Romantic in Crete

Romance on Crete rests on beaches that are hard to reach — and that is the whole point. Balos lies in a lagoon between the rock of Gramvousa and a headland, with no road to it, only a boat from Kissamos; the water there is three colours at once, from turquoise to deep blue. Elafonisi in the south-west is famous for pink sand, coloured by crushed shells, and on a calm day the sandbar runs so far out that you can wade knee-deep for two hundred metres.

The second subject is air and evening. The balloon flight over central Crete lifts off at dawn, before the island has warmed. A Cretan night in a mountain village runs until midnight: lyra, raki, dances that pull everyone in. A separate line is Santorini in a day: a ferry from Rethymno or Heraklion, the caldera, sunset at Oia and back by night.

Practical notes. Balos and Elafonisi are wild beaches: no shade, no kiosks, so sunscreen and water are essential and shoes for stones come in useful. Balloons depend on the wind and are cancelled in poor weather with money returned, so do not put them on your last day. Santorini in a day means fourteen hours with two sea crossings — worth weighing if you suffer at sea.