Crete

This was my second time to Crete and the main reason for going again was for the better chance of sunshine as I was going in the first week in October. In fact the weather was great, averaging in the mid 70’s and blue skies for 6 of the 7 days we were there.

I chose to stay at the Panorama Blue Hotel just outside the Venetian port of Chania on the western side of Crete. The Blue wing is the adult only executive part of the Panorama Hotel. As the hotel name implies, it has wonder full views of the sea and the surrounding coastline.

The hotel has no private beach but a 10 minute walk to its left is an endless beach which connects the resorts of Kato Stalos, Agia Marina and Platanias and probably even further. There are clusters of sunbeds and parasols along its length, some seemed private others charged a small fee but we luckily were never charged. The water was warm as it was the end of the summer and a lot of people were enjoying the waves. As it was quite breezy on the last couple of days there were several kite and windsurfers out along a shallow stretch of sea which were fun to watch.

The first day was cloudy but warm so we decided to do an excursion. The hotel reception had a variety of trips available and we chose The Little Fun Train which was a 3 hours ride up through the ravines and gorges to the small village of Therisso. Along the way a guide pointed out various points of interest and facts about the island and its history. We also spotted their famous mountain goats climbing over rocks and even in the trees nibbling leaves. It was good fun and only 15 Euros.

Twice during our week there we went into Chania on the bus. The bus runs from the front of the hotel every 20 minutes and takes about 15 minutes for only 1.30 Euros. Chania is a beautiful Venetian port with dozens of restaurants and bars encircling the harbour. It is at its best in late afternoon as the sun goes down and the restaurants and bars start to get busy. Amongst its pretty narrow streets and lanes you will find craft shops and boutiques and even more restaurants. It is quite a busy town but not rowdy and there was a huge variety of nationalities. We found a nice restaurant called Zepos around the harbour. The service was great and their menus have pictures showing each dish which was very useful. We chose not to have a dessert in the restaurant as we remembered there was a fantastic ice-cream parlour in the harbour offering dozens of varieties of delicious flavours.

Whilst we were there we chatted to other couples who had hired cars and explored the island and they recommended it. As we were there purely to relax and unwind we were quite happy to spend the days lazing by the pool or on the beach.

I would recommend this area to most people except those looking to party all night long.