Familien-Rundreise KRETA

Relatively late decision we (my partner, our 4-year-old son and myself) decided to fly to Crete during the daycare holidays.

Basically, I consider us to be rather spontaneous, so it was not unusual for us to book our flights, accommodations and rental car just 2 days before - the plan for the round trip, however, was almost perfect..

On the 10th of August 2019 at 6:05 am, we flew with Eurowings from Hamburg to Heraklion.

Upon arrival in Heraklion, we were greeted by a staff member of our car rental company (www.europlan-carrental.gr). He not only took our luggage, but also took care of our son. Contrary to expectations and prior booking, we even got a fairly new car (430 km driven before) with full insurance, air conditioning and a child seat - for safety reasons, we had also brought a mobile navigation system from home. I almost doubt whether we would have received the car if the provider had known which tour the car was about to go on... 🙈

Anyway, from Heraklion we then drove to Knossos, where we spent several hours and really noticed the noise of the crickets for the first time..

Afterwards, we continued towards Kissamos, to our first accommodation, the Camping Mithimna (www.campingmithimna.gr). We had a large family tent right at the front. We could park the car next to the tent. Inside the tent there was light, a refrigerator with freezer, a table + chairs, a box with dishes, mattresses + bedding. In total, we spent 4 really relaxed nights here and didn't have a single insect inside, on or in front of our tent. My concerns that it might get too hot/stuffy or that my back might have problems (I have a herniated disc) were completely unfounded. A longer stay would have been no problem at all..

Breakfast was relatively cheap to book and was quite sufficient with bread, fried eggs, bacon, jam, juice and a hot drink. It was really nice to sit there, with a view of the private beach (pebble beach with about 20 sunbeds and umbrellas).

From the beach you can see directly to the nature reserve that leads to Balos Beach. Travel time is about one hour.

Day 2: Our first excursion, however, took us to Falassarna (about 30 minutes away), a vast sandy beach with beautiful water. Unfortunately, it was a bit windy during our visit and the whipping sand was quite painful for our son at times - but in the water it was wonderfully bearable.. In the evening, we experienced a great sunset..

We had dinner on the way back at a tavern with a beautiful view of the beach. Here we also got our first Raki, which was quite strong 🙈

Day 3: The next excursion took us to Elafonisi. Fine sandy beach, shallow turquoise water, ... A dream.. Absolutely fantastic for snorkeling for both children and parents.. One of our absolute favorites..

Here, too, we had dinner at the nearest tavern.. Very nice hosts who try to communicate in German 😊 The food was very tasty and for dessert there was Raki and half a watermelon..

Day 4: On this day, we set off for Balos. As already mentioned, the travel time from the campsite is about 1 hour. Before entering the nature reserve, a small fee of 1-2 EUR is required. After that, you have to drive along a very uncomfortable, sometimes very narrow "road" up to the parking lot. The parking spaces are really very limited, so it is essential to arrive early, otherwise the walk can be very long (especially with small children)..

From the parking lot, you then have to walk a long, stony path down towards the beach. It was quite challenging for our 4-year-old. We had to take several breaks and motivate him over and over again..

When we arrived at the bottom of the beach, we found little sand, but many beach towels.. We had to search for quite a while until we found a spot where we could squeeze our towel in between..

You cannot just walk into the water here, the stones are very slippery and partly very sharp.. Water shoes are an absolute MUST HAVE here!!

At around 4 pm, when the ships called for departure, it became a bit emptier.. We stayed there until about 7 pm and enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the way back..

Day 5: Time for our next accommodation. From Kissamos we drove towards Bali. However, we made a stop in Chania. Beautiful harbor, good restaurants, cute boutiques.. Definitely worth a visit! If you have more time, you can take a carriage ride or one of the many boat trips.. In the evening, the harbor area turns into a real party mile - but for us with a 4-year-old it was rather uninteresting, so we continued to Bali..

Upon arrival in Bali, we checked in at the Stone Village (https://stone-village.gr/de/). Here, too, unlike the booking, we got an upgrade to a maisonette apartment with everything you could wish for. From the balcony, we had a direct view of the pool and the restaurant. We stayed here for 5 nights. Half-board was included in the price. The selection was really good. The only drawback was that the dishes at dinner were not marked, so we didn't know exactly what we were eating. Apart from that, everyone made a lot of effort to please the guests..

Day 6: While dad relaxed a bit, our son and I explored the area and then had fun at the children's pool. Later in the afternoon, we went to the beach. However, we could have skipped it as well.. It was crowded, noisy and not really worth mentioning..

