My itinerary for the island of Crete

The island on the map doesn't seem so big, but when you start making up a route, it turns out that between "let's see the palace in the morning, then go to the beach, and look at another city in the evening" and reality lie kilometers of roads, mountain serpentines and my eternal optimism. In the end, I decided not to try to see absolutely everything, but made up a five-day itinerary that combined ancient cities, beautiful beaches, mountain roads, and several places I really wanted to get to. I took a car and booked accommodation in advance, because in Crete a car greatly expands the possibilities. You can also travel by public transport, but I wanted to choose for myself where to stay and where to drive further, because sometimes it's a random observation deck that turns out to be more interesting than the point that you marked on the map for a week. The route turned out to be quite dense, but in five days I managed to see completely different Crete – historical, mountainous, beach and the lazy one, where you just want to sit by the sea and not go anywhere. Fragments of the Palace of Knossos recreated from the ruins The archaeological complex of Knossos I decided to start the first day in Heraklion, because it didn't seem like the most sensible decision to fly to Crete and immediately leave somewhere on the other side of the island. After getting the car, I went towards the Palace of Knossos, which is located very close to Heraklion. And it was here that I realized for the first time that photographs do not convey the scale of a place: when you walk among the ancient walls and imagine that an entire Minoan civilization existed here several thousand years ago, you begin to look at an ordinary vacation a little differently. The Palace of Knossos turned out to be exactly the attraction for which it is worth arriving early. Quite a lot of people come here during the day, so it's much more pleasant to walk in the morning, especially if you don't want to spend half the tour in line or look for a place where you can take a photo normally. I honestly tried to listen carefully about the history of the palace, but from time to time I caught myself thinking that I was standing and just looking at the stones, trying to imagine what it all looked like in ancient times. Kules Fortress After Knossos, I returned to Heraklion and went for a walk in a good mood. I looked at the Venetian Harbor, the Kules Fortress, strolled along August 25th Street and looked at Lviv Square. After the historical ruins, it was especially pleasant to just sit in a cafe, drink coffee and watch the city. The Venetian Fortress in Heraklion I also went to the Venetian Fortress, which is located 9 kilometers west of Heraklion. After all, it's convenient to travel by car, I didn't have to look for a taxi and negotiate with the driver in a foreign language. I feel confident and enjoy the long-awaited vacation. By the evening, I realized that the first day had been quite eventful, although according to the plan it seemed that I would only see a few places. It was then that I first remembered my favorite rule of car travel: if the navigator says it's twenty minutes to the next point, it doesn't mean at all that I'll arrive there in twenty minutes.

On the second day, I went to the west of the island. The first stop was Rethymno, which is also called Rethymnon. I immediately liked the combination of old architecture, narrow streets and the sea. I walked around the Old Town, reached the Venetian harbor and climbed to the Fortezza fortress, from where I have a great view of the city and the coast. Fortezza Fortress Rethymno turned out to be just the place where I kept telling myself, "Ten more minutes and we'll move on." Then half an hour would pass, I would find another beautiful street, go in for coffee, and forget about the schedule again. As a result, I left Rethymno later than I had planned, but I decided not to worry, because on vacation it is sometimes useful to at least sometimes lose my own plan. Fortezza Fortress is one of the largest surviving Venetian fortifications in Europe. The scale is amazing, of course, and I've never regretted making an unplanned stop. Chania Then I went to Chania. The old town of Chania turned out to be one of my favorite places in Crete: Venetian buildings, narrow streets, harbor, lighthouse and a huge number of small cafes. I walked along the embankment for a long time, and then I just sat on the terrace and watched the people. I especially liked the Venetian Harbor with a lighthouse. It became even more pleasant here in the evening, when the daytime heat subsided a little and the city began to look completely different. I realized that Hanyu could have been left for a separate day, but my itinerary was already beginning to resemble an attempt to live through three vacations at the same time.

