Things to do in Crete

Crete runs 260 kilometres east to west and nowhere more than sixty north to south. A mountain spine fills the middle. Four regional units, the old prefectures, divide it lengthways, and choosing between them is the first real decision.

How the island is laid out

• Chania — the western third, the White Mountains, and the gorges and lagoons that pull walkers.
• Rethymno — the narrow middle, with Psiloritis rising behind it to 2,456 metres.
• Heraklion — the busy centre: airport, ferry port, the main road and the Minoan palaces.
• Lasithi — the east, thinner on people, with Agios Nikolaos, Elounda and a plateau of windmill frames.

Over the spine to the south

Almost everyone sleeps on the north coast, and the south behaves like a separate island. Rivers have cut gorges from the high plateaus down to the Libyan Sea. Crossing takes longer than the map suggests.

Two of the southern villages have no road in at all. Loutro and Agia Roumeli are served by the coastal ferry from Chora Sfakion and Sougia. Plan around the boat.

What a Cretan day is made of

Days here come in a handful of shapes, and nearly all of them include hotel pick-up.

• A gorge walked downhill, ending at a beach with a boat out.
• A crossing to a shallow west-coast lagoon, or to an island off the south shore.
• A Minoan palace paired with the museum that holds what the palace no longer has.
• A village day inland: a winery in the Peza or Apokoronas hills, an olive mill, cheese pressed in a stone hut.

A seat in a coach costs about what a taverna dinner costs. A private car costs several times more. It starts to pay from four people up.

Practical

• Distances. Chania to Heraklion is 140 kilometres and takes around two and a half hours. Anything crossing the mountains takes far longer than it looks.
• The north road. The VOAK is a highway in name. Long stretches have one lane each way, and slower traffic pulls onto the shoulder to be passed.
• Getting around. There is no railway. Coaches along the north coast are cheap and frequent, but they set you down on the highway rather than at the beach.
• Season. April to late October. The sea is warmest in September, and the south coast swims earliest in spring.
• Gorges. They open in spring and shut in rain, and the call is made that morning.
• Bases. Two bases beat one if you want both ends of the island. One base with day trips beats repacking every third night.