Crete is the largest Greek island and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean, and most of its three million annual visitors see roughly the same forty kilometres of northern coast between Heraklion and Chania. The rest of the island, the mountains, the south coast, the plateau villages, the eastern tip around Sitia, exists at a completely different pace and receives a fraction of the attention.
I spent two weeks driving Crete from east to west along the southern coast and through the White Mountains and came away thinking it was one of the most varied and underestimated places I had ever been. Here is where to actually go.
The South Coast: Almost Nobody Goes Here
The southern coast of Crete faces Libya and receives significantly less tourist infrastructure than the north. Agia Roumeli at the bottom of the Samaria Gorge, Loutro accessible only by boat or on foot, Hora Sfakion where the locals look at visitors with mild surprise: these villages exist in a Crete that has not substantially changed since the 1970s.
Loutro is the most extraordinary of them. A small cove with a handful of tavernas and guesthouses, no road access, and a clarity of water that makes you understand why the ancient Greeks thought the sea was divine. Take the ferry from Hora Sfakion and stay two nights. The boat back to the north via the ferry to Heraklion takes less than three hours.
The Lasithi Plateau: Mountain Crete in the Middle of the Island
The Lasithi Plateau sits at 820 metres in the mountains of eastern Crete, a flat agricultural plain ringed by peaks with a scattering of villages that have been continuously inhabited for thousands of years. The Dikteon Cave above the village of Psychro is where Zeus was supposedly born, according to the local mythology, and the cave itself is genuinely atmospheric regardless of what you believe about the mythology.
The plateau villages serve food that has nothing to do with tourist Crete. Slow-cooked lamb with local herbs, dakos salad with village tomatoes and barrel-aged mizithra cheese, and a raki that appears automatically at the end of every meal and is declined at the risk of causing mild offence.
Chania: The Best Part of the North Coast
If you are going to be on the north coast, be in Chania rather than Heraklion. The Venetian harbour at Chania, with its lighthouse and the covered market and the lanes of the old town behind it, is the most beautiful urban space in Crete. The city still feels like a city rather than a tourist service area.
The covered market on Chalidon Street is the best place to buy olive oil, local herbs, and thyme honey to take home. The restaurant Tamam in a converted Turkish bath in the old town has been serving Cretan and Ottoman-influenced food for decades and remains one of the best meals available anywhere on the island.
When to Go and How Long to Stay
Crete in July and August is very hot and the northern coast beaches are crowded. May, June, September, and October offer warm weather, swimmable sea, and a much more manageable experience. A minimum of ten days is needed to see the island beyond the obvious destinations. Two weeks allows you to get to the south coast and the mountain interior properly.
A hire car is essential outside Heraklion and Chania. The mountain roads require confidence rather than special skills but they are narrow and the gradients are steep. The reward for driving them is access to a version of Crete that most package tourists never encounter.
