r/crete • u/Outrageous-Post-2813 • Jun 06 '24
Travel Advice/Ταξιδιωτικές Οδηγίες Crete Day Trip
We are traveling to Crete for the end of our honeymoon in July and would like to take a day to do a road trip around the island. I’ve never been and would like to have the most scenic drive that we could achieve. We’re staying in Agios Nikolaos, and will drive back to Heraklion to pick up my cousins honeymooning there. I attached a map of the drive I’m considering doing but would appreciate any input on if there’s a better route, or if there are any stop we should definitely make along the way.
Thank you
19
17
u/Mikefalls Jun 06 '24
I just love it when people think "Crete is for a half day trip cause it's a small island"
3
u/Outrageous-Post-2813 Jun 06 '24
I’m not necessarily looking for Crete in half a day. I’m looking for the prettiest drive. I enjoy driving and we don’t have any set plans so if we decide to stop and stay somewhere, we will
8
u/Mikefalls Jun 06 '24
TBH it could be quite hard cause the so called "national highway" (the road on the north) could be crowded. And mountain roads are for experienced drivers. If I were you I'd stick to a particular area. Crete is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to.
2
u/Dazvsemir Jun 06 '24 edited Jun 06 '24
I suspect what you call driving is not what driving on Crete is. The northern road is crowded in the summer, rarely more than 1 and a half lanes wide per direction. There's herds of cars stuck behind someone doing 50-60kph unable to pass them because there's too many turns and no visibility. That's the part of the trip where the road is "good". Always stay as far to the right of your direction as you can especially on the mountain roads.
I would probably drive AK to Matala day 1, Matala Chania day 2, Chania Heraklion day 3. With multiple hours for swimming and recreation every day.
1
u/Outrageous-Post-2813 Jun 06 '24
That’s good to know. Any of these drives generally less populated? Maybe we’ll try to stick to ones that aren’t as crowded
1
u/Dazvsemir Jun 08 '24
It depends on the season, also during the weekends there's more traffic. South Crete has the best beaches so people visit from the north on their days off.
There's only one main road connecting the bigger settlements so... it is what it is
Please post again after your trip with your experience!
1
u/PasswordIsDongers Jun 07 '24
I'm thoroughly in the "driving through the mountains is fun" camp, but 7 hours of it in a day through unfamiliar terrain seems like a lot to me.
It might work fine if you keep to wider roads but anything "mountainy" will tire you out.
5
u/sandpaper_98 Jun 06 '24
Yeah cut it in half, aren't you going to make stops at all kinda seems tiring trip for 1 day its not a small island to do it in one.
6
3
u/Alarmed_Membership26 Jun 06 '24
Either cut something out or extend the trip to another day. You have to hike down to Preveli and while it’s not long (15-20 mins) it’s down steep steps with a lot of switchbacks.. that paired with the heat of July and then the idea of getting back in the car for several hours and another stop… youll be selling the island short and robbing yourself of actually enjoying it
2
u/Outrageous-Post-2813 Jun 06 '24
We’re down to make it a two day thing. No specific plans, just trying to get the prettiest drive
3
u/moonlets_ Jun 06 '24
Cut it into three if you can. If anything goes wrong even with two days for that you’re fucked. Crete is a modern place but it’s also quite large and the bits between the cities are not necessarily the most populated. You can walk in a few minutes to somebody’s house from literally anywhere but will they be home AND speak English AND want to be helpful? Roulette.
2
u/Outrageous-Post-2813 Jun 06 '24
We’re Greek so should be good on the language end, but not a bad point. I’m good with 2 days but I don’t think we’d want to do 3
2
u/moonlets_ Jun 06 '24
Then you’d be fine with two days probably! I was just picturing like two people who don’t speak Greek getting a flat and wanting to get like some random old guy to help haha
2
3
u/TrumpetsNAngels Gortyna Jun 06 '24 edited Jun 06 '24
I will say the same as the others - cut the trip in chunks so you have time to enjoy the sights you drive by.
I can not insert a image here apparantly, so I will resort to a Google Maps link which show my suggestion. It doesnt add much more to your driving but it adds two spots that I have visited with great joy multiple times over the years.
Instead of driving from Preveli Beach -> Gorge -> Chania you take a turn left after the gorge towards a area, Argyroupolis (aka ancient Lappa) where the lower part of the city consist of restaurants and has multiple waterfalls all over. There are restaurants here where it is possible to sit under shady trees and enjoy lunch, coffee or whatnot. I have been at Koundourakis Taverna where fish also splash about.
If you havent eaten there then you drive by a marvelous restaurant, Garden Arkoudainas, on your way to the main road towards Chania. This restaurant isnt very large but very cosy under shady trees and with good food ... very very charming ... check the link.
