Athens

Athens: The cradle of civilisation and we stayed in the shadow of the Acropolis

Oia on Santorini

Sunsets & Sunbathing in Oia, Santorini staying at Casa Francesca & Musses Studios

Western Crete

Exploring the Beaches and Towns of West Crete

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Three million out of Greece’s total population of 11 million people live in Athens, continuing its role from ancient times as the centre of the Hellenic world. It’s worth visiting for the remnants of the pre-Roman empire alone, but if you throw in the climate and food, it really is a no-brainer.

How Long Should I Go?

It’s great when there’s agreement on a location’s top attractions: the online guides Skyscanner, Expedia, Virtual Tourist and of course TripAdvisor all agree that the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum are top things to see in Athens. Even when you remove all the multi-day excursions, and day trips to local areas, there’s still enough things to see and do to fill a few days. Ancient Athens is quite compact, and has good public transport, which makes for an efficient use of your time.

How Do I Get There?

Athens is served by a couple of the budget airlines from London – for the 3hr 40 hour flight I’ve seen flights as low as £70 return. During summer there are also ferries which ply the Ionian and Aegean Seas.

How Do I Get Around?

Athens hosted the 2004 summer Olympics and upgraded their public transportation in preparation, so the Metro is pristine and cheap. For €24 you can get a return trip to the Airport plus three days unlimited travel. There are also busses and regional trains that stop off at the airport. To tell you the truth though, we walked most places.

How Much Is It To Stay?

The Global Financial Crisis and Grexit have had a huge impact on life in Greece – as a method for getting additional income, many families let out their homes on AirBnB. As a result of this, the prices of AirBnBs are suppressed making for some very cheap stays (£20-40), which in turn keeps hotel prices down (£40-80). We stayed in an AirBnB that surpassed our expectations.

What Shall I See?

We had three nights in Athens but with a late flight on the last day we managed to get a full three days worth of sight seeing in, despite landing late at night on the first day

Day Zero: Arrival

I arrived late at night and managed to catch one of the last metro trips into the city from the airport. The metro is very clean and efficient, and it wasn’t long before I arrived at my AirBnB where Stavros was waiting to meet me.

My travelling companions were arriving on a later flight and had to take the bus which, while cheaper than the Metro, did take a long time to get to the apartment. In the meantime, Stavros showed me around the area, where the best food places were, where the supermarkets were, that sort of thing.

The neighbourhood feels safe, and I’m starting to be able to read the signs – the alphabet only has a few differences from English and once you get your head around that you can work out what signs say. My favourite moment was on the metro when I realise the Greek word for “exit” is “exodus” (ΕΞΟΔΟΣ).

Day One: Acropolis Museum

We get up late and plan out the next couple of days. Stavros pops by and answers some questions about the things to see and has some good insights. My travel companions love photography of sunsets so we arrange to meet Zoi and Stavros later this evening to go for a walk up the Hill of Muses which overlooks the Acropolis and the rest of Athens and which has great views of the setting sun.

It gets very very hot and by all accounts the Acropolis is best approached in the cooler hours of the morning, so we decide that should wait until tomorrow for that. Instead we head out to the Acropolis Museum and then follow our nose around the rest of Ancient Athens.

It’s no wonder the Acropolis Museum is so high on the lists of things to do in Athens: it’s a very well run museum and only €5. It does a good job of contextualising what we will see at the Acropolis tomorrow, but I feel teased reading about it and seeing it from the windows but not being able to be there. Our own choice though, and in retrospect I think we’ve done it the right way around: getting the knowledge about what we will be seeing rather than looking around and then trying to find it what we just saw afterwards.

We head into town and check out the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral.

After checking out the centre of town we swing past Syntagma Square and the Houses of Parliament.

We then head south and head into the cooling shade of the national garden. It’s a bit of a maze and we manage to find our way out eventually.

We discover that the garden is across the road from the presidential palace and we watch a traditionally garbed Greek soldier slow marching under the hot sun. It’s almost Ministry of Silly Walks-worthy. Theres a distinct pom-pom on each shoe which fascinates me.

