We are trying to decide between Mykonos or Crete for our Honeymoon

We are going on our honeymoon and we know that they are very different islands but they both sound fun.

We will be in Santorini for 5 days and would simply like recommendations on whether we should spend the other 5 in Crete or Mykonos (note - we are from Los Angeles)...

We Chose Crete

Hi,

We were in the same situation - for our honeymoon we went to Athens and Santorini and then it was between Crete and Mykonos. We decided on Crete and have no regrets. We're from San Francisco, by the way.

It depends on what kind of honeymoon you are looking for. If you want to party (like, dance club party) I would recommend Mykonos from what I've heard (though again we did not go there).

We were very in to that scene when we went on our honeymoon, but for our honeymoon we were looking more for relaxation, exploration and charm.

If that is more what you are looking for I heartily recommend Crete. We got an apartment in Chania for one week and did day trips from there to explore different areas, including spending one night in Heraklion (which is great for the Knossos ruins, but if you are not in to ancient ruins I would skip).

So, depends on what you are looking for. We're planning on a second honeymoon 10 years after our first, with Santorini and Crete on the agenda.

Cheers,
Alex

Crete or Mykonos Honeymoon

Of course we are biased and will say Crete! Here are some of the reasons why:

• Crete is a large island - lots to explore
• Crete is less touristed, less crowded and less geared to just tourism
• Crete has many more varied beaches
• Crete has mountains, gorges and wild beaches to explore

Mykonos is very beautiful. Some of the best points are:

• bright white architecture
• cosmopolitan feel and dining (Crete too)
• international fashion and jewellery (Crete too)
• close to many other beautiful Cyladic islands (Crete is too)

We think that overall you will spend less on accommodation and meals in Crete, in Mykonos it is very easy to spend a lot of money very quickly.

It is only a 2 hour ferry ride from Crete to Santorini so if you have time, you could visit that island which will give you the experience of a true Cycladic island.

Here is our page about Mykonos Greece

Kalo Taxidi! by Katia from We Love Crete

Honeymoon to Greece - Crete

by Blaise
(Hong Kong)

Hello We Love Crete!

I've just stumbled on this site and have been reading everyone's stories and your comments for the past 3 hours! This is a great site! :D

I was discussing the hotel choices and places to visit with my husband just now and we were wondering about a few things:

* We will spend 4 days in Crete (know it's not enough)
* It's our first time in Crete and we are planning to arrive in mid-September

1. We plan on staying in Chania and would like to see the top most important things there are to see. However, we heard too many different suggestions ...

2. Rethymno seems interesting as well, but we don't want to keep switching hotels ... would it be too gruelling to return to our hotel in Chania?

3. We see in the other return messages that you highly recommend "Casa Delfino", do you by chance have another recommendation?

4. Is hiring a car really necessary? If so, will there be a driver as well? If you would be so kind, can you recommend the car company's site to us?

Thank you so much! We truly appreciate this! :D

Crete Trip Plan

Hi, we are glad you have found this site helpful for your honeymoon trip planning. :) Here are the answers to your questions...

1. In Chania see the old town, with its narrow laneways, boutiques and studios, tavernas and cafes on the water front. Outside of the town, see Samaria Gorge or Agia Irini Gorge, and plenty of beaches such as Balos Lagoon, Falasarna or Elafonisi.

2. It is an easy trip from Rethymnon to Chania by local bus or taxi, perfectly achievable in one day. It is 65 km each way. By bus it takes about one hour. In Rethymnon see the old harbour, the lighthouse, the Venetian Fortezza and again, boutiques, jewellery studios and shopping among the narrow lane ways.

3. Yes Casa Delfino would be ideal for a honeymoon, it is very private and romantic with exquisite service and ideal location. In the old town see also Villa Venezia, Pension Eva and Madonna Studios here...

4. No you don't need to hire a car. The local bus service is good and there are taxis available. Pre-book a taxi with driver here...

Here are some information pages you may need for this trip:

Chania Town

Chania Region

Rethymnon Town

Bon Voyage! Kalo Taxidi!

Honeymoon in Crete (5 nights)

by Sherry
(United States)

Hi, My fiance and I are looking to come to Greece for our honeymoon. We plan to stay a total of 10-14 nights depending on our budget.

We are thinking of 4, or 5 nights in both Crete and Santorini. Crete looks beautiful, however I see that it is quite large, so we need to choose the area we stay in wisely.

We want a combination of being able to relax and also have the option of some sightseeing. We both love history, so would love to see some historic sites the island may have to offer and also would love to be close to a town to explore.

I love quaint towns and enjoy walking the streets, looking in small shops and stopping to enjoy a glass of wine etc.

