Almirida is the ideal location if you want a quiet family holiday with plenty of sun and sea. The sandy beaches with crystal waters are safe, and offer good opportunities for swimming, fishing, snorkelling and scuba (PADI) diving. You can also hire wind surfers and pedaloes - even a large sailing boat for day trips around the peninsular. The village has around a dozen restaurants and tavernas, mostly along the seafront, so you can enjoy your meal just a few metres from the waves. We have personally eaten at every restaurant and have never had a poor meal, although perhaps some of the local village wine is a acquired taste! Cooking is invariably home-made Cretan (according to long-handed down family recipies) so you will find that the same dish will differ between restaurants. Variety is everywhere. Nightlife - there are several quite trendy bars open until silly hours, and there is often a disco in Nikita's bar on a Sunday night. You can also expect impromptu musicians to turn up at any time and entertain you with traditional Cretan music and dancing.
Inland, the countryside offers spectacular hills and winding valleys. May and June are the ideal months to see an astonishing display of wild flowers - including huge carnivorous plants growing wild! An ideal way to explore on foot is with local walking experts Faragi Tours, a family-run company of enthusiasts who specialise in offering walks of various length and difficulty, from beginner to expert. They are based in nearby Vamos, only 5 km (3 miles) from our villas.
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DISTANCE AND TIME FROM OUR VILLAS
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Gavalochori (pronounced GAVALOHORY)
Distance: 0.5 km (0.3 miles)
Drive time: 1 minute / Walk time 10 -15 minutes
Has a fabulous restaurant 'Aposperitis'. Along with great food, also serves 'kalo krasi' meaning 'good wine' which we can vouch for. Find them about 50 metres from the main square on the Vamos road. Gavalochori has 2 minimarkets, 3 tavernas and a fantastic 'zachariplastio' (sticky cake shop and cafe) which is open until the wee hours so is ideal for a nightcap (and choccy cake) on the walk home. Don't miss the Roman Wells just before the cemetary - well worth a visit. Also very evident are the roadsigns riddled with bullet holes - shooting them up is a National Cretan Sport, seen throughout the island.
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Almyrida (pronounced ALMEREEDA)
Distance: 2 km (1.2 miles)
Drive time: 3 minutes / Walk time 20-25 minutes
Almyrida is a picturesque fishing village by the sea. Two sandy beaches extend to the east and to the west both ideal for swimming. Not far away are isolated small beaches such as Koutalas, exiting with its sea-caves. You will find plenty of restaurants, minimarkets, an internet cafe, car hire, bakery, jewellery, and, at the heart of the village the famous Sirrocco Bar with satellite TV for those who need their sport. Sirocco holds regular Quiz Nights and Karaoke, plus the occasional guitarist. Next door is Nikita's Place, with Sunday Night Discos, very popular with French windsurfers and Scandinavians.
Just outside the village, on the road to Kalives, are recently uncovered mosaics and tombs of a 5th century church. It is also here that the last battle between the Greek revolutionaries and the Turks took place in 1896.
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Plaka (pronounced PLAKA)
Distance: 4 km (2.4 miles)
Drive time: 5 minutes / Walk time: don't try unless you like very steep hills!
Plaka is a village on the top of the hill 2 km on the steep hill above Almyrida with a panoramic view to Souda bay. It's NOT AN EASY WALK from the beach at Almyrida, which none of the villa owners will tell you until you get there! However, this village is very popular with English expats, who have integrated very well with the local Cretans. Plaka has a handful of restaurants all equally good, plus a couple of cafe bars (one with pool table). There is also an electrical shop and a couple of minimarkets. Always take the car.
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Vamos (pronounced VAMOSS)
Distance: 5 km (3 miles)
Drive time: 7 minutes / Walk time: 45 minutes
Vamos is the busy administrative centre of the area, with Police Station, Town Hall, Post Office and Olive Producers Co-op. Also a petrol station. There are some good restaurants here.
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Kalives (pronounced KALEEVEZ)
Distance: 7 km (4.4 miles)
Drive time: 10 minutes
Kalives is a good-sized seaside town in Souda Bay and you will probably drive through it on your way from the airport. Here you can find two banks (trapeza), a post office (tachidromeo), butchers, bakers and the very useful INKA supermarket on the road out to Kalami. There is even a nightclub (Club 7) and a few trendy bars. The beach is also very good. Even if you are not vegetarian, you will lenjoy an amazing Avocado Salad at the taverna 'O Potomas' in the heart of town.
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Souda (pronounced SOODA)
Distance: 18 km (13 miles)
Drive time: 10 minutes
The port of Souda is one of the most important natural harbours of the Mediterranean. Today you can visit the still existing Turkish settlements, the fish harbor and the Alien's Cemetery of Vlites Souda - otherwise known as the German War Graves
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Georgioupolis (pronounced YOURYOOPOLY)
Georgioupolis is a seaside town which is great for kids and the beach. On the beach there is a hotel with a huge pool which you can use - just pay 3 euros (which includes a free drink) and you can stay all day. The town square is bordered by open air restaurants, tourist shops, newsagents and coffeeshops. Also a Bank and another Police Station. There ia also the famous little white beach chapel which you may have seen on TV or in magazines articles about Crete
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Chania (pronounced HANIYA)
Distance: 22 km (15 miles)
Drive time: 30 minutes
Chania is a large town about 1 hour (59km) from Rethimnon and 2 1/2 hours (137km) from Heraklion on the National Road. It is famous for its beautiful Venetian (Italian architecture) harbour, with narrow winding cobbled streets that is every shopper's paradise, with a multitude of boutiques and jewellery vendors plus several markets. Sit at one of the many fine quayside tavernas and watch the world go by before taking a boat trip where you can go snorkelling around sheltered sandy bays of unihabited islands. There is also the submerged wreck of a WW2 German Bomber to explore.
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