But we’ve come to see ancient ruins and this we do, after first visiting the location of the modern Olympics at the Panatheneaic stadium. You can go inside for €5 but we decide to take photos from outside and move on.

On the way back (the sun is starting to head towards the horizon), we pass the remains of Temple of Olympian Zeus (€2, combo ticket available) and take some photos at Hadrian’s Arch.

We arrive back at the apartment in time to meet Zoi and Stavros and their daughter and dog and head up to the Hill of Muses.

There’s a wedding reception at the Church of Agios Demetrious Loumpardiaris: the church is tiny so the elegantly dressed guests spill out over the paved path and mix with the casual strollers. It gives the evening an energy and friendly vibe  – doubly so when we crack open the beers we bought on the way.

We enjoy chatting to Zoi and Stavros – they’re both open and candid about what its like to live through the financial crisis, and it’s eye-opening how things have changed. We swing past the site of the first Greek parliament and clamber over rocks towards our destination. Not long before dusk we notice a turtle crawling along, so entertain ourselves photographing ourselves with it.

We almost miss the sunset with our fascination with our new friend and dash across to get the best shots. After the sun sinks below the hills surrounding Athens we head back to the apartment, still chatting with our hosts, pausing only to take some photos of some political graffiti which is helpfully repeated in English. Not a lot of love for politicians or the big banks…

Day Two – Acropolis & Ancient Greek places

The Acropolis

We get up early and head to the Acropolis, having to wait a little while in line at the ticket booth to get a single entry ticket for €20 or entrance to multiple sites for €30 (which we ended up buying). Apparently there are guides available who will talk you through the sites for an extra €20, but we decline because a) we figured we’d have learned it all the day before at the Museum, b) we wanted to set our own pace around the exhibits and c) because we’re in “cheap mode”. OK, mainly c). We’re glad we arrive early to avoid the heat and the crowds and despite this there’s still a healthy number of people here with the same idea.

After being primed yesterday, we’re quite knowledgeable about the site and there’s quite a bit up there to see. It’s equal parts fascination with the ancient monuments and buildings despite the renovation work going on, and part marvelling at the views from the elevation.

It’s very exposed, and there is lots of climbing and walking on stones which are alternately irregular, slippery or both. It was hot enough first thing in the morning, so I shudder to think what it would be like in the heat of the day. The marble magically remains cool – you can see why the ancients used it for their buildings!

We spend an hour or two wandering around the top looking at the buildings and checking out the views before heading off towards the other ancient sites included in our ticket.

Church of the Holy Apostles

Heading away from the Acropolis, the first of the other ancient buildings we come across is the Church of the Holy Apostles, a small temple built in the Athenian style. It’s a mix of restoration and original art which takes some getting used to – almost as if someone had randomly decorated a brand new temple with sections of ancient art. Worth a few minutes to duck inside though. Certainly not very large…

Stoa of Attaloa

Disappointingly, this building is a 1953-6 reconstruction, though the exhibits in the museum are authentic.

Temple of Hephaetus

An influential building which apparently owes its survival to consistently being in use since being built, usage changing over time depending on the religion in favour at the time. It sits by itself in one corner of the Agora, near the only patch of grass we saw the whole time we were in Athens.

Hadrian’s Library

Not much is left of the actual library – three Byzantium churches were built on the site and the ruins of these are the most prominent features here. We have a look around but the heat is starting to get to us. We decide to head towards the nearby plaza with the promise of a flea market – not my cup of tea but I figure there’ll be shade there.

Plaza Monasteraki

The square has an enormous fruit and nut stand with huge piles of fresh produce. I don’t know if we’re delirious from the sun, but we become quite giddy in our purchases and decide to grab a metro ride back to the apartment weighted down with our supplies. A productive day sight-seeing: we’ve done well.

We accompany our hosts out to the local gyro shop for dinner. Gyros here include french fries in the wrap – very tasty.

