Greece

Agia Marina is a popular resort town on the island of Crete in Greece, located just some 10 km west from Chania. Frankly speaking, I didn't know of the existence of such place before our last trip to the island of Crete during the month of June 2017. Now I can only regret about it. Agia Marina beach is amazing, hotels, resorts, villas, you name it are good, service is amazing and prices are affordable. No wonder why it's so popular among Scandinavian tourists. During our about month-long trip…

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 this place - Beata's Orange Juice Bar, Crete. Indeed - views here was lovely, though the most interesting "tourist attraction" was a donkey. A kind owner suddenly got a donkey out of nowhere and here you go - fresh orange juice, donkey, and panoramic views…

For a luxury stay in Athens with a panoramic view towards Acropolis you should be ready to pay between EUR 120 up to EUR 670 per night. Although I haven't stayed for a night in Athens, as I have just once been here during a few hours between connecting flights (see: About Tbilisi - Athens - Chania (Greece) flight by Aegean Airlines) I would definitely love to stay close to the Acropolis (Ancient Agora of Athens). Sure I would think twice am I ready to spend about EUR 670 per night for a luxury…

For a luxury stay in Chania town, you will find plenty of  4-star and 5-star hotels. The best - luxury and boutique hotels are pretty affordable in Chania, you should be ready to pay about EUR 75 to EUR 260 per night. From my personal experience, thus I've not stayed at any of listed below hotels, I've stayed just for one night at Lithinon Studio apartments, close to the harbor bay for about EUR 50, spending rest of my time at other boutique hotels on Island. See my complete Crete travel map…

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 reach Balos beach in the nearby vicinity, see: Discoveries in Crete - Rough Road To Balos Beach Right now it's hard to remember where did we actually headed, but we were driving through this small village, just later we learned the name of it - Kaliviani.…

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 Kissamos (Kastelli) itself, with fine sand and relatively shallow water. Mavros Molos beach near Kissamos, Crete Mavros Molos beach is at the west end of town, right in front of the restaurants and tavernas, and is fully organized with umbrellas and…

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 Review, Agia Marina, Crete), took a rental car and decided to head in the direction towards Kissamos. it was still quite early, and we decided it would be a very good idea to have some morning coffee.  As usual, it happens with such lovely roadsides cafeterias…

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). The walk was for about 4 km (each direction) This place serves traditional Greek and European cuisine, obliviously we opted for Greek salad as a starter. I wanted to order some mussels, but kind owner of The Stones restaurant told me they don't have mussels as…

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 cocktail bar. We booked this hotel at the start of June 2017 and stayed here for 2 nights, paying in total about EUR 106. As we hadn't yet booked a rental car here, for getting here we took a taxi from Chania bus station and paid a fixed price EUR 14, in case…

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 price just about EUR 2 per person. The bus transport in Chania is cheap. I remember, once I paid about EUR 40 for a one way trip from an airport in Norway to the Oslo city center (see: Moss Airport, Rygge, Norway). Buses in Chania are cheap.  We spent one…