Weather : Hot all week. Hottest days the last 3 at 28 degrees. Clear skys and no rain.

We would visit again at this time of year.

Holiday : Our holiday the last week in Sept begining of Oct was very good. The weather was fantastic and the people were very friendly.

All inclusive at the Heronosis Palace, lots of different food on offer, breakfast hot and cold food, lunch served with wine or beer. Waiter service in the evenings, served with wine or beer. Did not try the afternoon cakes as could not eat any more!

Friendly staff, room cleaned daily with fresh towels. Sea view was the best.

Would recommend for couples and groups - would not recommend for children or teenagers.

Places Recommended : Did not visit anywhere, just chilled all week. Wine food and rest.

We did not try the nightlife so take no notice of the rating.

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Dee went to Crete on
Sunday 27th September 2009 for 7 days

Weather : The weather was absolutly gorgeous.

When we arrived it was the end of a heat wave so the first 3 days were very very hot, but then it dropped a good bit into the 30's and was a lovely breeze.

Just be careful cause you dont realise the sun is as hot with the breeze.

Holiday : I really enjoyed our stay in Gouves. It was very quiet but it was nice.

I went with my Mam so it was just the two of us but everyone is so friendly over there you have no problem mixing. There were loads of Irish people :)

The food was good and no compliants watsoever.

We stayed in the Lyda Beach Appartments. Ilios restaurant beside the appartment was like eating at home, lovely food, thanks Emanuel.

Places Recommended : I would recommend Agios Nikolas, it's a marina resort but it is gorgeous down there.
Hersonisses for the young and lively.

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Emma went to Crete on
Friday 24th July 2009 for 7 days

Weather : Weather was amazing. Slightly deciving though the breeze took the heat away so i didnt realize how hot the sun was. But for a holiday cant get better for weather than crete.

Holiday : Peaceful, fun and just all-round pleasant.
People are lovely and the places are divine it can be quiet but it's a place that should be enjoyed by looking and not being a large lout - that's what benidorm is for.

Places Recommended : I recommend a trip into Chania in the evening the American sailors all dressed up is wonderful and the places on the harbor are delightful.
To stay i would recommend the place Georgioupolis, and a few evening in Titos cocktail bar, Georgioupolis is quiet with enough going on to make it fun, get good weather all day, nice people and no EXPATS rouining the quiet!!!

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

The author of this review went to Crete on
Tuesday 8th July 2008 for 31 days

Weather : Weather was fantastic, blue skies every day.
Light breeze at times took away the extreme heat.

Clear skies overnight, very comfortable without the heat becoming oppresive.

Holiday : Relaxing, stayed at a hotel where the family can't do enough to make your holiday memorable. Scenery around the island was awesome.
Food alll home cooked and delicious.

Places Recommended : Spilli, beautiful!

Marathi, but don't tell everyone! They might destroy the calm and peaceful surroundings.

Lake Kouros, a vision to behold!

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Joanne went to Crete on
Tuesday 9th June 2009 for 7 days

Weather : Quite hot, but that's what you go for.
Days were hot but not too bad!
Nights were cool, but not cold.
Overall just what we wanted

Holiday : Hotel Astir Beach is small but right on the seafront.
Staff ok.
Meals were well cooked and tasty.
Local bars are very welcoming and hospitable

Places Recommended : Gregoris riding trip - you go to his for a meal after the ride, what a nice time we all had.
Palace of knossos, great!
Spinalonga lepar colony is magical, also includes a beach bbq.
Also try the day trip to Santorini, what a great place!

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Weather : The weather was perfect for exploring.
Sunny and mostly clear skies with occasional clouds.
For the middle of October it was lovely!

Holiday : We stayed at Arete Apartments in a small village called Xamoudochori - just 3kms inland from the coastal village of Maleme.
It's owned and runned by a Brtish couple who moved there to seek self sufficiency.
No pool or bar but a lovely vegetable garden, free range chickens and Geese.
Beautiful views accross the valley and a wonderful, peaceful setting.
The apartments are large, clean and very comfortable with two balconies and lots of privacy.
Their website is http://www.aretecrete.com

Places Recommended : Anywhere in the West, Falassrna Beach, Balos Beach, Sougia on the South Coast, Hania Old Town.
They were all fabulous!