Day Three – Plaka

One of the “must do” things we were told about was the Plaka shopping area. Not a great shopper myself, but I go with the flow and have a look around while others flit between shops and peruse the assorted wares. Not sure how much actually gets bought, but the others enjoy themselves and I enjoy the air con in each of the shops, and it’s nice to have a less hectic day after the last two sight-seeing heavy days

How Much Did It Cost?

Let’s assume you wanted to do the same trip as we did (3 nights, flying from London).

Would I Go Back?

Hmm – tricky one! What I should have done is climbed up to the Church of St George on the morning of the last day and enjoyed the views from up there instead of going shopping. We also did not make the Archaeology Museum and I have heard good things about the free walking tours. But they were pretty much the only things I missed out on and the views from the Acropolis were fantastic, so I don’t feel bad about them. I think the only reason to go back to Athens for me would be as a starting point for island hopping around the Aegean one summer. We didn’t venture to the port at all which by all accounts is a thriving hub of interconnecting ferries, so it would be good to see what all the fuss is about there.

First post in the series | Part of Trip: Sunsets in Greece | Next: Sunsets & Sunbathing in Oia, Santorini

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Oia (pronounced “eee-ah”) is a small town perched on the cliffs at the north end of the island of Santorini. We’ve heard that the sunsets are the best in the world – high praise indeed and certainly worth checking out. Tourists swell the population of both Oia (~2k) and Santorini (~20k) during the summer.

How Long Should I Go?

Santorini makes it to number one in the Skyscanner top ten Greek Islands but Expedia only has photographic excursions and Virtual Tourist has more Travel Warnings than Itineraries. TripAdvisor has a good range of wine-tasting and boat tours, but when it boils down to it there’s not a lot to do in Oia proper. Unless you like upmarket shopping, or spending large chunks of cash. We’re only there for three nights, but if we were to expand the budget a little, we could have easily filled the week.

How Do I Get There?

Thira (sometimes spelled Fira) has the only airport on the island, and it is well served with budget airlines from Athens (50mins £45) and from London direct (4hrs £80).

How Do I Get Around?

All roads lead to Fira  – the main city in the middle of the island. This means if you’re travelling from the airport to Oia, you have to get two busses, transferring in Fira. We arrived just after midnight, well after the busses stopped running, so I arranged a transfer from the airport with our hotel for €40. I looked it up and that was quite competitive with other quotes being €45. My travelling companions were tickled pink by being met by a driver holding a card with our name on it!

No trains, one airport and a bus network which is functional but not extensive makes the taxi/self drive options very attractive. Which of course clogs the roads. We weren’t there at the height of the season, but I would imagine you should give yourself a lot of time to get to your destination to allow for traffic jams.

How Much Is It To Stay?

Oia ain’t cheap – sure you can find cheapish places to stay, but the rooms available skew towards the higher end of the scale.

Skyscanner shows that most of the rooms tend to be in the £180+ range and even AirBnB shows the bulk of rooms between £150-300 per night. Even though we’re visiting a luxury location, we’re travelling budget-style, so end up staying at Casa Francesca & Musses Studios for about £50/night.

What Shall I See?

We missed the sunset on day one because our flight got in at midnight, meaning we only had two other sunsets to see – the rest of the time was going to be spent cooling off from the sun at beaches.

Day One – Cliff Jumping

We had a wander through town, checking out the great views down into the caldera to the south. The heights are commanded by luxury fashion shops and I realise these are for the benefit of the hotels which are implanted in the cliffs on the south side, which would have impossibly beautiful views.

We’re heading down to Amoudi Bay to check out where they filmed a scene from the movie “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants” where they all jumped into the ocean off a cliff. Seeing as Oia is 150m above sea level, that involves a trek down 150m worth of steps to sea level.

There are donkeys who will take you down for a price, but as lazy as I am there’s no way I would inflict that on any animal. There’s limited shade, so I’m glad we’ve done this trek earlier in the day – it would be a killer in the noon day sun!