Since it is our honeymoon, we also want some time to enjoy our hotel and it's surroundings. We'd like our hotel to be on the water, so that we can relax and enjoy the hotel, pool and beach. We are hoping for more luxury accommodations, since your honeymoon only comes around once!

We don't have a huge budget, but do want to stay somewhere special. Neither one of us has been to Greece, so any recommendations are welcome.

We pretty much realize that 5 nights is only enough time to see some of Crete. We don't want to rush around trying to squeeze everything in and would rather see a couple top sites and mainly just enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

I appreciate any help and recommendations!

Ideas for a Special Honeymoon in Crete

Wow, you will sure have a wonderful and memorable honeymoon in Greece! Lets see - here are some ideas which we hope will help your trip planning

Option One

You could base yourself in Elounda in the east of the island. This is a aethetically beautiful bay and coastline, with a cosmopolitan seaside village.

This would mean you are only 11 km from Agios Nikolaos which is a pretty and interesting Greek seaside town. Elounda has many different luxury resorts to choose from, which will allow you to enjoy your honeymoon in exquisite surroundings by the water.

From there you could easily visit the palace of Knossos on a day tour, also Spinalonga island and Dikti Cave and Dikti Mountains and the Lasithi plateau. You could also visit the mountain village of Kritsa.

This location is also not too far from Heraklion, where you need to take the ferry to or from Santorini.

In Elounda we suggest the following accommodation with different budgets in mind:

Blue Palace Spa & Resort

Elounda Beach Resort

Elounda Palm Hotel

Information pages you might need for this option:

Elounda Beach

Elounda Village

Agios Nikolaos

Knossos

Spinalonga

Dikti Mountains

Lasithi Plateau

Kritsa

Crete to Santorini

Option Two

You could base yourselves in the very centre of the island at the Creta Palace and Elixir Spa near Rethymnon. This is a sumptuous resort that will represent very special memories of your honeymoon for years and years.

From this location you can explore the narrow laneways of the old town of Rethymnon.

You could also explore inland villages like Margarites, the Arkadi monastery or visit other beaches on the north or south coast. Take a day trip to Agia Fotini, Preveli or Frangokastello beaches, or Samaria Gorge.

This is also a comfortable distance from which to visit the palace of Knossos and depart or arrive from Heraklion port.

Also close by is the organic farm of Creta Palace, named Agreco Farm, it is beautiful and known for its fabulous food.

Creta Palace and Elixir Spa

Information pages you might need for option 2 below:

Rethymnon

Agreco Farm

Margarites Village

Arkadi Monastery

Knossos Palace

Tips for Knossos

Agia Fotini

Preveli Beach

Frangokastello

Samaria Gorge

Santorini Accommodation

Kalo Taxidi! Bon Voyage!

Thank you!

Thank you so much for your helpful comments and suggestions!

We love the idea of staying in Elounda. The beaches sound lovely and Agios Nikolaos so close would be fun to explore. I love the look of Blue Palace Spa and Resort, but after looking at it unfortunately it may be too expensive. Are there any other hotels in this area that are less expensive, but still full of charm?

Or are there any tricks to catching specials for some of these luxury hotels?

We are traveling to Athens, Santorini and Crete and are trying to figure out if booking everything through an agency would be more cost affective, or trying to book all our hotels and transfers on our own would save money. If anyone has helpful hints I'd love to hear!

Athens Santorini and Crete Hotels

Hi Sherry,

Yes there are many other good resorts in Elounda with various prices. Please see the following pages that list many affordable options:

Hotels in Elounda

Resorts in Elounda

In answer to your question the best prices we find are on the hotel comparison sites, the links above will take you to Hotels Combined which searches across the whole of the web and brings back the best prices.

In regards to your question about agencies, I guess it is a personal preference. Perhaps email your itinerary outline to three local travel agencies and ask them to quote you. You may find some wonderful deals. See if they can do better than you can!

Also agencies come in very handy if you have any interruption to your journey such as a cancelled flight, they can usually fix it with one phone call, whereas if you are managing your own travel you have to change all the bookings yourself. Just something to think about.

We have some accommodation suggestions in Athens and Santorini below to suit many budgets:

Athens Accommodation

Santorini Accommodation

Athens Airport Accommodation

Kalo Taxidi! Bon Voyage! by Katia from We Love Crete

Celebrating 20 Years of Marriage in Crete

by Yvonne

Hi - We are spending July 7 - 13 in Crete. We would like our trip to included secluded beaches, amazing food and interaction with locals and their way of life. We prefer to avoid tourist attractions. Should we focus on the west and south coast?

Thanks for your suggestions.

A Holiday in the West of Crete

It will be so lovely to celebrate your special milestone in Kriti.

When you tell the locals they will love it!

Yes, the west and south of the island will give you all the experiences in your wish list. If you fly into Chania you could splurge on a lovely romantic hotel in the old town and wake up to explore the narrow lane ways.

