….and finally, Crete

After the last and longest ferry ride of this Greece trip (4 hrs from Paros), getting to the biggest of the Greek Islands was quite a nice feeling. Crete offered yet more of that warm and welcoming Greek hospitality, lots of hustle and bustle and an obvious ‘city vibe’ compared to the Cyclades ‘island vibe’.

One night in the hub of Heraklion was much needed after the long ferry ride, before the road journey to Rethymnon the next day. Home to a major ferry port and the main largest airport on Crete, Heraklion is a very busy interchange for tourists, as you can imagine.

Last but not least

Apparently summers in Crete last the longest in Greece due to its southerly position, so great for an Indian summer getaway and ideal for a Greek Island hopping last stop. 

Unpopular?

For some people Heraklion is the least attractive part of Crete, since it’s “not as pretty as Chania or Rethymnon” and ‘there’s a younger crowd’ (not that this really stood out – I thought this was more the case in Hersonissos to be honest – noticeably more teen-agey/student aged/20s looking tourists in my opinion)…..on the smaller islands tourists seemed more balanced age-wise and more so the maturer end of the scale.

I think Heraklion is ok for a day or two but I don’t think you’re missing much if you skip it….again, it all depends what’s on your ‘to do list’ while you’re there.

Heraklion seems to get dismissed in a similar way to Athens on mainland Greece (which I haven’t visited, but would like to, I actually knocked it off the itinerary for this trip to allow more time in other places, and avoid burn-out).

If you’ve visited other parts of Crete, then it’s easy to write-off Heraklion as inferior, since it can’t compete with the pretty aesthetics and beachy scenes of the more popular areas.

Heraklion isn’t as calm and dreamy as venetian inspired Chania and maybe not as charming as Rethymnon’s old town, but that’s not what Heraklion is trying to be, so you have to take it for what it is. I suspect a lot of the people who criticise Heraklion didn’t do much research prior to visiting otherwise they’d have known roughly what to expect.

If I’m not mistaken, I think cruise ships visit Heraklion, but probably not as hectic an ordeal as they are on Santorini??

First Impressions of Heraklion

Leaving the port area and entering the city, Heraklion felt very much like any big city with lots of tight streets, packed with shops, cafes, traffic and people everywhere, on the move, a busy cosmopolitan hub.   

I saw various street vending machines around Greece including the one below, they all sell random useful things:

Like I flagged up in my previous post, here we go again – drivers parking on zebra crossings to pick up and drop off, I guess its a norm in Greece…this was outside the archeological museum:

Shopping

If you’re up for some retail therapy, you’re in the right place, central Heraklion is packed with shops, everywhere you look, including the landmark central market strip.

M&S, H&M and Zara are amongst some of the familiar brands you’ll probably come across….but you won’t see brands like this on Santorini, Naxos or Paros.

Spotted

Well, this must be the only stop on the trip where I saw quite a few dogs, including the giant below….whoa!!! These two were quite the celebrities while out for a walk:

The Archeological Museum

Having heard so much positive feedback about it, I made a dedicated effort to check this out, Heraklion’s Archaeological Museum is meant to be the best of its kind on Crete. Greece seems to be full of museums, everywhere you go, but this one sounded particularly interesting.

It’s much smaller than I imagined, over two floors. Many of the artefacts were very similar, like pots and urns, there was a lot of this, and a little bit of information on each collection.  

Changing money – heads up

If you find yourself needing to change some money, don’t bother going to The Bank of Chania, as you have to make an ‘appointment’ prior, and they only offer limited time slots per week (just what a busy tourist on limited time needs to hear right!). Not sure if the other banks are the same. Instead, go to one of the small money exchange stands/kiosks you’ll see dotted here and there or just make sure you take some cash with you beforehand.

Tip: cash in your hand tends to lead to a better discount if you’re after a bargain!

After a good night’s sleep and a wander around Heraklion, it was time to head onwards to Rethymnon.

Tourists and Discounts

Interesting intel from our driver – he named a particular country in the middle east that he said brings some of the wealthiest tourists to Greece, but these tourist are the ‘tightest of them all’, demanding the biggest discounts on everything!

I guess you don’t hold onto wealth by splurging it away, no harm in trying to get a discount where you can, but it sounded as though these tourists were trying to the point of it being beyond the joke…..

I witnessed some tourists in a Santorini clothes shop being quite pushy with the shop manager, demanding a bigger discount on some linen shirts. The manager raised her voice to them and said “excuse me sir, I’ve already applied a discount” but yet they continued pushing in a disgruntled fashion. Sometimes it’s your choice of words and tone of voice that make all the difference….these tourists didn’t sound particularly polite or friendly.

Anyway, that’s enough chatter from me – best wishes and have a great week ahead ☀️🤗✨