We get to the bottom and head left through restaurants perched on the side of the bay – seafood is the obvious specialty here and we glance at the menus, knowing we’ll be ready for a spot of lunch on the way back after our swim. The well paved path finishes and we continue on a more adhoc path – enough people are following in the same direction for us to know that we’re going the right way.

We end up on a promontory a short swim away from an island with a church on it. The church is not really the draw-card – there is a path up to a perfect leaping spot about 5m (15ft) above the water level.

A bit of advice: there are two choices to get out of the water on to the island: you can try to beach yourself like a penguin or seal would, or else you can use a rope and use it to climb up. Use the rope. The rocks and waves (as small as they are) makes it awkward to get up without the rope.

Then a brief climb up some stairs on pebbly hot concrete, a short dash and a 5m plummet into the ocean.

We spend about an hour in the water, half a dozen leaps from the cliff face, and then start getting hungry. A boat noses close to the island, disgorging more tourists keen to make the leap, so we head off to avoid the growing crowds.

Back at Amoudi Bay we lunch on simple food well prepared – there really is something different about a Greek salad in Greece – I don’t know if the more intense sunshine is what makes it so much better… Oh! And I finally find mussels as big as the ones back in New Zealand – the size of my thumb, not just a thumbnail!

Originally we had planned on spending day two exploring Thirasia – the island just to the south west of Amoudi Bay – apparently the best way to get there is to go to where the fishermen dock their boats and negotiate a fee to take you all over. There is a ferry early in the morning as well – €1: bargain!

But looking across at the island and asking the locals about it, there doesn’t seem to be much to do over there – there’s certainly no shade or cover and the thought of “exploring” with not much payoff makes us rethink the plan. If you’re interested in what we missed out on there is a gallery of photos giving a flavour of the place.

We head back up the hill to Oia proper and go back to the hotel to await sunset. We research where the best place to watch the sunset and come up with Lioyerma Lounge Cafe Pool. We head over and may have grabbed a spot in the pool if there had been any room – its not full but it is a very popular place to come it seems.

To be polite we order a drink (standard prices) and settle in to watch the sun go down. As advertised, the colours are gorgeous but I’m a little surprised that everyone applauds afterwards. Apparently it’s the thing to do here. I guess it was a good show…

On the way back from Lioyerma’s we stop off near the bus station for some good cheap local food. The further away from the sea views you go, the more reasonable the prices and the more locals there are. We figure where there are taxi and bus drivers there will be good fast food, and we are not disappointed.

Day Two – Paradisos

With Thirasia no longer appealing, we decide to head off the beaten track a little and head to the north side of the island away from the glitz and glamour of high fashion boutiques and go to an enticingly named Paradisos Beach.

Normal people would have rented a car or scooter or the 4×4 off roaders that they call “squats” here to make the 4km trip, or maybe even have taken a bus – but not us in “budget mode”! We decided to walk despite no cover and the glorious Greek sun over head.

It takes less than an hour, but we’re ready for a dip in the ocean to cool off by the end. On the beach is the ubiquitous sun lounger/umbrella set up with attendant hovering nearby. The attendant is from the hotel nearby who have put in shower facilities and you can order refreshments from the bar as well which makes it all very civilised. It feels deserted though – it’s on the wrong side of the island for the crowds.

We spend a few hours swimming in the sea and getting our money’s worth from the sun umbrellas and then head back. Except we decide to take a short cut back. Sigh. Big mistake. In terms of straight line distance it makes sense – unfortunately the “road” on Google maps swiftly devolves into over grown tracks with nothing but empty fertiliser bags and small calibre shotgun shells (shooting rabbits? scaring off birds?) littered around.

Eventually any pretence of a proper track is abandoned and we’re trekking through thorny bushes until we emerge, sweaty, scratched and a bit sun burned about 100m from our hotel. We spend the rest of the afternoon tending our wounds and muttering about who’s idea it was to take the short cut.

My travelling companions head out for sunset round two and by all accounts it’s just as good as the first time – applause and all. They watch from further towards Oia centre this time and are glad they arrived early for a good spot, fortified by a few beers purchased from the local store.