This means the tour after Preveli becomes:
Preveli Beach -> Gorge -> Argyroupolis for coffee/soda/lunch -> Garden Arkoudainas (for lunch) -> Chania
2
u/Outrageous-Post-2813 Jun 06 '24
Thank you so much! This is exactly the kind of recommendation I was looking for! We’re definitely willing to make it a two day trip, I was just hoping to get the best places to stop, and I don’t know how to edit my post to say that! Thank you!
2
u/TrumpetsNAngels Gortyna Jun 06 '24
You are welcome 😀 There will probably be some mountain driving from the Gorge towards the waterfalls but if this is ok with you I think it is fine.
There are good restaurants in Chania also. I sometimes cross-check Lonely Planets restaurant suggestions with Tripadvisor and found Kalderimi last year - I thought I was so smart but it turned out that they had been mentioned in Lonely Planet for 12 years straight 😀 Nevertheless it was one of the better experiences with good food, some experimentation and reasonable prices compared to what we got. Located in the old town which brings a lot of charm.
1
2
u/kandelvijaya Jun 06 '24
If all you want is to drive nonstop go ahead. I wouldn’t do this. I love driving especially on lovely greek island but i prefer to do it 2 hours a day max.
1
2
u/sfr777_ Jun 06 '24
If you stay in Agios I would highly recommend going east and south east first. Vai and then head south on the old road and use the coastline to get back to Ierapetra. I would cut that in 2 parts and in best case stay one night in Tsoutserous ( the ancient Egyptian came here for the special water quality and more ) then either go via Ierapetra back Agios or explore the road from Ierapetra to Matala explore that area where are some remote beaches that you never forget. From Matala you can then go via Agia Galini down to Preveli Beach, Shinaria Beach and skip Plakias go the old road to Fragokastello. Coming from Plakias around 8 km before Fragokastello there are some very nice remote beaches as well. From Fragokastello you can get to Sfakia, take the road to Vrysses via the Askifou Plateau ( driving along the Imbros George ). If you like it very remote drive up and down to Kalikrates either directly from Fragokastello ( your car needs to be really safe and technically 100% the views and the experience is mindblowing) or skip the steep road and enter Kalikrates when turning right 5-6km before entering Askifou. In Askifou and the Apokoronas Region you find some of the best tavernas, a lot of green, small forests and ten thousands of olive tries. Via Vrysses you can enter the national road and either explore Rethymno or head to Chania.
Done around 80.000km on Crete roads in the last 4-5 years and even if you are living here permanently there is plenty to discover and so many more gems only locals know. I tried to give you the best trip when it is busy in summer. Avoid Balos and Elefonisi unless you can manage to be there at 6.00 max 7.00am. The crowds come from 9 or 10am but those places are worth visiting now only before June and from end of September/ early October because the amount of people visiting each day has become totally ridiculous and does really destroy the nature of those places.
Hope that helps. If you have questions to a particular area or road trip I am happy to help
2
u/Outrageous-Post-2813 Jun 06 '24
Thank you so much!! This is exactly what I was looking for! I can’t wait to research all these locations! 🤍
2
1
2
u/Schizma79 Jun 10 '24
Driving on the Central road (BOAK ) is not what I would call pleasant. There is not much to see and sometimes it's full of traffic.
The most pleasant would be those that connects north to south. The one that goes from Heraklion to Matala is not so nice but you will drive through some important places. From Agia Galini to Rethymno is pretty nice.
Another one you can add is from Chania to Palaiochora but you need to add a day or two.
Maybe you can also try going to east from Agios Nikolaos. Sitia, Vai, or even going to Zakros.
There are also places up the mountains you can drive but I'm not going in to that.
1
u/Outrageous-Post-2813 Jun 06 '24
If the drive is scenic, I don’t mind driving several hours just to have a beautiful drive. I love driving for the views. I also have no problem stopping somewhere along the way to stay for the night, if we decide we’re over driving. Just trying to get an idea of what the best path to take would be in order to get the best views while we drive.
2
u/hugoatease Jun 06 '24
Problem isn’t that the drive is not scenic, it’s that you’ll be most of the time crossing mountains.
Crete has only one highway in the North, you’ll be driving the rest of the island up and down at 20-60km/h.
1
2
u/v1nchent Jun 08 '24
If you go to Matala, there is a coffee place called Konteiner on the road there. Delicious coffee and a perfect place for a break before you get into the city. I also recommend the Donkey Sanctuary nearby. At matala you can also have dinner with a sunset, really beautiful!
1
u/JimmyIsTheOne Jun 10 '24
Crete is actually pretty big. Not sure if you’re familiar with New York geography , but Crete is roughly the size of 3 Long Islands
I’d say pick a portion of Crete and do some driving around there
0
38
u/luuk777w Chersonissos Jun 06 '24
I would highly recommend cutting the trip in two and stay one night in Chania