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Frangokastello & Chania as bases on Crete

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Hi everyone! First time to Greece. Hoping to go in June. Will be starting in Athens, then flying to Crete. Not renting a car...

Originally, we were just going to use Chania as home base on Crete, but found a fun tower to stay in in Frangokastello and could not help ourselves... We have to stay min 3 nights in the tower in Frangokastello...

So, 3 nights Chania and 3 nights Frangokastello.

Do folks have suggestions for what activity to do from Chania versus from Frangokastello? Below is what we are brainstorming so far. We would like to add in Palace of Knossos, but our priority is hiking, beach for this trip/part of trip this time, but let me know if you suggest a way to fit it into this short journey.

Friday: Fly Athens to Crete (tbd timing, likely into Chania)
Saturday: hike Samaria gorge (likely with a viator or similar group?)
Sunday: some sort of snorkel, kayak, beach and/or catamaran (will search viator or similar?)
Monday: Move to Frangokastello (suggest taxi or bus or other way? we do not want to rent a car...)
Tuesday: hike Imbros Gorge (likely with a viator or similar group?)
Wednesday: relaxing beach time somewhere (suggest beaches? priority for us is to float in the water, lay on a towel or beach chair, dont need much else) (or a snorkel/kayak/catamaran activity)
Thursday: Fly to Thessanoliki (tbd timing)

Warmly,
Ling

Posted by
24 posts

Frangokastello is really not ideal if you don't rent car...but I guess there are taxis.
As for Imbros: don't bother with a group, it's really not needed and would complicate things. Start from the bottom which is quite close to Frangokastello and walk up the gorge then return back down on foot. It's not that long a gorge. Of course bear in mind that June could be too hot for hiking.

Posted by
3723 posts

Why do Imrbros 2 ways? At a taverna at foot of gorge you can get a taxi (actually usually a pickup truck you sit in back) that will take u to the top, then you walk DOWN ... Everyone's crazy about hiking down Samaria, but honestly, when it's summer it can be packed & you will be in a loooong line, doing the whole thing looking at someone's back. Imbros is never crowded.... and at the bottom, there's a very narrow part, just like Samaria. And it takes only 3.5 hours or so ... we did it, stopping halfway down for a picnic under a little tree right by the path.

Posted by
24 posts

"At a taverna at foot of gorge you can get a taxi " or as they would probably need a taxi from Frangokastello they could take it all the way up to Imbros if they only want to walk down

Posted by
8 posts

Hi Ling, there’s a direct bus from Chania to Frangokastello in summer. Check www.e-ktel.com a few days beforehand for the June schedule. No need to book bus tickets online, just buy them at the bus station one or two days before.

There’s a taxi service in Frangokastello that can bring you to Imbros or anywhere else you’d like to go on the island (airports too): https://www.frangokastellotravel.gr. They also do guided hiking and biking tours from what I see.

Beach time: I wouldn’t bother looking anywhere further than Frangokastello given its excellent beaches and the limited time you have.

On a personal note, I’m urging you to book your tours with local travel agents (Crete has plenty) instead of “middle man” platforms like viator or getyourguide.

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