We had previously approached the owners of the hotel and asked for recommendations for a restaurant. We were sure to ask for one which the locals ate at rather than over spending at one with a great view. He recommends Anemomilos, a little way up the road. We head up there and have a really enjoyable evening.

It starts before we even get there as we discover that a narrowing of the road has lead to an impasse with a huge bus being stuck there and the oncoming traffic not being able to move enough to let it past. Apparently this is a common occurrence and Anemomilos is a great spot to watch as the negotiations begin for who has to move how much in which direction for the impasse to be resolved.

We enjoy a bit of banter with the waiter and the meal is a triumph, and reasonably priced too. We walk back in the dark with still quite a bit of traffic around, though they have managed to clear the blocked bus.

Day Three – Fira

We have a late afternoon flight from the airport so decide to take an earlier bus to Fira and spend the bulk of our time there to have a look around. It’s the biggest town on the island, and is where the big cruise liners drop their passengers off, plus where the ferries from the other Greek islands dock.

It’s similar to Oia in that the town is perched on top of the cliff, but there’s a cable car from top to bottom if you don’t feel energetic enough to tackle the 220m to sea level (€5 one way). Fira’s even more touristy than Oia but with a wider appeal – a broader range of shops and pubs may be an indication that there’s just more physical space here. The alleyways have cover which is a nice change, and they are more of a grid pattern. I daresay the additional size would make it very possible to get lost after a few drinks though!

We spend an hour or two looking around but I get a little bored as there’s not really a lot to do – and shopping is not my thing. So we head to the airport where we’re surprised by the enormous line snaking out of the building.

We find out when we need to be at the counter to check in and head to a nearby pub for a drink or two while we wait. there are a couple of identical pubs over the road and we relax and ruminate on what we have liked best about our time on Santorini

How Much Did It Cost?

We did Oia on the cheap – lets assume you wanted to do the same trip as we did (3 nights, flying from London)

Would I Go Back?

I don’t know – the sights are amazing, but there’s not a whole heap to do. So I would maybe go back if I wanted to spend a lot more on accommodation and just wanted to veg by the pool and enjoy the view.

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We arrived very late at night but it was no trouble for Stavros and Zoi. Stavros showed me around the neighbourhood, pointing out the best places to eat and get groceries etc. The neighbourhood is perfect – first of all it feels very safe, second of all it is soo close to absolutely everything in Athens. It’s on the doorstep of the Acropolis and beside the Plaka district, so you don’t even have to take the Metro. The apartment itself is exactly as described, with some very touching gestures added like some lovely home made honey. Stavros and Zoi went out of their way to be hospitable, walking up the Hill of Muses with us to watch the sunset and filling us in on what its like to live in Greece. Our stay with them was amazing and I wouldn’t hesitate to stay with them again if I was in Athens.

Pros

• Location! You are literally a 10 minute walk from the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum.
• Very accommodating hosts – seriously, they are the epitome of what an AirBnB experience is supposed to be

Cons

• None

(image for illustration purpose only: not the actual view from the apartment!)

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Pros

• Reasonably priced. In a town of luxurious £300+ per night rooms, you can stay just off the main stretch for £50 per night
• Just over the road from the town proper, so very conveniently located
• Free wifi
• The hotel arranged an airport transfer cheaper than the taxi rate.

Cons

• A very minor quibble – the view from the room faces away from the typical views into the caldera that Oia is famous for – still lovely though!

Would I Go Back?

Hmmm…the hotels etched into the cliff facing the caldera may cost an arm and a leg, but I’m thinking that’s all part of the experience. If I wanted to put my money towards experiences instead of a flash place to sleep, I would definitely go back.

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Crete is a country town writ large – it’s got a bunch of small towns on the coasts with mountainous countryside in the interior. With a population of less than a million, it’s the biggest of the Greek islands giving it a very low population density. It’s very hot and dry – perfect for the beach. Given Greece’s economic turmoil it’s also cheap, and the food is glorious. It’s full of natural beauty – people rave about the beaches and walks, but is also well supported by good infrastructure and historically significant things to see.

