Crete Holiday - spotlight on Plakias

We visited Plakias which is on the south coast of Crete, about 40km due south of Rethymo, in July 2005. It was actually quite a windy day although bright blue skies were in abundance.

The town is built alongside a single street running by the beach with small side streets with little shops and tavernas. Just to the north are the villages of Mirthios and Sellia, which nestle in the hills.

The bay has a long sand and shingle beach - sandier the further you go from the village. At the village end, there is a harbour wall where the boats moor up and from which boat trips along the coast are possible.



Not far from the old harbour are tiny bays and small coves where you can find quiet spots to sun bathe and swim. We found the whole area very scenic - plenty of opportunities for sketching or painting. As it was, we had a relaxing drink and snacks in one of the friendly tavernas and spent a delightful hour just walking around and admiring the scenery.

Crete Holiday - spotlight on Paleohora

Starting our 'blog tour' of western Crete, is Paleohora - a small town of about 1000 inhabitants which can be reached via a mostly good and extremely scenic road from Chania. Although generally less busy than the northern coast, Paleohora is quite a popular resort and there is quite a selection of small hotels, apartments and rooms to rent so this is a good place to visit either for the day, a weekend or as your holiday destination in Crete.

There are several different beaches and a good selection of bars, tavernas and restaurants. The town is also an interesting one for walking and sightseeing or for taking boat trips to nearby coastal villages such as Elafonisi (slightly further west) or east to Loutro and Hora Sfakion. Paleohora was once called Selino Kastelli and was the site of a 13th century Venetian castle - now renovated following its destruction by the pirate Barbarossa in the 16th century - and a popular tourist attraction.






Paleohora is well worth a visit on your Crete Holiday.

Crete Holiday

Welcome to my Crete Holiday blog. I will be posting interesting articles and reviews of my favourite places in Crete that you may find useful when you have your next Crete Holiday. I'll try to cover lots of nice places to visit in Crete during your Crete Holiday and I'll include photos of places I've visited myself. I'll also provide links to other web sites and articles so that you can make the most of your Crete Holiday.

When my husband and I first visited the North-West coast of Crete we stayed in a lovely appartment in Kalamaki just west of Chania. This allowed us to explore all along the coastal area from Chania to Kissamos. We were also able to take the local bus (very easy and low cost) to lovely beaches that you just wouldn't believe were so close to a big city. Apostili beach (on the main bus route and just on the western outskirts of Chania) is one of these - beautiful little cove, lovely swimming and a lively and friendly atmosphere. Well worth a visit!!

Incidentally, although I'll focus on Crete, you might be interested in various related matters eg airport parking, booking flights and even suggestions for keeping your computer working well - isn't it so annoying when you just want to book a flight or check out some web sites only to find your computer running slowly or crashing just when you're in the middle of something. So I'll suggest a few ideas of things I've found helpful, and hope they help you too.

I'm so passionate abvout visiting Crete that a big thing for me is how I can keep travelling there without it costing a fortune. If like me you're looking to cut your travelling costs, then take a look at this article from someone experienced in the travel business. I can recommend this book as it's full of useful ideas that are easy to follow: Why Not Fly Free

If your computer is playing up, I've had great success with this computer software package PC Booster that really improves performance. It's really easy to download and it does everything needed with just a few simple clicks of the mouse. I find it really useful and easy to use and I'm not a computer whizz: PC Booster

Crete Holiday