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

The author of this review went to Crete on
Friday 10th October 2008 for 14 days

Weather : The weather was fantastic for the first few days, then we had about 4 cloudy days, not really able sunbathe then, but no one can control the weather. It was still very hot, at least we weren't in England where it was about 14 degrees, we were having between 22 and 26 degrees. On our 7th day had a really long and quite spectacular thunderstorm which cleared the air.

Holiday : Great, took our 2 daughters with us this time, this is the 4th time we have been to Crete and the first time we have stayed in a hotel, usually go self catering. Went with First Choice and stayed at the Grand in Hersonissos. It is built on a hillside, our appts were not too far up, but we knew of the layout before we went. The hotel was clean and the staff very efficient. Our only bugbear was the food, they have a buffet setup. We went half board, so had breakfast and dinner. There is masses of food, can eat as much as you want, but after a few days it became very samey. Drinks in the hotel are expensive, but there is a fridge in every appt, so you can bring in your own to drink at your own leisure, but if you eat at the restaurant or at the snack bar you can only drink what you buy. Don't expect tea and coffee making facilities in the rooms cos there are none. Hersonissos is about a 25 min walk away and Stalis 15 mins, preferred Stalis. We spent most of our evenings in the Hotel, that was our choice, but we did walk down to Stalis some evenings for a change of food. We only did one of the activities First Choice offered and that was the Horse Riding evening. It was great fun and I recommend it to everyone. I'm 58 and if I can get on a horse(had to have a lift up though) anyone able can. We went up into mountains just outside of Heraklion (take a jumper, cold up there)the horses just walk, don't expect a gallop. After we went back to Gregory's place for a fab outdoor feast, with lots of wine and Raki. Had a car for a week, fine but don't attempt to drive into Heraklion it is mad and the Cretan drivers, mental, take the bus. Usually go to Chania province when we go to Crete, will go back there again as I did prefer it there, but I do love Crete and the people are very friendly.

Places Recommended : Didn't bother with Knossos, apparently packed all the time and very touristy. Did go to the ruined Palace of Malia, a mini Knossos, it was ok, but after about half an hour you'd seen everything. Recommend the Cretaquarium and the White Train tour up to Krassi in the mountains. Aglios Nikolas and Lerapetra are nice.

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Diana Mortimer went to Crete on
Tuesday 7th October 2008 for 14 days

Weather : We arrived in Crete on 23 sept 08 had 3 days of sun and from then on it was a mixture of sun rain and very dull weather
We were very disappointed s we have been to Crete a few times and never had such poor weather

Holiday : We stayed at the Mareva in Hersonissos and found it very poorly maintained and equipped the shower curtain fell off the rail and the shower was unusable due to the shower head falling off every time we tried to use it .
The table had a leg missing which made it unusable when our son went to bed the bed collapsed in the middle when we tried to complain about all the faults the owner said what do you expect for a 2 star property
Needless to say we shall not be staying there again also the property was on a very steep hill which we were not made aware of.

Places Recommended :

Recommend Crete to others : No

Weather : The weather in Crete was gorgeous for the time we went.
Most days were hot, hot, hot and there was only one day that it was a bit on the windy side, but hot for the two weeks that we were there.
I had been to Stalis last year, but in May and I thought that it was hot.
September was even hotter.
As our holiday progressed into September, we did notice that the evenings got darker earlier and also quite chilly - just like in May, but it was still miles warmer than England.

Holiday : The holiday was fantastic. I love Crete and will go back again and again, if I can afford it. The people are friendly and I love Stalis because it is a mixture of English, German, French tourists which I thought was okay.
We stayed at the Ritsa Apartments which are a few minutes from Stalis but on the main road. The apartments were clean and basic and that was it, really.
Last year, we stayed at the Psaras apartments which were right in Stalis - so was handy if you needed to pop back alone.
Next time, we intend to stay back in Central Stalis.

