How to travel CRETE - Greece (Must Watch Before Going!)

In today's video, I'll go over everything you need to know before heading to the island of Crete, including where to stay, logistics, must-see and places to visit, as well as food. This travel guide will focus only on the western side of the island where we stayed for a week. Without further ado, let's begin. Our recommendation has to be Chania. The city is not only close to the airport, is in a central location between all of the places you might want to see, but it's also a great city in itself. We'd also recommend around Chania or in the city of Rethymion. Our recommendation is to rent a car. Because the island of Crete is pretty big, it is better to have a car to go around this half of the island. Throughout our week, we drove a lot and without a car, this trip would be much harder and it wouldn't be as comfortable as it was. And if you rent a car from the airport, it is only about a 15-minute drive to the city of Chania. This part of the travel guide is going to be put into days. Basically, if you're going to go for a week, you can actually take this guide and literally go through each day like we did. On the first day, we recommend that you visit Rethymion and the Monastery of Rakhine. On the way to Rethymion and the monastery, there is actually a small lake that we recommend that you visit, which is Lake Korna. If you want to stop by for a quick break, a lunch break maybe, it is a perfect place to do so. The Monastery of Rakhine is a 16th century monastery. You'll not only see the monastery itself, but also there is a museum inside. And you can learn about the history of the monastery, as well as the Ottoman siege of the monastery and the island of Crete. From the monastery, we highly recommend that you actually go towards the sea to Rethymion, which is a very beautiful city. You can find free parking in the city and then head towards the sea for a nice walk along the coastline. There are many beautiful restaurants, shops, and it's very cool to get lost between the small alleyways. And there is actually one more thing, which we didn't get to visit, but there is a fortress. If you're into that kind of stuff, you can actually visit this fortress in the city. On the second day, we recommend that you visit Alefonisi Beach. It is one of the must-see of the island, known as one of the better beaches in the world. And we highly recommend you take one day off just for it. And it's also known for its pink beach. The pink color might be more or less visible depending on the season, but don't expect too much from it. And also the water here is very, very shallow. The ride to the beach is going through the mountains and valleys. It is a very nice route to get to the beach. It is a little bit farther, so it is a trip in itself. And this is where the car rental comes into play. We also put this beach on the second day, because the third day is going to be a little bit more demanding. So we don't want to tire ourselves too much. On the third day, we're going to go for the biggest adventure of this trip. The Gorge Samaria hike goes from the mountain peaks all the way down to the sea. It's a 16 kilometer hike, but this is a proper adventure. And it is a must-see, a must-visit, a must-do on the island of Crete. The hike itself is pretty much going all the time downhill through beautiful mountain peaks, valleys, as well as many cliff sides. You'll see what is left of the Samaria village. This is a proper adventure. It takes a lot of time, but it is worth it. For the views, it is amazing. You'll actually have to do a little bit of river crossings and stream crossings along the way. But it is definitely worth to do and see. This is a full-day adventure from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. This hike requires a little bit more planning ahead of time. Once you're done with the 16 kilometer hike and you find yourself in Augia Romeli, you'll have to take a ferry to Saugia. From Saugia, you'll have to take a bus going all the way to the top, to your car in Silos Kalo. So those two things you have to plan ahead of time to have the ticket for the ferry, as well as for the bus from Saugia to Silos Kalo. On the fourth day, we highly recommend that you take it easy and visit Hania and Augia Triada. After a big hike, it's time to take it a bit slower. Explore the town of Hania and visit the Augia Triada monastery. We recommend to first drive to Augia Triada, which is close to the Hania airport and the city itself. Augia Triada is an active monastery. It's very colorful. You'll find a lot of nice greenery, a beautiful monastery and a lot of cats. As for Hania, we recommend that you go without a set plan. Rather, explore many of its beautiful alleyways. Also, take a walk along the harbor and all the way to the lighthouse. On day five, we recommend that you visit the Prevali beach. This is one of the nicest and different beaches with its amazing palm forest. The drive is going again through the mountains and valleys and you'll park above and have to go down pretty much a small hike to the Prevali beach. The river goes through the gorge, surrounded by the palm trees, and it goes all the way to the sea, disconnecting the beach into two different parts. We recommend that you take this small hike along the palm trees just to take a look at the small river, the palms. It is a very cool and unique location. We recommend that you take your time for a small walk and then come back to the beach itself. On day six, our last full day on the island of Crete, we highly recommend you visit one of the most sea of the island of Crete and one of the highest rated beaches in the world, the Balos beach. We recommend that you go as early as possible, as once the parking gets full, you'll have to park on the road to the parking, adding more walking to and from the beach. From the parking, you actually have to make a small hike to the beach itself. Speaking of the road, it's not the smoothest. The last part to get to the parking is rather a rocky, bumpy road with many goats on the way. Take your time, as no car rental places count this road into their insurance. The beach itself is very picturesque, and the hike down, where you see the beach from the top, it is beautiful. The water by the beach is rather shallow. There is a lagoon, which you can walk through, and the views are amazing. Keep in mind, there is going to be a lot of people, especially during the day when the ferries come. So we highly recommend that not only for the parking, but also to have the beach a little bit less crowded, to be there as early as possible. During our adventures on Crete, we often found ourselves eating back at Chania, so most of our recommendations are going to be there. We highly recommend Gyro Technio. It is cheap, but amazing local food, and we ate there multiple of times. A little bit farther from the city center in Chania, The Coves. Once again, amazing local food, which was very, very good. And one more place in Chania, L'Angolo Ristorante. It is more of an Italian food, but we really liked the food there too. For Rethymno, we can recommend Tasso's Tavern. We got to try local Cretan cuisine. And this brings us to the end of today's travel guide. I really hope this helps you on your adventure throughout the Western Crete. If there's anything more that you would like to know about Crete, please let us know in the comment section down below. With that being said, I hope you guys enjoyed this video. If you did, don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe. I hope you guys enjoyed this video once again, and I'll see you next time.