I devoted the third day to nature and went to Elafonisi beach. The road there itself has become part of the journey.: mountains, small villages, serpentines, and views that made me look for a place to stop several times. A stretch of Elafonisi beach with pinkish sand and rocks along the coastline When I finally came to Elafonisi, it became clear why people were willing to travel quite far here. The clear water, light sand, lagoon and the famous pinkish hue of some parts of the beach create a very beautiful picture. However, I realized pretty quickly that if you want to enjoy a place in peace, it's better to arrive earlier, because later there will be significantly more people. After the beach, I did not immediately return to Chania and decided to take a short ride along the coast. It was the very day when the plan finally began to crumble, but only in a good way. I turned off the main road several times, stopped near the sea and just sat on the rocks, because after a few days of intense program, I wanted some silence. I returned to Chania already quite tired, but with the feeling that the third day was the most relaxing. There are no palaces, fortresses or long lists of attractions – just the road, the sea and the feeling that there is no need to rush anywhere.

On the fourth day, I got back behind the wheel and drove towards the eastern part of Crete. On the way, I decided to stop at the Lasithi plateau, because I wanted to see not only the coast, but also mount Crete. After the seascapes, everything changed dramatically. The road went up, there were mountains, small villages and a completely different rhythm of life. I visited several places of interest. Below I attach a photo of the monument, which I could not pass by. It was built to preserve the memory of the tragedy and the role of events in the struggle for the liberation of Crete. Monument commemorating the destruction of Lassithi by Ottoman and Egyptian troops in May 1867 I stopped several times just to look at the landscape and once again became convinced that a car in Crete is not only a means of transportation, but also a way to constantly find places that I did not intend to look for. Lake Vulismeni, Agios Nikolaos After the plateau, I headed towards Agios Nikolaos. The city is located around Lake Vulismeni, and I enjoyed just walking around it, sitting in a cafe and watching the boats. After the mountain road, this place felt almost like a resort break before the final day. It's a pity that I didn't charge my phone, I could have taken more pictures. But this is a lesson for the future – to keep an eye on charging and always take a power bank with you. In the evening, I took a walk along the embankment and realized that in four days, Crete had already managed to show me several completely different faces. At the same time, the island still managed to remain the kind where you can just stop by the road, look at the sea and realize that you don't need any attractions at the moment.

I decided to spend the last day without trying to set a world record for the number of sights I saw. In the morning I set off towards Elounda, from where I can get to Spinalonga Island. Elounda Spinalonga Spinalonga is one of those places where history is felt especially strongly. A fortress, Venetian fortifications and a settlement associated with the history of the former colony for people with leprosy have been preserved on the small island. When you walk along the stone streets and look at the sea around, it is quite difficult to perceive this place just as a beautiful tourist destination. After Spinalonga, I returned to the mainland and decided not to rush anywhere else. I had lunch in Elounda, then I found a place by the sea and just rested for a few hours. Of course, my inner tourist tried to convince me that the last day should not be spent without new attractions. But I beat him. Sometimes, after four days of trips, climbs, beaches, and streamers, the best plan is to have no plan at all. What have I seen in five days? If you put the entire route into one scheme, it turned out to be quite intense: Heraklion – Knossos Palace – Rethymno – Chania – Elafonisi – Lasithi plateau – Agios Nikolaos – Elounda – Spinalonga . At the same time, I didn't specifically try to go around the entire island, because in five days it would have turned into a competition with the navigator rather than a vacation. Kules Fortress What I liked the most was that Crete is constantly changing. In the morning you can walk among the ancient ruins, after a couple of hours drive along the mountain road, and in the evening sit by the sea with a plate of local food and watch the sunset. Elafonisi at sunset If I were to re-create this route now, I would most likely leave the same places, but make it a little quieter. I would allocate more time to some points, especially to Chania and the coast, because there it is very easy to say to yourself "I'll look quickly" and suddenly discover that three hours have passed. And I would definitely take the car again. Because the main advantage of Crete for me turned out to be not only in the famous sights, but in the road itself between them. You're driving around the island, mountains, olive groves and the sea are changing outside the window, there's another turn ahead, and you don't know what's going to happen there – and that's why I love these trips. In general, the five days in Crete went about the way a good trip should go: I watched a lot more than I had planned, spent a little more time on the road than I promised myself, got lost several times, changed the route a couple of times, and on the last evening I was already thinking about only one thing – why didn't I take a vacation at least for ten days.