As July is peak tourist season, you might want to get up early to avoid the crowds, have a breakfast by the harbour and then leave quickly to head for the south.

If you take the bus to Paleochora you will be able to visit Elafonisi by boat, it is not exactly secluded but it is a natural paradise and undeveloped. Boat trips leave at around 10am each morning and return about 4.00pm.

Nearby to Paleochora are many beaches including secluded nudish beaches. In Paleochora village you will find delicious food and a little bit of atmosphere. It is still a Greek town and in July it gets quite a festive air about it.

Then you could take the ferry along to much smaller seaside villages on the south coast and spend the majority of your time there.

You could choose to stay in only one and walk or take ferries or water taxis to different beaches, or take the ferry along the route which runs as follows:

Paleochora to Loutro to Agia Roumeli to Sougia to Chora Sfakion

From Chora Sfakion you could take a bus back to Chania for your departure.

Remember that July is still peak season so in these small remote villages, it is best to book ahead. This is because there are only a few pensions, rooms and hotels in each one and they get filled up quickly in summer.

Info pages you will need for this itinerary are:

Getting Around in Crete

Hotels in Chania Town

Paleochora Beaches

Gialiskari Beach

Elafonisi Beach

Loutro

Agia Roumeli

Chora Sfakion

In Chania we suggest the Casa Delfino

Just outside Paleochora a little romantic place is Olive Tree Cottages

Kalo Taxidi! by Anastasi from We Love Crete

Crete to Athens Ferries - Are They On Time?

by Honeymooner

Hello,

I stumbled upon your blog/website and found it extremely helpful.

I am traveling to Crete as part of my honeymoon in June 2012.

I am landing at Heraklion via a ferry from Santorini at approx 20:00 on 28th June.

This has forced me to spend the night at Heraklion. This was further complicated with the hotel only offering me a special honeymoon package if I stayed for 3 nights, therefore, my checkout is on 1st July.

On 1st July, I shall be heading off to Chania and staying there on the 1st and 2nd of July.

Now, here is the main question. I have a flight out from Athens to Mumbai via Istanbul at 10:00 am on 4th of July.

I have the following 3 options:

1. Take a flight out from Heraklion on 4th July at 6am, arriving into Athens at 6:50am. However, this involves checkout from Chania on 3rd July, and spending the night in Heraklion.

2. Take a cruise from Chania Port on 3rd July night at 2100. This ferry docks at Piraeus at 5:30am the next day. This gives me ample time to reach Athens airport. However, this is under an assumption that ferries are decently punctual.

3. Fly to Athens on the 3rd July in the evening and stayover in Athens near the airport.

Now, I know about ferries schedule can change and in case I select the Chania ferry option, and if the ferry is cancelled due to bad weather, I can always book the morning Heraklion flight in an emergency and reach Athens Airport.

However, assuming conditions and weather being pleasant, how accurate are these docking times of Greek Cruise especially Anek Lines?

I am willing to take the risk if Greek ferries are generically punctual. If I reach the dock by even 6.00am and disembark by 6.30am and assume a 1.5 hour traveling time from Piraeus to Athens Airport, I still reach there by 7:30am.

Of course, this is filled with a lot of assumptions but you can help if whether this is plausible or not.

Ferries and Flights Chania to Athens

Hi Honeymooner,

I can see you have a lovely holiday planned for your honeymoon! This will be a special time!

It is your honeymoon and you can decide where you want to stay and for how long. This hotel looks very nice but it is in downtown Heraklion, which is not the most romantic city on Crete.

I would seriously reconsider this decision and stay somewhere near the beach or more atmospheric. If you want some suggestions just let me know.

In answer to your question, the ferries are generally on time however, even in summer, weather conditions do dictate their movements.

My opinion is that it is easier to fly in your situation. The flight time between Crete and Athens is less than one hour.

You could fly the evening before or the morning of your flight. I have noted the relevant flights below.

You would not need to return to Heraklion but could fly directly from Chania to Athens. If you and your partner would prefer peace of mind, you could stay the night before at the Sofitel Athens Airport, it is very nice.

Olympic Airlines with flights from Euro49
Tue, 03 Jul 2012 OA537 Depart Chania 20:20 Arrive Athens 21:10
Wed, 04 Jul 2012 OA533 Depart Chania 08:25 Arrive Athens 09:15

Aegean Airlines with flights from Euro39
Tue, 03 Jul 2012 Flight 347 Depart Chania 17:45 Arrive Athens 18:30
Wed, 04 Jul 2012 Flight 341 Depart Chania 07:00 Arrive Athens 07:50

Go to this page and click on 'Book Flights Here'
Cheap Crete Flights

About Sofitel at Athens Airport
Flights to Athens

Kalo Taxidi! Bon Voyage!