How Long Should I Go?

It’s always difficult to gauge this because of the beach angle. For me, it’s always possible to stay at least a week at a beach destination, but Crete is large, so exploring can soak up as much time as you throw at it.

Beaches feature highly on the online guides Skyscanner, Expedia, Virtual Tourist and  TripAdvisor and for good reason – they are spectacular. We focused on the west of Crete which matched our stay of four nights quite nicely – it did mean we missed the ancient Minoan sites though.

How Do I Get There?

We were flying into Crete from Thira on Santorini so used one of the regional airlines (€60pp), but Crete’s two airports (Chania and Heraklion) are served with a few direct budget airline flights from London (£200-300, ~4 hrs). It’s also worth noting that Greece’s islands are well served with ferries, especially in the summer – an additional option.

How Do I Get Around?

Crete is well served by public transport – busses and ferries in particular. We also hired a car through our AirBnB for the trip to the beaches because the public transport just wouldn’t give us enough time to do everything we wanted to do.

The schedules may not be particularly friendly though – we discovered this when we arrived at Heraklion airport. Our research had told us that there was a cheap local bus from the airport to the main bus station in town, and then from there we would have a regional bus to Chania (2hr45).

The timing of the bus into town was awkward though, and being in budget mode, we were unwilling to spring for a taxi, which involved us taking the local bus into town and then sprinting down the middle of the street trying to flag down our regional bus as it departed en route for Chania. We settled for eating a late dinner in a public park before desultorily catching the next bus an hour later.

Unfortunately there are no direct flights from Thira to Chania, and no direct ferries either.

How Much Is It To Stay?

AirBnB has a large range of options in the £30-£70 range and Skyscanner has hotels for £40-£80. We chose an AirBnB close to the bus station as we would be getting in and out of Chania via bus and would be using the busses during the stay. This backfired a little because there was a bodega across the street which was frequented by heavy drinkers who had loud drunken arguments into the early hours or the morning.

The host was very convivial though, spending a lot of time with us making sure that we were well settled and discussing the various eating options nearby and offering advice on our itinerary. We also booked a hire car through him. I’ve since looked for him on AirBnB but don’t seem to be able to find his place to get a link.

What Shall I See?

We were staying in Chania (also spelt Xhania with an interesting pronunciation) , and decided day one would be recovery from the trip plus seeing the city, day two would be the Samaria Gorge, day three would be Balos and Elafonissi Beaches and we would have a look around Heraklion before our flight back on the last day. As I said earlier, we were not going to get to the eastern part of the island with its Minoan historical sites and we just wouldn’t have time for a look around Rethymnon despite it being an apparently delightful Old Town.

Day One – Chania

We rested until noon and then headed into town. Chania’s noticeable architecture is Venetian – lots of thick stone walls and not hugely tall. It is based on maritime activity, so truly awesome harbours and sea walls.

We had a swim near the markets, and pretty much had the whole “beach” to ourselves – it was a short stretch of sand near the promenade, near the swimming pools. We headed back to the harbour to take photos of the sunset which was spectacular, and then headed to an american-kitsch-decorated burger bar. It was late but town was only just getting going. It was good to see locals out and about – not just tourists.

Day Two – Samaria Gorge

We decided to do the Samaria Gorge walk. We wanted to avoid the heat of the day and crowds so elected to take a very early cheap bus ride to Omalos where the trail starts, do the walk and then catch a ferry from Agia Roumeli to Hora Sfakion, and then return via bus from there.

There are seasonal considerations when deciding to do the Gorge – in winter the water levels become dangerously high and the town of Agia Roumelli was actually much closer to the end of the Gorge but was washed away by floods. Best to check that the Gorge will be open if it’s a significant reason to come to Crete. Also the ferries run a different timetable depending on the season. Best check beforehand.

A couple of notes on the walk.

