Cycling UK Forum

Planning an 8 day tour to Crete next April. Flying to and from Heraklion. Hoping to average 80k-100k per day. Staying in hotels/B&Bs. Any recommendations for must sees / places to avoid etc.

Thanks

Chris

I've not cycled in Crete but have had a couple of holidays there. I have seen organised groups of cyclists on the island - usually in the mountains and being followed by a vehicle with a trailer to carry the bikes - I guess the vehicle takes them to somewhere better for cycling than the busy coastal roads.

There can be a big difference in climate between the north and south sides of the island - the north cloudier and cooler than the south but you are supposed to be able to swim in the sea off the south coast from about mid-April. The main road running east to west along the island is in the north and can be very busy with fast moving lorries, cars and buses - but if you are going in April it should all be much quieter. In the west roads run south from this main road down to the south coast but there is no connecting road along the south coast except from about the middle of the island eastwards. This means any trip from the north - which is probably the best place to stay if you want to explore most of the island - will inclove going over the mountains first to reach the south. It can snow in the winter in the mountains but you should be OK in Apil but it will be cold up there so you will need warm clothing.

Malia in the East is where the rowdies go so you may wish to avoid it but the far east is where the up-market tourism is. Finding somewhere to stay will probably be best governed by where you are likely to find places open in April. Agios Nikolaos is a pleasant town and not too far from Hania, which is where the biggest airport is and where you will probably enter the country. However, in April I don't think you will find any budget airlines flying into Crete and you will probably need to stage via Athens - and this will not be cheap. The cost of air travel to Crete out of season was what put me off an out of season trip a couple of years ago. Alternatively, you could take a ferry from Athens.

Knossos is the most famous ruin on the island but is is heaving with tourists in the season and we never bothered to visit it, it is also not particularly authentic as bits were rebuilt to suit the excavator after it was discovered. The Commonwealth war grave at Souda is a moving place to visit. The bodies of UK, Australian and NZ airman who died in the Battle of Crete are buried there. Vai Beach in the extreme NE is also worth visiting other than those I would just get a guide book and go exploring!

http://www.sfakia-crete.com/sfakia-cret ... crete.html

Great place - no brits
Hotel Stavris with Georgis, Stavros and Aristotilis magic and cheap
It will test your legs
Al

Avoid: Malia (& most of the NE of the island) & Knossos (Fake Crowded Victorian theme park)

Visit: Chania; Rethymno; Monastry of Arkadi; Samaria Gorge (an absolute must walk) Melidoni Cave (if you can find it!); Elafonisi (beach & island on SW coast)

Enjoy!

philg wrote:Samaria Gorge (an absolute must walk)

This is not possible in April. It doesn't open at all until 1 May, and even then it cannot be guaranteed the water level will be low enough to walk the gorge. Nevertheless, it is definitely worth cycling up the hill to Omalos at the top of the gorge (about 1350m from memory), where there are some hotels and simple lodges and the like. And you can take the boat along the S coast from Chora Sfakion to Paleochora in the SW corner which substitutes for the lack of road - Paleochora to Omalos is a very beautiful ride, various routes possible. You might find reports of people taking their bicycles along the gorge in the past, but this is rigorously prevented today, and is very silly in any case, basically you have to carry it as you do the equivalent of descending from the top of Ben Nevis to the sea.

Basically, in a week out of Iraklio (or Herakleion or whatever), if you go all the way to the western end of the island, that is as much as you will do in a week, and you will probably need to take the bus back from Chania to Iraklio. Do not ride on the main road along the north coast, about as much fun as cycling on the A5, and a lot more dangerous, even in April. So if you want to see the high plateau with the windmills and that, you probably won't be going to Paleochora.

To find water warm enough to swim in in mid-April, you need to find a shallow sloping beach, whether north coast or south. A steep beach or rocks will have cold water in mid-April, whichever side of the island. It can be rather windy in April, which might put you off from going onto a beach. We found we were either in T and shorts and dripping in the bright sun, or else wrapped up in warm coats against the wind, with not much in the middle.

Hi, There is a beautiful lake called Limni Kourna, 5km south of Georgioupoli (on North coast about 20k from Rethimnon) It is the only large permanent body of freshwater on the migration path between Africa and Europe and as such it is a 'stop-off' for a wide variety of bird species. The lake is fed entirely by upwelling springs from the surrounding limestone mountains (the largest of which rises as a huge circular blue hole at the south east corner of the lake and fringed by a reed bed)and there are freshwater turtles (largest about 30cm), and crabs to see. The waters are very clear for snorkelling, and there is a lakeshore path round to the far bank. At the top of the track leading down to the lake is a small taverna that does accommodation and at the bottom of the track close to the lake shore is another one (don't know if they have places to stay) I'm sure you will be impressed with the beauty of the place and its wildlife.