Vori is a traditional village on the Messara plain in the southern reaches of the Heraklion district, a quiet stop that reveals the everyday life behind Crete’s famous monuments. Whitewashed houses, shaded squares and old fountains line its lanes, while olive groves and vineyards fill the surrounding fields. The village sits near the ancient palace … Read more
Episkopi beach is a long, sandy stretch of the north coast of Crete, set in the Rethymno district between the town of Rethymno and Georgioupoli. Soft grey-gold sand and shallow, gently shelving water run for a couple of kilometres, backed by rows of tamarisk trees. The coastal village of Episkopi sits beside the mouth of … Read more
Thripti is one of the quietest corners of eastern Crete, a tiny stone village perched high in the Thripti mountain range at around eight hundred metres above the sea. It sits in the Lasithi district between Ierapetra and Sitia, wrapped in pine forest, cypress and terraced fields that stay cool and green while the coast … Read more
The Nida Plateau is a treeless high basin on the eastern flank of Psiloritis, the tallest mountain of Crete, in the Rethymno district above the village of Anogeia. It sits at around fourteen hundred metres, a flat plain ringed by bare peaks and grazed by sheep through the warm months. Round stone shepherds’ huts called … Read more
Kokkinos Pyrgos is a small seaside village and working harbour on the south coast of Crete. It sits on the western edge of the Messara plain in the Heraklion district, just below the town of Tympaki. Its name means Red Tower. A long stretch of grey sand and shingle backed by tamarisk trees draws Cretan … Read more
The Kallikratis Gorge is one of the quietest walking ravines in southern Crete, hidden in the Sfakia region on the border of the Chania and Rethymno districts. It runs from the high mountain village of Kallikratis, set on a plateau in the White Mountains, down to the coastal village of Patsianos near Frangokastello. The trail … Read more
Voila stands in the far east of Crete as one of the best-preserved ghost villages in Greece, a hushed cluster of stone houses abandoned in the last century. A prosperous settlement under Venetian and then Ottoman rule, it now rewards travellers who prefer atmospheric ruins to crowded resorts. You reach it on the windswept Armeni … Read more
Moires stands as the bustling commercial centre of the Messara plain in southern Heraklion, Crete, far removed from the polished tourist resorts that line the island’s northern coast. This working market town serves the fertile agricultural region with banks, shops, tavernas, and the practical services that keep rural Cretan life running. Every Saturday, one of … Read more
Marmara Beach sits at the point where the Aradena Gorge spills into the Libyan Sea on Crete’s remote south coast. Smooth, pale marble rocks polished by waves frame this small cove in the Sfakia region of the Chania district, giving the beach its name and creating a striking contrast with the turquoise water. The roadless … Read more
Gouverneto Monastery rises like a fortress on the wild northern edge of the Akrotiri peninsula, commanding the rocky headland near Chania in western Crete. Known also as Our Lady of the Angels, this working monastery blends Venetian military architecture with Orthodox spirituality—corner towers, thick walls and a sheltered courtyard speak to centuries of isolation and … Read more
Elos stands among chestnut and plane trees in the mountains of far western Crete, the best known of the nine villages that make up the Enneachora region. This green settlement in the Kissamos area of Chania district offers shade, running water and old stone architecture far from the coastal crowds. The village celebrates its famous … Read more
Kapsa Monastery is one of the most striking places on the far southeast coast of Crete, a white cluster of buildings that clings to a cliff at the mouth of the Perivolakia gorge above the Libyan Sea. Dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, it sits in the Sitia area of the Lasithi district, near the … Read more