• Be prepared: it’s a long walk and there aren’t any shops along the way. There’s a store at Omalos selling water and sandwiches, but after that you’re on your own until the pub/cafe at the other end – damn near 15km away. There are watering stations at the rest areas, but it’s a good idea to take your own.
• It ain’t no stroll. The first part is steep down hill steps, on uneven terrain and lots of stones. So if you have limited mobility or aren’t the best on inclines, you might want to think twice.
• Sturdy foot wear is a very good idea.
• After you’ve completed the trek there are a couple of pubs at the exit, but then there are another 3km of totally exposed road to the town of Agia Roumeli. There is a van which will take you for €5, and seeing how exhausted we were after the gorge we decided to take advantage of this.

Once we arrived at Agia Roumelli we had a few hours to kill – we had toyed with the idea of trying to race through the Gorge in order to make the earlier ferry but that was without due knowledge of the terrain and effort involved with the walk. We made good time though and were happy for the extra time to recover.

The airport in Heraklion had a huge bus depot beside it – a bay for each tour company indicating that package deals are a big thing over here.

When we got to Agia Roumeli we saw one of hotels that were in the package holidays. A simple hotel right on the beach with a mass of umbrellas with sun loungers underneath them. I must admit that before coming to Greece the thought of paying someone to sit under an umbrella on a lounger was foreign, but now I’ve come to terms with this (European) practise. So: black sand beach, minimal surf, three sections of beach delineated by different coloured umbrellas and obviously serviced by different hotels/restaurants, and wooden boards connecting the showers with the loungers and the water.

We rock up and within a couple of minutes an attendant comes up to us and says there’s a price for using the sun loungers or you can buy a drink from the restaurant for the same price as the ticket. I make sure I have my facts right, to ensure I’m not victim of the language barrier and yes, you can either pay for the €4 ticket or you can get a drink for €4 – either way gets you the sun lounger for the day. Bargain.

It should be noted that there is no other shade on the beach – no trees near by, nothing. After twenty minutes enjoying my drink and reading my book I decided to go for a swim. Now I have read the online forums and they said to wear some sort of footwear while going to the waters edge “because of the stones”. I think to myself, meh. I’m tough, I’ll just risk it. Despite having my sandals in my bag.

So I head off along the wooden boards to where the water begins. There’s perhaps ten metres between where the boards end and the water begins. OMG. The black sand has been baking in the sun without respite for four or five hours. There are two seconds after the first step where my brain is quietly going about its business and then BAM! it is swamped with messages explaining just how hot the sand is. Time slows to a crawl. It’s as if I’m moving through treacle. The only constant is the white noise bombarding my brain with “Aaaaaaargh” screams from my feet.

The sand is soft and so my feet dig deep as I try to move as quickly as possible to the water. Even after I manage to make the safety of the water there is a thirty second agony as the built up messages of foot pain slowly dissipate. “Because of the stones” should have read “Because the sand is unbelievably FRICKIN hot”.

I wait in the water until my travel companions decide that they too want to go for a swim and I entreat them to go back up to my bag and retrieve my sandals before they get in. I would have gladly taken two small children and tied them to my feet rather than risk walking on that lava sand again.

The ferry stops once on the way to Hora Sfakion, so don’t get off at the first stop! Announcements leave a little to be desired, but if you familiarise yourself with the timetable you’ll be fine. The busses at Hora Sfakion await the arrival of the last ferry from Agia Roumelli, and we heard that in the height of the season it’s possible that the tourist to bus ratio  is so high that its possible to be left behind!

That didn’t happen with us but there were an impressive flood of visitors all heading off the ferry and up the hill to the bus stop, so I could see how that could. We planned ahead and bought a combo ticket which covered both the ferry and bus and found a Chania bound bus pretty quickly.

Nothing quite like a day of exercise to get you a good night sleep.

Day Three – Balos Beach & Elafonisi

We’d arranged to get a hire car from our AirBnB host and drive to Balos Beach and Elafonisi in time to watch the sunset. I was tempted by the bus/ferry option from Kissamos for €27 but that would get us back to Kissamos at 6pm – not enough time to get to Elafonnisi for the sunset. I quite fancied the idea of a slide off the boat into the ocean and the stop off at the Venetian fort on Gramvousa Island, but Elafonissi won out. So we braved the streets of Crete and headed West.

