Hi everyone!
My mom and are going to Greece this October and I'm trying to figure out how to pace the Crete portion of our trip. We're going to be in country for 20 nights. We have two nights in Paris before arriving in Greece and 3 nights in Paris after leaving Greece, but ACTUALLY in Greece, we've got 20 nights; 11 nights in Crete, 3 nights in Santorini (can't wait to see Akrotiri!) and 6 nights on the mainland visiting family.
I'm planning on flying us from Paris to Heraklion directly on Oct. 2 and spending the next 11 nights in Crete and we want to see as much archeology as possible! So obviously Knossos, but also Aptera, Malia, Lato, Gortyn, Phaistos, Agia Triada, etc. (including any and all recommendations from this forum!) History is really our main reason for travel and what drives our decision making. My mom is in her mid-sixties and I'm in my late thirties. I'm very active and mom is pretty active for a 66-year-old, but is also a very good sport and will try anything! We are planning on a renting a car in Heraklion for the duration of our time on Crete.
In terms of what we're looking for, we aren't the biggest beach people, in that we aren't planning on sunbathing or swimming at all, but we do love a beautiful beach or a beautiful view as much as the next person. We are definitely NOT party people and we don't need nightlife, in fact we'd love to avoid it if possible! We're just history nerds, and we want to stay in some comfortable, pretty, strategic communities to ensure we can see as many historical sites as possible without feeling like we're living in the car.
Given all this, I was thinking of something like the following breakdown
The first 4 nights in Matala or Kamilaki, so we're close to sites like Knossos (which I know isn't actually close, but it's not far from the airport where we'll pick up the car) Gortyn, Phaistos, Agia Triada and, of course, the Matala caves. But as much as I love Joni Mitchell, I am concerned that maybe Matala might be too young for my mom??
The next 3 nights in Chania, because we've heard the Chania old town itself is lovely and well worth a day or two, plus Aptera is right there too. I think this location might also give us a quiet day (or two) of just wandering around an old seaport with no real agenda, which is always appreciated in the middle of a long trip like ours.
And then the final 4 nights I want to spend somewhere further east...maybe Elounda? Agios Nicholaos? Mochlos? Sitia? Where?? I know there are lots of archeological sites in that direction, and I want to make sure we have time to see as many of them as possible without feeling overly rushed. But I'm not sure yet on the best home base for those more northeastern archaeological sites and I'm looking for help!
Does this general night breakdown seem feasible? Where should I be looking as a home base of the eastern end of the island?Should I be focusing anywhere else?
Thanks!