I'm planning a visit to Crete in September 2026, and am looking for suggestions for where we should base ourselves (and, somewhat ironically, where we should not).
We will (probably) be arriving at Heraklion, and also departing from there 12 days later. We will have a car. I'm hoping to get around to most (all?) of the island (to the extent that's possible and reasonable). I understand we won't be able to get to every remote corner of Crete in the limited time we have without going crazy, but I do want to try to see and experience la crème de la crème, and sample as much of the best bits that we can without beating ourselves up too much. Of course, that's the eternal tension between time and scope: the goal is to strike a good balance.
I'm starting off from the assumption that we will want to base ourselves in multiple locations (so we don't waste hours every day driving out to places and then driving back to the same place to sleep). I'm hoping to strike the right balance between moving our base every single day, and way too often. We are perfectly comfortable moving every 2-4 days (and prefer that), but can do one-night-stands when necessary/when it makes things efficient.
To start off, I'm assuming we will want to base at/near both Heraklion and also Chania for at least 2-3 days each. Heraklion is our entry and departure point, so we will pick up and later return our car there. Chania seems to be better regarded as a nice place to be (I'm inclined to stay at a place in Chania's old town, and possibly a place outside of Heraklion). A cursory look at a map initially suggests that basing ourselves in these two cities would allow us to easily reach anything along the north coast (and some of the west/east) within 1 to 2 hours drive time each way (just a WAG), so hopefully these would work as bases for some out-and-back day trips. First of all, are my assumptions above reasonably valid?
Second, I'm looking for suggestions for 2-3 places to base ourselves (or just to make pleasant overnight stops) along the south side of the island.
Since we arrive and depart at Heraklion, the most logical way to "do" all this would appear to be to simply (but roughly) go clockwise around the island, starting in Heraklion, initially heading east, following the coast (as much as that's realistic - I know there are parts where there is no coastal road). At or near the east end of the island, loop south, then turn west and follow the coast (again, where possible) all the way to the southwest corner, before turning north, then back east, to Chania. After Chania, head back to Heraklion, return our car, get outta Dodge.
How realistic (or how unrealistic) would it be to attempt a (very roughly) circular route like this, given the time we have?
If we did go from the east end of Crete to the west end, and we remained south of the mountains that run along the spine of Crete, what would be 2-3 suggestions for good places to overnight along the way?
(Note: I do understand that we need to allow time to actually stop, do things, see things, savor things, and not spend every hour in the car.) There's probably just be too much geography to cover in our 12 days while still maintaining my sanity and preserving my marriage.
So I'm probably going to need to skip some part(s) of Crete if we want to go round the whole thing. So that begs the question: what's the LEAST interesting part of the island, that should go on the chopping block first?
Thanks for any insights you can share.