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4 Nights in Crete

We are planning our 2024 trip to Greece and the Netherlands. We will probably be in Greece the last week of May 2024. Flying into Athens and will stay a few nights there, long day from Phoenix, AZ to Athens so we need to unwind. From there we are headed to Crete, which we had not been to before. We will be flying into and out of Heraklion airport as there are nonstop flights to Amsterdam from there. I also plan on renting a car to drive around Crete.

I'm looking for the following recommendations and commentary.

We would like to stay at least in a 4-star hotel not more than an hour's drive from the airport. Any recommendations?

Restaurant recommendations are always welcome.

Last week of May is it warm enough to swim?

All other comments are more than welcome.

Posted by
923 posts

A word of caution against using Auto Club for your car rental. Our vehicle ended up having mechanical problems which required us to obtain a new one the next day. I realize that can happen with any agency, however their lack of customer service was appalling. We lost valuable vacation time resolving the issue. Not sure how much driving you want to do from Heraklion, but lunch and a tasting at Dourakis Winery is terrific. Enjoy Crete!

Posted by
1441 posts

You might consider looking for a hotel in Rethymnon. It has a lovely old town area with a long beach. Lots of accommodations. I am not a 4 star person so no recommendations but you will find there are is lots of hotels in this area.

Rethymnon is centrally located so you can do day trips to the south coast at Plakias. Lots of interesting sites in that area. You can also visit Chania. It too has a Venetian era old town and harbour.

Get back to Heraklion for your last night. Be sure to join the locals for their evening promenade around the central area. Lots of bars and tavernas to visit.

As a Canadian who have to tolerate coolish swimming, I am pretty sure in late May, that you will find that once the shock of cold water is over, you can swim.

Some images
Rethymnon https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157654700502270
Plakias 2022 https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720299863731
Chania 2022. https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72177720299646015
Castello Heraklion https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157686964935102
Heraklion https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157655935354556