Day 7: This day was certainly one of the most exciting and exhausting. We went to Preveli. We fortified ourselves in the tavern at the Venetian bridge and then made our way through the riverbed towards the beach. The hike was supposed to take 1.5 hours - but our hike took 5 hours!!! The water is sometimes about 1.20 meters deep, there are strong currents and small waterfalls that you have to get through - sometimes you also have to climb over rocks.. Basically, a great tour with spectacular views, but with luggage that wasn't quite waterproof and a small child, it was a real torture..

We were on the home straight shortly before sunset and walked along the 'Amazon' towards the beach 😍

The beach itself, however, was less spectacular and wouldn't have been worth a visit without the hike..

We had a delicious dinner again in a nearby taverna (located on the right side in the direction of Bali). After the meal, we were served Raki again and a plate full of fruit..

Day 8: From the small harbor in Bali, we set off with the Santa Maria towards Rethymno. Dad got a little seasick and while the little one steered the ship, I enjoyed the peace and quiet 😅

In Rethymno, I strolled through the boutiques for a while. The men, on the other hand, enjoyed themselves at the beach..   

After about 3 hours, we returned to the Santa Maria. At about half the distance, we anchored and anyone who wanted could jump into the water and swim/snorkel.. It was a real highlight for our son once again..

Day 9: We went to the south once again, this time to Frangokastello. A really beautiful sandy beach with the castle in the background. Unfortunately, it was very windy here as well - sometimes small "whirlwinds" formed, so our stay was rather short.. And while dad and our little one found the "car wobbling" very funny, I felt worse with every gust of wind..

Day 10: While dad packed the car for the last time, our little one and I spent some time at the pool. Despite the relatively short stay, saying goodbye was a bit difficult for us. We were hugged and given small gifts and some tips for our next stop. But before we went there, we made a detour to Matala.

Matala is an absolute must-see. Matala is pure freedom - live and let live, ... simply great... climbing through the caves is an experience..

We had some delicious falafel at a German emigrant's shop who just opened her store in June.. Absolutely recommendable !!!!!

Afterwards, we continued to the **** Sunshine Crete Hotel (http://www.sunshinevacationclubs.com/DE/crete_hotel_DE) in Koutsounari. While check-in was quite quick at the other two accommodations, it took an eternity here. On a positive note, there was a small midnight snack waiting for us in our room 😊

Day 11: After a rather short night, we went for the "late riser breakfast" (until 11 am): bread, margarine, jam, coffee - that's it. When we asked if there would be no cold cuts, we received a rather snappy answer that we should simply come earlier for the regular breakfast.. This was the first time we felt that we were not in a family-run facility..

We spent the rest of the day at the pool and the hotel's beach.. While our son quickly got bored with the pool, he loved the ride on the 'Crazy Sofa'.. Dad and I also enjoyed it, because here we could escape the loud animation team, which passed by the pool and beach every few minutes, inviting people to join in.. Relaxation?! Not at all!! But there was a really delicious lunch buffet, afternoon snacks and a large dinner buffet..

Day 12: The first excursion from here took us to Vai Palm Beach.. We arrived quite late in the afternoon, so we probably didn't experience the peak time.. The beach didn't seem crowded at all - on the contrary.. We found a cozy spot right in the sand.. The men built sand castles - I, on the other hand, went snorkeling and enjoyed the view of the palm trees.. The tavern also seemed very inviting.. A clear favorite for me..

Day 13: I was particularly looking forward to this excursion. We took the Chrysi Express to Chrysi Island from the port of Ierapetra at noon..

When we arrived, it was quite crowded, but everything was well-organized..

Day 14: While dad packed the car for the last time, our little one and I spent some more time by the sea. We set off at noon. However, since our flight didn't leave for home until 7 pm, we made one last detour to "Lebra Island" - Spinalonga.

We made the crossing with a small boat from Plaka - in less than 10 minutes we were on Spinalonga. Due to the short distance to Plaka, the small boats operate every 15 minutes, which makes the stay very flexible.. On the island, you have to pay admission again - which is okay.. But you should definitely bring your own food, because even a small bottle of water cost 3 EUR and a Twix 5 EUR - we found this a bit cheeky..

After our detour, we finally headed straight to the airport. We could simply drop the rental car key into the mailbox without any complications. We drove about 1,500 km over rough and smooth during the two weeks - which reminds me of my initial question 🙈

Conclusion of our little round trip: ALWAYS AGAIN - although next time we would actually prefer to do without an all-inclusive club resort 😅