The restaurants in Stalis were fantastic and the Rhythm Bar was good if you wanted a drink and a dance.
We visited Malia, but didn't like it that much. I thought that it was more for the younger end of the market. Herosonnissos was great and we spent quite a bit of time there.
We visit Spinalonga - the lsland of tears - which was a leper colony until the 1950's and it was really good and we enjoyed the visit.
We also went to Chrissi Island which is southern most Island off Crete. It was hot and we got burnt. The facilities on Chrissi wasn't up to much and there was only one restaurant which didn't really appeal to us.
If you intend to go to Chrissi, bring lots of water and a packed lunch - it is a sunworshippers' heaven if you're looking to top up your tan.

Places Recommended : Chrissi Island - if you want to top up your tan.
Spingalonga for some historical stuff and also Knossos.

Last year, we also visited Santorini which was fantastic. The long trip is worth it to see this stunning island.

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Esther went to Crete on
Friday 29th August 2008 for 14 days

Weather : Weather was hot hot hot to hot some days especially to go sight seeing normally there is a breeze but during our 2 weeks it didnt happen............

Holiday : Stayed at the 4 star grand hotel resort in Hersononissos nice clean hotel but we were unaware the it was built half way up a mountain we had a very long walk to our room up a near 45 degree hill not good when you have an asthmatic child in tow. Asked to move room were told it was'nt possible and the bell boy would take us up in his car which wasnt always available. Nightlife was non existant without a 20-30 min walk bus service was good in to towns near and far

Places Recommended : A must is the boat trip to Spinalonga an old leper colony a must for all ages
Swimming in the med off a boat a nice bbq and a history lesson in one day.
Also a fun thing to do is the happy train .

Recommend Crete to others : No

Weather : I spent two weeks in Crete and the weather was complete bliss.
If you hate hot weather then you might as well stay in 'sunny' England but for a summer holiday it was lovely. The sun was always shining and I got burnt within the first hour. Memo for next time high suncream, more often.
I went last week of August, first week of September and I never saw a cloud, well except over the mountains. Although if you're going anywhere near the mountains then you'll probably want some breeze to cool you down.
Am going again with my boyfriend in October this year, will comment on the weather then as well.

Holiday : I stayed at Socrates Apartments which is half-way between Malia (nightlife) and Stalis (families).
The apartment 'complex' contains around 15 rooms so it's peaceful and it's set back from the main road so you don't have to hear the loons coming back from drinking. The apartments are handy because it's 15 minutes from both of the towns and you can pick and choose what you want to do.
My holiday was completely perfect, the people are friendly, the apartments were clean and weather was just perfect. Will warn about the pavement - there isn't one, so get used to idiots on scooters and quadbikes zooming passed you. It's actually funny when you can see them getting sunburnt....

Places Recommended : The Singing Chef - absolutely brilliant!!! Firing a Steak with one hand, holding a microphone with the other.
Spinalonga - no i'm not pulling your 'thing' it's a real place. It used to be a lepers colony but is now open for tours, definitely worth a look if your in to history.
The Happy Train - go on take a trip on the 'happy' train that no smiles on. Worth going on just to be the only idiots waving and smiling at people. It will take you on a little sightseeing tour of stalis before dropping you off in Hersonissos which is great for shopping.
The Outdoor Cinema - Along the strip road between Malia and Stalis is a little outdoor cinema, so adorable. Sure you've already seen the films cause they're so behind but it's worth paying the money to experience something that fun.

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Weather : Boiling hot every day! Every day the sky was so blue with no clouds to be seen for miles although the wind was bad for a few days but that was welcome!

Holiday : Stayed at Dimitris villa apartments which were really good.Amazing swimming pool which was nearly our own for a fortnight as everyone was out in hire cars.
Rooms basic but very clean,only thing missing was a kettle:(
Good breakfast in the morning which was continental.
Matala is a beautiful place and we will hopefully be going back again at easter,it wasn't like Blackpool which was great,just lovely little taverna's and a few livlier bars.

