Yannis Divramis 
Crete holds hundreds of beaches spread across four distinct coastal regions, and each one has its own character, colour, and mood. The west shelters pink-tinged sand and turquoise lagoons, the south hides palm-lined river mouths and cliff caves, the east guards a rare palm grove, and the north lines up long organised resort sands near … Read more
Arkadi Monastery, known in Greek as Moni Arkadiou, stands in the green hills about 23 km south-east of Rethymno in central Crete. This fortified complex is more than a place of worship. It is the great symbol of Cretan resistance, remembered across Europe for a sacrifice that turned a monastery into a monument of freedom. … Read more
Elounda sits on the shore of Mirabello Bay in eastern Crete, in the region of Lasithi, just north of the town of Agios Nikolaos. The village is the best-known luxury resort area on the island, ringed by high-end hotels and villas that spread along a series of calm, sheltered coves. The water here stays shallow … Read more
Crete stretches roughly 260 kilometres from end to end, so a single hotel rarely serves a whole week well. The smartest way to see the island in seven days splits your stay between a western base and a central or eastern one, which keeps daily driving short and the days full. This route opens in … Read more
Preveli Beach sits on the south coast of Crete, in the Rethymno region, at the point where the Megalopotamos river leaves the Kourtaliotiko gorge and meets the Libyan Sea. Locals and visitors also call it Palm Beach or Phoenix Beach, after the grove of Cretan date palms that shades the freshwater stream behind the sand. … Read more
Cretan food is one of the great reasons to visit the island, and it forms a cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet that researchers link to local longevity. Meals here are built on olive oil, wild greens, pulses, cheese and only small amounts of meat, so every plate feels light yet deeply satisfying. You will taste … Read more
The Lasithi Plateau is a wide farming plain that sits high in the mountains of eastern Crete, roughly 840 metres above the sea. The Dikti range wraps the whole plain in a rocky wall, holding a patchwork of green fields at its centre. For centuries thousands of white-sailed windmills pumped water up to those fields, … Read more
Spinalonga is a small rocky islet at the mouth of Elounda bay, in the Gulf of Mirabello on the eastern side of Crete. Its official name is Kalydon, though almost everyone uses the older name. A powerful Venetian sea fortress crowns the rock, and later a village, a church and a leper colony filled the … Read more
Vai Beach sits on the far north-eastern tip of Crete, in the Lasithi region, and it looks like nowhere else on the island. A dense wall of native date palms rises directly behind the golden sand, forming the largest natural palm grove in Europe. The water is clear and turquoise, sun-loungers line the shore, and … Read more
Crete sits at the southern edge of the Aegean. No bridge or road links it to the mainland, so every visitor arrives by air or by sea. Flights land at Heraklion or Chania in under an hour from Athens. Overnight ferries from the port of Piraeus turn the journey into a comfortable night crossing with … Read more