Crete Holidays 2026/2027

Chania Old Town: A Venetian harbour ringed by pastel houses, a restored lighthouse and lanes full of tavernas makes the west's prettiest base, and it sits within easy reach of the island's most famous beaches and the Samaria Gorge.

Heraklion and Knossos: The island's capital pairs a working Venetian port with the Bronze Age palace of Knossos, just five kilometres south, whose throne room and frescoes make it the most important Minoan site anywhere in Greece.

Rethymno: A compact Venetian and Ottoman old town sits below one of the largest surviving fortresses in the eastern Mediterranean, midway along the north coast and handy for reaching both ends of the island on day trips.

Elafonisi: The southwest corner holds a shallow lagoon famous for sand that shimmers pink from crushed shell, ranked the second-best beach in the world in one recent survey, with warm ankle-deep water ideal for younger children.

Agios Nikolaos and Elounda: The east's smart resort strip wraps around a pretty inland lagoon, with the former leper-colony island of Spinalonga and its Venetian fortress a short boat trip across the bay.

Balos Lagoon: A turquoise lagoon at the island's northwest tip, reached by boat from Kissamos or a rough track, pairs Caribbean-like shallows with the Venetian fortress on the islet of Gramvousa just offshore.

Palace of Knossos: The largest Bronze Age Minoan palace, just south of Heraklion, holds a restored throne room and vivid frescoes, and around two hours covers the main halls comfortably at an unhurried pace.

Samaria Gorge: Europe's second-longest gorge runs 16 kilometres from the Omalos plateau down to the Libyan Sea, taking five to seven hours on foot, with the three-metre-wide Iron Gates the dramatic highlight along the route.

Archaeological Museum: The Heraklion museum holds the world's finest collection of Minoan artefacts, and a combined ticket with Knossos, at around twenty-five euros, saves money and ties the two visits neatly together.

Spinalonga Island: A boat from Elounda or Plaka reaches the fortified islet that served as a leper colony into the 1950s, later made famous worldwide by a best-selling novel set on its walls.

Boat trips and watersports: Day boats run to Balos and Gramvousa from Kissamos through the season, while most north-coast resorts offer paddleboarding, kayaking and snorkelling right off the beach for a gentler afternoon on the water.

Cretan cooking and villages: The mountain villages of the interior, from Anogia to Zaros, serve wild greens, cheese pies and thyme honey, and a cooking class or a village lunch tends to become a trip highlight.

Aquarium and waterparks: CretAquarium at Gournes and the island's larger waterparks make reliable wet-weather or family days out, all within an easy transfer of the main north-coast resort strip.