Places Recommended : Agia Galini was very nice but the day we decided to go the weather was around 115 degrees. If you get the chance use the local buses as they are air conditioned and dirt cheap.We did our own transfers too and from Heraklion airport to Matala and this cost around 28 euros fro both of us return. Mega!!!

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

The author of this review went to Crete on
Friday 4th July 2008 for 14 days

Weather : Absolutely amazing every single day for 2 weeks. Above 40 degrees every day & was around 50 degrees in the mountains. Stunning!!

Holiday : AMAZING!! Amazing place, scenery, beaches, people, food, etc. Would recommend hiring a car & visiting Rethymnon, Chania Harbour, Matala, Plakias, Watercity & most definately Ellafonisis Beach.

Places Recommended : Ellafonisis Beach (West)- Prettiest beach ever,with pink sand.

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

MELANIE MILLER went to Crete on
Tuesday 8th July 2008 for 14 days

Weather : Weather was brilliant, wall to wall sunshine for 2 weeks temperatures were well in the 30,s every day. Staying in Agia we had a lovely sea breeze as well as we were staying on a peninsula. When in the villages temperatures were very hot with light breeze, beaches were hot too as hemmed in by mountains and cliffs. sea was warm too
Brilliant island with lots for everyone Ideal for sun worshippers

Holiday : Brilliant holiday Agia Pelagia was ideal quiet location were we stayed in the peninsula hotel brilliant hotel too high on Peninsula with brilliant sea views. a lot of steps and very steep so not ideal for the elderly. Mostly German and French very few english were there when we stayed.
Locals are very friendly and kind.
20 minutes away bars and nightlife of Pelagia were great beach of Pelagia was great too Beach to the side of out hotel less than 5 mins walk was a lovely cove which you could swim quite far out, sea was warm although the rock plateau into the sea was very slippy sea shoes are the best bet.

Places Recommended : Santorini by fast sea cat.
Agia Pelagia bloom bar for chilling and Club paradise right on sea front
All the beaches are great around the area.
Knossos seems to be a bit of a con as in there is lots of free parking but people wave you in to car parks and before you know it you are paying for parking that is free further along the road, also Knossos has been messed with there is a lot of modern touching up.

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Weather : We arrived in Crete on the 20th May 2008 and left the island on the 4th June.
We had total sunshine for two weeks.
The Greek sun is very hot from morning until the sun goes down,so make sure you take plenty of suncream.
The best holiday sun we have ever had.

Holiday : Perfect.
We normally go to the Canaries in the winter but having been to a Greek Island that is where we will be going from now on.
We could not fault this holiday.
From arriving with Thomas Cook to staying in a first choice hotel it really was a fantastic first holiday to Crete.

Places Recommended : Ireapetra.
The drive from Chania is out of this world.but be warned,if you dont like heights,some places you might want to close your eyes.
We did not get to see much more, but the next time we go are going to do a lot more driving about.

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Anita went to Crete on
Tuesday 20th May 2008 for 14 days

Weather : The weather was perfect around 27-30 degrees all week, only saw some clouds on a couple of days apart from that it was clear blue.

Holiday : We stayed at the Blue Sky Apts in Gouves,had a great time, we could not fault the place, fantastic pool and very quiet & relaxing. Must recommend the Atlantis restaurant in the centre and the Blue Sky restaurant on the beach.

Places Recommended : Hire a car and go inland to see all the quaint villages and chapels, if you feel brave enough drive up to the Lassithi Plateau in the Dikti Mountains following all the hairpin bends on your way up. Must do a daytrip to Heraklion, go on the bus very cheap and reliable, only 2 euro's each way.

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Ian went to Crete on
Friday 6th June 2008 for 7 days

Weather : Absolutly amazing varying from 35-45'C, clear blue skies throughout. the best bit not at all humid, more like a dry heat.

