3 Weeks in Crete (Complete Itinerary list)

Updated: 19 January, 2022 seen 1,004

This is a round-up post for our 3 weeks trip to Crete, Grece in June 2017, listing most of the places (tourism objects, hotels, restaurants, and more)

In short, we fled from Tbilisi via Athens to Chania, see About Tbilisi - Athens - Chania (Greece) flight by Aegean Airlines,  spent some 8 hours in Athens, and arrived at Chania international airport from where our Cretan trip started.

From the airport, we took a public bus (the price was cheap, some  EUR 2 per person, or something). 

Once we arrived at the Chania bus station we found our apartment we had prebooked already in Georgia, and it was some 5-minute walking distance from the bus station. 

In the evening we went out to have some Cretan-style dinner, and I made some lovely night photography in Chania. 

The next morning we decided to head to the nearby town of Agia Marina and caught a taxi at Chania bus station which to us to the hotel in Agia Marina for EUR 8 

We spent the next couple of days in Agia Marina, laying on the beaches, dining in the nearby town of Platanias, and sometimes driving to Chania town for some shopping.

On the third or fourth day in Agia Marina, we took a rental car and started exploring the Island of Crete, making stops at places like Kalydonia, Kissamos, Balos Beach, Kaliviani. In the evening we booked a 4-star hotel in Palaichora and took the wrong road to discover we have taken an offroad, see: Crazy, Stupid, Love - Tranquil Rough Adventures in Crete. Luckily we found the right road, after all, though we arrived very late at the hotel.

From Palaichora we continued our route back to the Stavros (which is located next to the Chania) with a few stops at small villages like Kandanos. At Stavros, we booked a hotel and stayed for a couple of days. From Stavros, we continued our route to Triopetra. 

From here on our route took us to the Heraklion, Rethymno, and surprisingly back to Agia Marina.

The fun fact from this trip - it turned out, we had 5 more days to spend in Crete (we discovered this just before heading to the airport, as it turned out we mismatched the flight dates - so yes 5 extra days in Crete were amazing)

Itinerary

Chania International Airport (Greece)

Chania International Airport, "Daskalogiannis"  is an international airport located near Souda Bay on the Akrotiri Peninsula of the Greek island of Crete, serving the city of Chania, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) away. Moreover, it is a gateway…

Postcards from Chania

At the start of June, 2017 we traveled for a 3 week leisure trip to the island of Crete, Greece, and our first stop was lovely coastal town Chania. We spent a lovely night discovering local Cretan cuisine and I photographed a lot nightly …

Taverna En Plo in Chania

This was a very long and tiring day, in the morning we left Tbilisi to travel to Athens, spent whole day there, and in the evening fled to Chania, Crete, after we checked in at out apartment in Chania, I took a tripod and we made a lovely…

Lithinon Studio Apartment in Chania Review

Situated 100 m from Chania Old Venetian Harbour in Chania Town, this air-conditioned apartment features a terrace. The apartment is 100 m from Mosque of Kioutsouk Hassan. Free WiFi is provided . We booked this apartment in Chania for a one…

Chania Bus Station

There is a cheap and pretty convenient way to travel to the nearby beaches and more distant routes in Crete from Chania town. Your journey will start at Chania bus station. In fact there is a bus service to/from Chania airport, with ticket…

Vergina Beach Hotel Review, Agia Marina, Crete

This property is 1 minute walk from the beach. Set right on the sandy beach of Agia Marina, Vergina Beach Hotel offers free WiFi in all areas and air-conditioned accommodation with views over the Cretan Sea. It includes a beach bar and a…

The Stones Restaurant Review - Platanias, Crete

The Stones restaurant is located in Platanias, Crete. Located kind of remote / roadside. We visited this place on a rainy day, after checked in at hotel in nearby town of Agia Marina (see: Vergina Beach Hotel Review, Agia Marina, Crete).…

Tampakakis Bakery in Agia Marina, Crete

Tampakakis bakery is a lovely place in Agia Marina, many pastries and tasty coffee available here. Tampakakis was closely located to hotel we stayed for couple of days in Agia Marina (Vergina Beach Hotel Review, Agia Marina, Crete) Fresh…

Red Dragon Restaurant Review in Platanias

Red Dragon is a Chinese restaurant in Platanias, Crete serving kind of combo tourist meals for IMHO bit high prices. Anyhow, as we booked a hotel room in a nearby Agia Marina town (which seems is a hotel area), then most of the dinning…

Cafe Mixail Malandrakis in Kalydonia, Crete

Cafe Mixail Malandrakis is located in a small village of Kalydonia, Crete in distance some 25km from Chania town. We discovered this place by accident, when, after checking out from a hotel room in Agia Marina (see: Vergina Beach Hotel…

Mavros Molos Beach near Kissamos, Crete

Mavros Molos beach is a quiet and kind of remote, tourist unspoiled beach located near Kissamos, some 40km from Chania.  We made here a short stop during our Crete exploring trip back in June 2017 Mavros Molos Beach is the largest beach in…

Discoveries in Crete - Rough Road To Balos Beach

Balos Beach & Lagoon have been listed as one of the TOP 10 Best Europe's Beaches in 2017 according to Trip Advisor. We didn't know that yet when planned our trip here with a rental car we took earlier this morning at Agia Marina beach…

