Last year we did a fab walking holiday in Romania, all organised through headwater, exceptional and no complaints. This year we struggled to find anything but ended up doing a DIY walking holiday on Gozo which again was fantastic. Definitely no need to pay others to organise a Gozo walking holiday.
So we are now looking for next spring and thinking of Crete and can we DIY it again and ideally be car free again.
We are certainly not after doing mammoth mountain treks, but some scenic gorges and swims would fit the bill nicely.
What's people's thoughts ? How easy would it be to organise oneself, especially interested in the thoughts of using taxis or local buses.
cretes a big place, can you fly to either airport? is a 5ish hour gorge walk ok? we did the samaria walk last year which was a good but tiring day out. we had a car but you can get organised trips which will involve a bus and a ferry. that makes it a full on day tho. what sort of places do you like as a base? resort by the sea? pretty town? if the latter then id recommend basing yourself in chania and doing a couple of gorge walks.
the imbros gorge walk is shorter than samaria and a pleasant trip over the mountains to do it.
honestly you cant go wrong in (on) crete, theres something for everyone.
Cheers. Definitely not resorts. Two horse towns are perfect and if it offers some sea or lake swimming even better.
We are fine with 15km walks and say 800m, but my wife prefers walking over scrambling. The Samaria gorge walk looks great.
it was a long time ago (my now wife was pregnant with our first kid) but we did a couple of weeks there all on public transport, busses, ferries and one taxi. We did three gorge walks and I did a couple of hills (Volacis Gingilos ridge above the Samaria gorge 2000m hills with a bit of easy scrambling, eagles and chamois sticks in the mind. Stayed in Loutro (accessible then by ferry only, may be different these days but maybe not) and Chania which is better for busses. Anyway, I had a book of walks and there's loads to go at. Must go back...
I did some walking in Crete a few years ago - we did the classic gorge walk ( can't remember the name but its the famous one) self organised with a bivvy on the beach and a second days walk. YOu need a pick up by boat to do it in a day IIRC - can be self organised
We also tried to climb a summit. Far too hot and everything is spiky., we set off with 7l of water and were down to our last litre 2/3 of the way up so bailed
There was little in the way of guide books or route maps and no mountain rescue. We also did some easier walks close to our base hotel but again paths in the guides did not exist on the ground and it was very spikey vegitation.
So possible but not easy to do. 2 successful walks for me and two less successful
Interesting tjagain. After a week on Gozo in the first week of June we'd plan to go early April, probably still hot compared to Lancashire.
Gozo was so easy. There's a circumference walk with amazing bus services from the capital to all corners of the island. I highly recommend it. It's also remarkably cheap.
Crete will clearly be a lot harder but it looks stunning. I'll get planning. The backup plan can always be to use someone like headwater.
Two horse towns are perfect and if it offers some sea or lake swimming even better.
it sounds like the south coast would be perfect for you, however, the airports are on the north so would require a bit of logistical work or dearer taxis. you sure you dont want to hire a car? cretes one of those places where the best service is with the local car companies and theres no fear of being ripped off with them, i could give you a few names if you were interested.
places that i feel may suit you if you wanted to research could be sougia or frangokastello (my wifes favourite place in the world). loutro was also mentioned which is still only accessible by boat and gets really busy in the daytime but a lot more peaceful when the ferry has taken everyone away. agia roumeli is the bottom of the samaria gorge, so its busy from mid afternoon when the walkers start arriving, then really peaceful in the evening when the ferry goes as theres no other way to it. the night sky there is so clear and full of stars.
as for swimming, well theres always the sea and therell be a beach somewhere for you whether you prefer lovely shallow sandy beaches or pebbly. theres also lake kournas up the north end which is beautiful, and a bit of a destination place with pedaloes, turtles in the water and plenty of people swim in it from either the pedaloes or from the shore.
if you plan to go early april then the 'destination' beaches should be quieter, so theres elafonisi, balos and falassarna beaches, all with 'pink' sand and beautiful. its the crowds that put people off going there but you should be fine that time of year.
this is all on the west side, from chania airport. if you flew into heraklion on the other side then therell be a host of other options, the lovely 'two horse' places are a bit further tho over on the far east but its stunning over that side with fewer tourists due to the longer distances. i definitely think youd enjoy that area too, especially kato zakros and the stunning beaches of xerokambos and many more. i think youd need a car though for that side. the south is definitely quieter than the north, and the far east even quiter. avoid the busy resorts on the north coast near heraklion airport, theyre a world away from 'the real crete'.
hope thats given you some interesting ideas, we know crete very well, weve been going there twice a year for a good many years now, we usually hire a car and do 3 days here, 4 days there, 2 days here etc to see as much of the island as we can, its our happy place as you can see from my google maps of the island showing where we've been or about to soon 😀
Hey.
My wife and I have had great walking on Crete.
If based in Chania, you can get an early bus to the top of the Samaria Gorge, then do that walk.
You'll finish at Agia Romeli, and from there follow the GR 32(?) along the coast, through Loutro, taking as many days as you like.
I think we stopped at Hora Sfakion, walked the Imbros Gorge, then bus back to Chania.
A handy service is that the ferries will portage your bags for much cheapness, even if you're not a passenger. It was €2 per bag.
We also walked up Gingilos, which is at the top of Samaria Gorge. A bit of scrambling at the top.
We're away just now for a couple of days. I'll dig out more info when we get back and message you.
Cheers.
Car hire is relatively cheap and it's difficult to get around without... Voyager in crete and anna cars are a one payment, all insured local companies.
I have this and its really detailed.
SUNFLOWERBOOKS.CO.UK
We did a gorge walk that ended in a swim up to a waterfall. Kourtaliotiko. Cold but good experience
