, is the famous "Sideroportes"(Iron Gate), where the rock wall rises 300 meters on either side of the passage, only 3 meters wide.
Remember that the walk through is a one way venture as you start from an altitude of about 800m above sea level going down to zero. For this reason you will probably use public transport from Hania to arrive early morning in Omalos, and at midday you can catch a boat from Agia Roumeli to Chora Sfakion. From there, again by bus, you will arrive exhausted back to Hania to meet your transport.
Alternatively you can buy this excursion as a package sold locally in many resorts. You will be picked up from your hotel, very early in the morning and will be brought back in the evening. A slightly more expensive method but worth trying it.
Gramvousa
Gramvousa is consisted of two islands, located oposite of the beach of Ballos. The calm and wild Gramvousa. The place is virgin and the beauty is fascinating. The way to Gramvousa after Chania - Kisamos, is inacessable. Passing through Kisamos you have to go up to the mountain Geroskinos and going down from the other side you can admire the view. The beach of Ballos is magnificent, and the way to the islands can be accomplished only by boat. In the calm Gramvousa, at about the year of 1600, the Enetians builted a castle, which during the ages passed through many conquerors.
BALLOS, KISSAMOS. TINTS OF BLUE
Rethimno
Rethimno
Another option for a port of arrival is the city of Rethymnon which is a mixture of high end tourist resorts and a traditional inner harbour of old buildings. Most of the tourist activity and nightlife is located on the road behind the town beach, but some of the best beaches on the island are a short distance away to the west where development is not as advanced as it is toward Heraklion. There are long stretches of sand and you may find yourself alone, but be aware that there can be strong currents and there are no lifeguards.
Rethymnon is thought by many to be the most cultural city on Crete and it is similar in style to Chania with it's charming Venetian quarters of winding streets and beautiful balconies.
The city's ancient ancropolis is Palekastro Hill. A 16th century fortress stands on the hill and massive walls provide beautiful views over the town and harbour. It's a great site to explore.
The Arkadiou Monastery between Rethymnon and Iraklion is a 5th century holy site that became a symbol of Cretan restistance on November 9th 1866 when hundreds of refugees and revolutionaries chose death over surrender to the Turks and blew themselves to pieces with the gunpowder that was being stored there by the Cretan Revolutionaries. The monastery was rebuilt again and is well worth the visit.
Rethimno
Kournas Lake
Over the old port of Rethimno.
A place with many taverns, bars and cafes, often crowded by tourists and students from the University.
South from Georgioupolis, a spectacular view of Kournas, the only lake in Crete. You can see the sea at the top of the photograph.
Plakias,Agia Galini and Matala
These coastal villages of Crete have a lot in common. At one time they were remote villages with beautiful beaches, inexpensive rooms and small tavernas. Now they are built up with hotels, tourist shops and wild nightlife.
But this is the case with lots of places in Greece and particularly Crete and if you are here in the summer you may as well enjoy it.
Anyway we are not all traveling monks and recluses looking for olive groves on empty beaches where we can contemplate the success and failures of our lives.
Some of us like to party at night and lay out on the beach and watch guys or girls in their bathing suits by day and these beaches are perfectly suitable. Plakias is 2 kilometers of tanned (and often lobster red), young and old bodies. Matala is a coved beach with the hippy caves made famous by life magazine in the late sixties and thus changed forever.
In the winter of 1973 Matt Barrett stayed in these caves until one day he was awakened by policemen led by priests who evicted them because they were actually mausaleums. In fact several of the caves had skeletons in the carved out beds they were sleeping in.
Agia Galini is a full blown tourist resort however there are three good reasons to recommend going there. The sun is usually shining there, the people are nice, and I can't remember the third.
That being said, any of these places is fine during the off-season and being the southernmost part of Greece, they can be a little warmer in the winter.
Agios Nikolaos
Agios Nikolaos
Vai
Agios Nikolaos the capital of the Lasithi Prefecture. Voulismeni the small lake in Agios Nikolaos that serves as a harbor for fishing boats. You will find many picturesque taverns around it.
The African side of Crete.
The one and only natural & famous palm beach of Europe.