One of The Best Traditional Cretan Restaurants - Gramvousa in Kaliviani

There is another clear winner in my top restaurant list - Gramvousa Restaurant in the small Cretan village Kaliviani. Discovered by the accident, during our travels in Crete at the start of June 2017. We headed here after failed attempt to…

Beata's Orange Juice Bar, Crete

It was on our third-day trip around Crete, when we discovered an interesting roadside cafeteria promising breathtaking views, just later, post-processing photos with the help of Google Maps I was able to track down coordinates and name for…

Crazy, Stupid, Love - Tranquil Rough Adventures in Crete

This was one of the most beautiful and craziest days, we experienced in Crete, during our 3 weeks long trip around the Island (June 2017).  Seems, it was just in the morning, we took our rental Opel car at Agia Marina and we were heading…

Libyan Princess Hotel Review in Palaiochóra, Crete

The Libyan Princess Boutique Hotel is located in one of the most beautiful resorts of Crete, gorgeous Paleochora, also known as “Nymph of the Libyan Sea” 75km from the city of Chania. Paleochora, built on a peninsula between two scenic…

Village of Kandanos in Crete

Kandanos is a town and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. We made a short stop here, during our latest trip to Crete in June 2017.  The view in front of us was so amazing, that I decided to make some…

Fresh Portakalada and Donner somewhere near Kandanos in Crete

There are times Google Maps doesn't help (in fact there are dozen of such times) - this time Google Maps street view didn't help either - after about 6 months since we returned from Crete, I'm still postprocessing a lot of photos,…

Kavos Beach Apartments & Studios Review in Stavros, Crete

Kavos beach apartments are among one of my favorite hotels discovered in Crete. We stayed here for a couple of nights in June 2017, during about a month long trip to Crete. Stavros is a village and a popular beach destination located close…

Thanasis - Cretan Taverna in Stavros

Thanasis is a typical Cretan taverna located in the town of Stavros. We visited this place during our stay at Kavos beach apartment in June 2017. Friendly staff, amazing food, affordable prices and amazing sunset views. Outdoor deck at…

Lake Kournas in Crete

Lake Kournas is a lake on the island of Crete, Greece, near the village of Kournas. It is in the Apokoronas municipality of Chania regional unit close to the border with Rethymno regional unit, 47 km from the town of Chania. Kournas is a…

Taverna Plateia in Mirthios, Crete

Ok, this is just another roadside cafeteria, discovered by accident - meet Taverna Plateia in the village of Mirthios, on the island of Crete. At least I believe it is located in Mirthios village, as we did our trip to Crete back in June…

Triopetra Notos Hotel Review in Crete, Greece

Triopetra in Crete is among the most abandoned places I've traveled lately, if they wouldn't have a sea and a lovely beach, I would compare this place to the remote and almost abandoned desert village in Georgia, Udabno. During our about…

Catching Sunset Photography at The Libyan See (Crete, Greece)

The Libyan Sea is the portion of the Mediterranean Sea north of the African coast of ancient Libya, i.e. Cyrenaica, and Marmarica (the coast of what is now eastern Libya and western Egypt, between Tobruk and Alexandria).This designation…

Filenia Cretan Restaurant near Triopetra

Filenia restaurant was a really nice discovery after we checked in at Triopetra Notos Hotel  - traditional Cretan lamb (and not only) dishes. We were just driving around the area after caught a very beautiful sunset at the Libyan sea, see…

Palios Mylos Restaurant Review near Argiroupoli Springs, Crete

Ahh, I love these lovely roadside cafeterias which are hard to locate, after visiting and leaving, on the map. This time I was lucky enough and turned out I had pictured the name of this place in Greek. A bit patience and usage of Greek…

Postcards from Crete

It has been now over a year since we visited the Greek island of Crete, during the past months I've already documented many stories from this trip. In today's Piece of Life series - one of the last days on the island back in 2017. Town in…

Galaxy Iraklio 5-star Hotel Review (Heraklion, Crete)

Located in Heraklion's elegant district, this 5-star hotel offers 2 gourmet restaurants, a free wellness centre and a large freshwater pool. Luxurious rooms feature balconies with pool and city views. We booked this hotel for a one night…

La Playa Taverna Cafe Ouzeri Near Rethymno

And again I must say - strange how it works - I almost missed coordinates for this place but with a little investigation from pictures and help with Greek transliteration and even Greek car plate registration table I was able to locate…

Eden Beach Hotel Review in Agia Marina

During our about a month-long trip around the island of Crete back in 2017, we stayed at Agia Marina twice -  for about 2 nights at trips start and about 5 days at the end of the trip. For the start, we chose Vergina beach hotel which was…

about

Hi! My name is Reinis Fischer (38), a proud dad and devoted husband. CEO and Founder of Terramatris crypto hedge fund, drone enthusiast, world traveler, photographer, and passionate lover of Georgian cuisine (vegetarian).

An ex-pat living in Georgia since 2011, I trade stocks, take photographs, work out at the gym, and many more. Here I write about travel, finance, and other things that might interest me.