Heraklion International Airport "Nikos Kazantzakis" (IATA: HER, ICAO: LGIR) is Greece's second busiest airport (after Athens International), located about 5 kilometers (3.11 miles) east of Heraklion near Nea Alikarnassos. It operates 24 hours a day, year-round, handles around 9–10 million passengers annually, and is the main gateway to central and eastern Crete. A new airport at Kasteli is set to replace it, with test flights expected to begin in 2027. Read article
Chania International Airport "Ioannis Daskalogiannis" (IATA: CHQ, ICAO: LGSA) sits on the Akrotiri peninsula about 14 kilometers (8.70 miles) from Chania city, near Souda Bay. Operated by Fraport Greece, it is Crete's second-largest airport and the main gateway to western Crete, handling close to 4 million passengers a year. This guide covers the airlines that fly here, transport to the city and resorts, terminal facilities, car hire rates, arrival timing, and what to do in Chania. Read article
Sitia Airport (IATA: JSH, ICAO: LGST), officially Sitia Public Airport "Vitsentzos Kornaros", is a small domestic airport on the crest of Bonda hill, about 1 kilometers (0.62 miles) north-northwest of Sitia town in eastern Crete. It serves only Greek domestic routes - mainly via SKY express to Athens and a few regional islands - so UK and other international visitors must connect through Athens, or fly to Heraklion/Chania and drive east. This guide covers the airport's facts, airlines and destinations, how to reach Sitia from the UK, services, transport, car hire, and what to do in the area. Read article
Crete has two international airports: Heraklion (HER), about 5 kilometers (3.11 miles) from the capital, and Chania (CHQ), 14 kilometers (8.70 miles) east of Chania city. They are 15 kilometers (93.21 miles) apart. The simple rule: fly into Heraklion for central or eastern Crete; fly into Chania for the west. A third airport, Sitia (JSH), handles only domestic routes. Direct flights from the UK run approximately April to November; outside that window, most routes connect through Athens.
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Cretan music - known in Greek as Kritika (Κρητικά) - is the traditional folk music of Crete, built around three core traditions: mantinades (improvised 15-syllable rhyming couplets), rizitika (a cappella heroic narrative songs), and instrumental dance music played on the three-stringed lyra and the laouto lute. Performed at panigiria (community festivals), weddings, and kentra (live music clubs) across the island, Cretan music has evolved from Byzantine and Venetian roots into a living tradition that today also incorporates jazz, rock, and world music influences. Key institutions preserving this heritage include the Labyrinth Musical Workshop in Houdetsi and the Museum of Traditional Music Instruments "Thirathen" in Heraklion. Read article
A Cretan wedding is one of the most elaborate celebrations in Europe - a multi-day event rooted in Greek Orthodox ceremony, ancient Minoan music, and communal feasting for 500 to 3,000 guests. Unlike a typical Greek wedding, a Cretan wedding follows centuries-old village customs: the progamos party the night before, the Orthodox stefana (wedding crown) ritual, and a communal feast of gamopilafo that the whole village cooks together. A Cretan wedding amplifies every element of a Greek wedding - the feast seats hundreds, the music runs until sunrise, and the entire community contributes food, labour, and money. Read article
Greek Orthodox baptism (christening) in Crete is a full-immersion sacramental ceremony performed for infants between 40 days and two years of age. The child is baptised and chrismated - two sacraments in a single service - sponsored by a godparent who covers the ceremonial costs and takes on a lifelong spiritual role. In Crete, the church service is followed by a festive banquet with traditional food, music on the Cretan lyra, and the island's signature sweet, kserotigana. This guide covers the ceremony step by step, godparent responsibilities, naming customs, what guests should know about dress and gifts, and what makes a Cretan baptism distinctive. Read article
Crete is one of the best hiking destinations in Greece, with trails for every level. This guide covers the 7 best gorge hikes, from the 45-minute Zakros Gorge walk to the epic 17.5-km Samaria Gorge (Europe's longest). The best hiking season is April–June and September–October, when temperatures stay below 28°C (82.4 °F) and the gorges are fully open. A Crete rental car is the most flexible way to reach the trailheads, though scheduled bus tours to Samaria run daily from Chania and Heraklion. Read article
Stavros Beach is a sheltered circular lagoon on Crete's Akrotiri Peninsula, 15.4 kilometers (9.57 miles) northeast of Chania, internationally known as the filming location for the 1964 sirtaki dance scene in Zorba the Greek. The beach offers calm, shallow turquoise water beneath the camel-shaped Mount Vardies - ideal for families, swimmers, and snorkellers. Stavros Beach connects easily to Chania by car (25 min), taxi, or public bus - making it one of the most accessible day trips from the city. Read article
Spilies Beach is a sheltered pebble cove 15 kilometers (9.32 miles) east of Rethymno, known for crystal-clear deep water, sea caves that shelter the Mediterranean monk seal, and one of Crete's most scenic rock arches - Kamara - reachable in 10 minutes on foot. A true hidden gem among the Rethymno beaches, it sits two minutes off the E75 coastal highway yet stays remarkably uncrowded. As locals who have watched Spilies through the seasons, we can tell you: visit on a calm morning in June and the water is so clear you can see the square rock slabs on the sea floor from the surface. Read article