Driving went without notable incident and we stopped off on the way for supplies. I think it was even Kissamos that we stopped at for sunscreen and food. Not long after the turn off for Balos Beach is a little hut with a youth who comes out and charges you a couple of Euros for using the road to Balos.

As you go along it you can see why – the toll is needed to seal the road. Gravel and pitted, the road climbs higher and higher along a cliff face with a sheer drop on one side to gorgeous blue waters on one side and sheer rock with goats impossibly perched half way up on the other.

Every now and again you see what appears to be a bird feeder on the side of the road which upon further inspection actually turns out to be a little shrine. Apparently to someone who has plummeted down the side of the cliff to their death, but I don’t know how much credence to place in that story – but there were a lot of shrines!

After an aeon we made it to the carpark at the top of the hill. The wind had picked up and so the dust from the carpark whipped us painfully until we figured out how to fashion our towels as protection.

Goats made themselves at home in the shade under the cars. The carpark itself is scattered with large rocks making parking a fun game of “will we rip the bottom out of the car and be stuck here?” careful manoeuvring ensures we find a space. But the carpark fills up quickly – on the way back out we see that it has become totally full and people are parked on the side of the road for a good few hundred metres.

Now there’s a bit of a hike to the beach proper – the wind makes it difficult to talk so we concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. The terrain is pretty desolate – tufts of tough grass but very little else.

And the we get to the beach – gorgeous!

You’re spoiled for choice – there are (paid) umbrellas in the middle split of sand which is periodically overrun with the water, on the right hand side is gentle surf, which drops away deep enough for the passenger ferry to dock at the jetty. On the left hand side there is a huge shallow lagoon which is bordered by some serious rocks and battered by powerful waves – no swimming on that side!

The lagoon gets quite deep just before the rocks and there are fish and different pools to explore. Thoroughly recommended!

We head off not long after the ferry arrives – a hefty drive ahead of us. On the way back a friendly local says hello.

We swap the beach front towns for the mountainous centre. The roads are reasonable and the quaint mountaintop villages deserve some time to be explored, but the sun is not going to wait for us so we maintain a good pace. After about two hours, we hit Elafonisi Beach and head out past the sun loungers to the Church Agia Irini.

Walking on the sand is heavy going but we’d been promised a gorgeous sunset so we trek on. We keep away from the fragile grass and keep to the waters edge. The church is perched on a steep sand hill which reminds our legs that Samaria was only 24 hours ago, but we make it to the top. The church itself is deserted but seems to have been visited recently – whoever came left offerings of candles, heather and pictures of various saints. It’s very tidy, and well looked after. After having a look around, we set up and wait half an hour for the sun to go down.

We get some good shots, and then head back in the gathering darkness. We try to stop off in the township for some dinner, but everything is closed. We check to see if there is a shortcut to get back to Chania, but the best route is the one we came in on. It’s another long day, but you can certainly see why Crete has the reputation that it has for the beauty of its beaches.

Day Four – Heraklion

In contrast to our arrival in Heraklion, the return trip is leisurely. We get the bus from Chania with no issues and decide to spend the hours before our flight home exploring Heraklion. It’s the Big Smoke of Crete and has a slightly more touristy focus – streets full of fridge magnets, I  Crete t-shirts and other tat. The fountain that we’re told Heraklion is famous for turns out to be a disappointment and the best part of it for me is the port area. We’ve only invested a few hours here and I’m kind of glad. I’m sure we must have missed some great attractions, but after Samaria and the beaches, I don’t think Crete owes me too much.

How Much Did It Cost?

Let’s assume you wanted to do the same trip as we did, but heading over from London instead of Thira (4 nights, flying from London)

Would I Go Back?

I really enjoyed it but I don’t think that I would – there’s not enough there that I missed the first time to warrant a return trip, and Greece and the rest of the world certainly have more new beaches to explore.

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