LOCAL INFORMATION

The area to the West of the main airport at Heraklion, which incidentally is the main city in Crete and where the bulk of the commerce is conducted, is greener and more densely packed with vegetation and people than the rest of the island and very pretty. From our observations however, this part of the island seems to be favoured by most of the package holiday companies and although there are many quaint and unspoiled areas, in certain places it does seem to be a little overcommercialised, but not remotely on the scale of Spain etc.

Chania is very pretty and well worth a visit and we can personally recommend sitting by the lovely harbour and leisurely eating at one of the restaurants as the rest of the world strolls by.

The “White Mountains” are also a “must” to drive up into for spectacular views. Along the way and, right in the middle of no-where, you will find (for some strange reason) a little village “taverna, nestled on the roadside, where you can sit in splendid solitude, sipping a freshly squeezed orange juice and wonder why you normally work for a living.

Rethimnon, (pronounced Reth-im-no) is quite a lively area and has many restaurants and hotels that mainly flank the very long and generally sandy beach. The town itself around the harbour area, is quite quaint and has a good mixture of shops.