This week we have an exclusive guest post from Karim & Ashley Mahrougui, an amazing part of our team whom I met in Thailand back in 2017.
The Greek islands are all extremely beautiful in their own way, but for the adventure traveler- Crete is the one stop shop! From pink beaches to snowy mountain peaks, and some of the BEST food in all of Greece, Crete has it all.
Being the southernmost island (with the exception of gavdos) in all of Greece, Crete is a great option for travelers heading to Greece in search of sun soaked views shortly before and after the summer months. It’s so far south that it warms up a bit sooner, and stays warmer for longer than most of the Greek Islands- you are pretty much lined up with North Africa! It’s a massive island, so we highly recommend renting a car. While a moped or atv will suffice on most of the Greek islands, you will need a car while exploring crete. Trust us on this one.
We were exhausted upon arrival, so we stayed in Heraklion (the capital) for the first couple nights while we got our bearings. Heraklion is nice if you’re looking to explore both sides of the island as it is located in the middle (not far from the airport). It’s the biggest city on the island, and therefore had a bit less of the “off the grid” vibe that we are in constant search of, but we loved it nonetheless!
The first day we had our car we went to explore the town of Elounda on the east side of Crete, and we were absolutely in love with the place. Elounda was a nice little port town with lots of boats and tavernas lining the water. Not too much hustle and bustle, and excellent food. Simply excellent. Any taverna in Crete will suffice to be honest. Some of the best seafood we’ve ever had. Elounda also had a nice stretch of a black sand beach that was immaculately clean for those looking to get their swim on. All in all a perfect little town. Driving through the mountains to reach these quaint little towns/cities on the island is a lot of the fun. The views are absurdly stunning.
After a taste of the east side of the island we headed back Heraklion, and went for drinks in the city center. There we were lucky enough to meet some Greeks that welcomed us to come drink and eat with them for the evening, which was very kind, as we had no clue what we were doing. These kind gestures are a very common thing in Greece. We spent the rest of the night drinking raki and talking about life; gaining perspective from one another. We also gained a bit of Cretan knowledge, as they revealed the secrets of the island to us.
They were headed to a small city called Chania on the west side of the island the next day, and they recommended that we join them. They described what sounded like a beautiful, less touristy, port city that just happened to be a short drive from the pink beaches we’d heard so many tales of!! Seeing as we had no reservations passed that night in Heraklion and had already rented a car, we decided to follow the Greeks!! Yamas! The next day it was off to Chania where we linked back up with our friends for guess what- more food and drinks!! Greeks have relentless appetites for food and booze which always makes things more fun! After walking around the city for a while we quickly came to the conclusion that it was one of the most beautiful seaside cities we’d ever seen.
We found a cheap but amazing hotel about 5 minutes outside Chania, and then went out to experience the traditional Greek music and dancing. The next morning was rough, but Balos the legendary pink beach was in our sights and we knew it could not be missed. Weathering the storm and besting our hangovers with a traditional Greek breakfast, we hopped into our car, and it was off to Balos!!
The drive there (like every drive in Crete) was of course intensely scenic, and epic. It’s a bit of a hike through the mountains after you park, but when you catch your first glimpse of Balos from above, you can’t help but having that “momma I made it” feeling. It’s beautiful and pretty much indescribable, so lucky for you- we’ve got the breathtaking photo for you to drool over!!
We spent the day swimming in warm, shallow, turquoise water surrounded by bizarrely, yet naturally shaped pink beaches and giant mountains. A beach day quite unlike the rest. After copious amounts of cold mythos and sunshine we headed back to Chania. We spent our last day in lovely Chania walking around the old port and eating as much moussaka and gyro meat we could get our hands on. We can’t stress how amazing Cretan cuisine is. Its unbelievably tasty! That night we parted ways with our Greek friends, as we said our goodbyes over way too many shots of raki. Their holiday was coming to a close, and we were due for another island! We headed back to Heraklion bright and early the next morning, bid our farewells to beautiful Creta, and hopped on a ferry to a little island called Santorini, but that’s another story – stay tuned impulsive ones!
Till next time…