Kourtaliotiko Gorge is a 7 kilometers (4.35 miles) protected canyon in southwest Crete, open year-round (€5 ($5.72, £4.28)/day entry since 2025), best hiked in spring or autumn with a rental car. Kourtaliotiko Gorge took 5–10 million years to form between the Kouroupa and Xiron mountains, with limestone cliffs reaching 600 metres and a 40-metre waterfall near the chapel of Agios Nikolaos. Kourtaliotiko Gorge shelters Natura 2000-protected wildlife, including cliff-nesting raptors such as the Lammergeier (bearded vulture). Kourtaliotiko Gorge charges €5 ($5.72, £4.28)/day or €15 ($17.17, £12.85)/year for entry (since 2025), managed by OFYPEKA to fund conservation. Read article
Anogia is a mountain village at 750 metres on Mount Psiloritis in Crete's Rethymno regional unit, recognised across Greece for its WWII resistance history, Cretan lyra music tradition, and traditional weaving workshops. Anogia sits 39.9 kilometers (24.79 miles) from Heraklion Airport and 122 kilometers (75.81 miles) from Chania Airport. With a population of 2,240 (2021 census), it is the largest mountain village in Crete and a base for visiting the Ideon Cave, Nida Plateau, and Skinakas Observatory. Read article
Heraklion is Crete's top city for nightlife, offering three distinct scenes: atmospheric bars in the old town, modern clubs along the coastal strip, and the legendary party resorts of Malia and Hersonissos just 30 minutes away. Whether you want bouzouki with raki at midnight or a beach club rave until sunrise, here is your complete guide - venue names, addresses, opening hours, and how to get home. Read article
Dia Island is an uninhabited Natura 2000 protected island located 7 kilometers (4.35 miles) north of Heraklion, Crete. Reachable by a 30-minute boat trip from Heraklion, Gouves, or Hersonissos, the island is open to day visitors for snorkelling, birdwatching and hiking - but no overnight stays, no camping, and no cars are permitted. Dia shelters the Kri-Kri wild goat and 300–400 pairs of Eleonora's Falcon, and the seabed off its south coast holds the Cyclopean Walls - the remains of an ancient port discovered by Jacques Cousteau in 1976. Read article
Gavdos is a small Greek island in the Libyan Sea, approximately 45 kilometers (27.96 miles) south of Crete - the southernmost inhabited point of Greece and of Europe. Visitors reach it by ferry from Sfakia (Chora Sfakion) in southwest Crete (~2.5–3 hours) or via the longer ANENDYK coastal service from Paleochora (~4 hours including stops at Sougia and Agia Roumeli). The island spans 27 km², has a year-round population of around 50–100 (rising to several thousand in summer), and is famous for its isolated beaches, Natura 2000-protected juniper forests, and its biblical identity as Cauda - the islet where St Paul's storm-tossed ship took shelter (Acts 27:16). Greek mythology identifies Gavdos as Calypso's island in Homer's Odyssey. Read article
Crete is home to ten UNESCO-recognised sites: six Minoan palace centres officially inscribed on the World Heritage List in July 2025, plus four natural designations - Samaria Gorge (Biosphere Reserve, 1981), Psiloritis Global Geopark (2015), Sitia Global Geopark (2015), and Asterousia Biosphere Reserve (2020). Crete's UNESCO sites collectively document 5,000 years of human achievement - from the Bronze Age Aegean Minoan palaces and the Venetian fortress of Spinalonga to the pristine White Mountain ecosystems. Read article
Yes - Crete is gay-friendly, particularly in the urban centres of Heraklion, Chania, Rethymno, and the resort area of Hersonissos. Greece legalised same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption in February 2024 (Law 5089/2024), becoming the 17th EU member state and the first majority-Orthodox-Christian country to do so. Civil unions have been legal since 2015 (Law 4356/2015), and conversion therapy for minors was banned in 2022. Crete does not have a high-profile gay-party scene like Mykonos - the global LGBTQ+ destination of Greece - but its tourist hubs are welcoming, its beaches include several discreet LGBTQ-friendly spots, and HerPride in Heraklion has run as the island's annual LGBTQ+ festival since 2017. Read article
Crete has more than 5,000 churches, chapels, and monasteries - a density shaped by 1,600 years of Greek Orthodox faith, Byzantine imperial rule, Venetian occupation (1211–1647), and Ottoman domination. Among them, six stand out for their historical significance, Byzantine frescoes, and unique locations: from Panagia Kera near Kritsa - widely considered the oldest church in Crete still preserving its original Byzantine fabric - to the Agios Nikolaos chapel in Georgioupoli, which rises from the sea at the end of a stone pier. Read article
Crete preserves more than a dozen former Ottoman mosques, concentrated in the old towns of Chania and Rethymnon. The Ottoman Empire ruled the island for nearly 250 years - from 1646 until Crete gained autonomy in 1898 - during which the Turks converted most Venetian churches into mosques. When Ottoman rule ended, the buildings were repurposed again: as churches, museums, conservatories, and cultural centres. Today, these structures remain some of the most distinctive architectural landmarks on the island. Read article
Kalyves is a quiet, family-friendly seaside village in the Apokoronas region of northwest Crete - known for its Blue Flag beach, authentic Cretan tavernas, and easy access to the ancient city of Aptera. Kalyves occupies a sheltered position on the southern shore of Souda Bay, 21.5 km (13.4 miles) east of Chania and 27.6 km from Chania International Airport (CHQ). The village is divided by the Kyliaris River (also called Xydas River), with the old town on the west bank and the modern village on the east bank. Read article
