Refining Crete Itinerary

Water will be "brisk" in mid-May, but since elafonissi has shallow beaches, those warm up quite quickly. The Libyan Sea beaches might be a challenge .... I remember plunging into water off Sweetwater beach one May 10, and leaping right out again. While in Chania, you can walk about half a mile west of Old town, along the water (go past a power plant, and some big stadium thingie), and you'll get to Nea Hora beach ... not fancy, narrow, but fun, mainly locals --- apt. houses face the sands with cafe terraces. I remember one May afternoon, a humid day, 2 friends and I walked from Theotokopoulu street just for a quick dip. Families were there; dads in office clothes drove up on scooters with sons on back, everyone stripped down to swim trunks & jumped in water. We had so much fun watching, we just stayed -- went across to cafes for some pizza take-out. As sun went down and it was kid-dinner time, moms were at the waterline, yelling mock threats that needed no translation: Get out NOW or we'll throw your clothes in, or we'll leave without you. In Crete, in May, you can hang out more with Greeks and not tour groups.

As for Amari Valley, when all the fruit trees are flowering, what a place to linger.

Great description of Nea Hora beach! & there are some tasty, homely, family fish tavernas there, away from the main centre of the city. You could also hop on a bus a little way to Agoii Apostoli just West of the city.

In the Amari valley, you might like to look at the Hotel Alexander in Gerakari, very good value for the quality. It's a super pretty area, very rural, very quiet, you'll be welcomed.

Mid-May could be OK for a swim at Elafonisi, or better still at Balos, as that's an even more sheltered lagoon.

Nea Hora sounds perfect and exactly the sort of thing we like to do, hang out like we were a couple of locals. I was thinking that would be the case along the Libyan beaches but that is okay. We are not there necessarily to swim. Homey, local seafood restaurants and blooming trees are what we are looking for.

Thanks again for your input.

After looking at both the Alexander hotel in Gerakari and the rooms for rent in Thronos I am beginning to wonder if these locations are too isolated to be spending two nights at. Would Rethymno be a more interesting base from which to explore this area?

efharisto!

If you're more into town than country, then yes, Rethymno is a good base. It has a small but pretty old town, the Fortezza is well worth a visit, plenty of restaurants & shops, as it is a year-round base. It's a short & scenic drive to Arkadi monastery & you might like to visit Eleftherna too, with its incredible brand new state-of-the-art museum.
Of course, you can also do a nice day-trip loop drive around the Amari valley.