Holiday : Fantastic, amazing weather, food, people and culture. We stayed at the Istron Bay, it was superb the staff were so lovely and the food absolutly amazing and the best thing not too many british people. Expensive but definately worth it. Lots going on but not staged, parties, greek lessons, dancing, aqua arobics. Beautiful grounds and absolutly stunning view.

Places Recommended : Istron Bay (expect to pay about £1,200 per person, including children), and the stunning country side. Stay away from the english bits as the authentic greek areas are so much better. Enjoy

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

The author of this review went to Crete on
Tuesday 15th August 2006 for 14 days

Weather : When we go in September the weather is hot but a nice heat not too much humidity and never a problem with the mosquitoes .
We enjoy it that much we go every year .

Holiday : I cannot praise highly enough the staff at the Dionysos enough.
Clean , friendly and far away from the main drag if you want a quiet night and close enough to walk if you want a night out on the razz .

Places Recommended : Lalunda , Zeus's birthplace and the water park .
Hire a car and go to Mohos : lovely.

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Weather : The weather was amazing, really hot, lovely sea. sometime sticky but good reason to stay by the pool or go to the beach!

Holiday : Very friendly people, always happy to help... great nightlife, lots of lovely bars/restaurants. overall very very pleased cant wait to go back!

Places Recommended : I stayed at the Malliotakis Beach Hotel, it was amazing, very clean, friendly.

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Carli Osman went to Crete on
Friday 11th May 2007 for 7 days

Weather : red hot sunny every day and warm all evening. you need plenty of sun cream and a hat. must have reached the 100degrees on some days good job we had two pools to take a dip in

Holiday : one of the best holidays we have had we stayed at the resort of Stalis we stayed at the stelios apartments andreas the entertainment manager was great a class act. the apartments were spacious and clean and we had a fantastic view from our balcony we were self catering ate out every evening down in the resort of stalis loads of lovely tavernas recommend marias golden beach great food.

Places Recommended : Would recommend star beach water park in Hersonissos great for kids of all ages we also went to the palace of knossis if you like greek history avoid Malia at all costs not for families we went during the day just for a look very dirty.

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Weather : It gets really hot in Crete in July/August as you would expect. I don't think we saw a cloud for the 2 weeks we were there. It was well over 110 Degrees on most days so your better off by the sea to get some cooling air coming from the water.

Holiday : Malia itself isnt the nicest place in the world to go but if your going for a usual lads/girls type holiday then you will almost definetely have a good time. Clubs seem to be going more for the R&B vibe since i last went back in 2000 when it was mainly trance and house music.

Drinks are pretty cheap out there and you get your usual reps trying to drag you in to every bar which I hate but you just learn to ignore them. At night time the main road comes to life with all the bars and clubs competing with each other for customers. There was a bar called Wembley which did really cheap offers like buy 2 vodka redbulls and get 2 free (or something like that).

Most of the hotels in Malia are pretty rubbish, especially if your going through one of the tour operators like club 18-30/twenty s and the like. rooms are very basic with no air con which can be a real problem during the day when its over 100 degrees.

Food wise you generally get the usual fast food chains but i recommend going to the pizza place on the main road where the road splits half way down. They have a proper pizza over and the taste is sooo good! Other than that the food in most places is basic and average. If your one of those people that needs their Sunday roast there is a English pub there as you would expect.

I cant remember the name of the place but there's a really good Greek restaurant at the very top of the main road, hidden round a corner. They have a roof terrace which is nice to dine at because of the heat. The staff are genuinely nice and the food is excellent. They do a great mixed grill which i would recommend to anyone (unless your a vegetarian!)

I would recommend it to anyone between 18 to 25. Malia is not a place for families, i think the other side of the island is more catered for that.

Places Recommended : Club UK(watch DJ Minos scratch, he is crazy!)
Greek Restaurant(see review).
Pizza place at T junction on the main bar strip.
Water Park to cool down

Recommend Crete to others : Yes

Robert Norman went to Crete on
Thursday 27th July 2006 for 14 days