"Flying to Chania, Crete" Top 5 Page for this destination Prefecture of Chania by nickandchris

Prefecture of Chania Travel Guide: 360 reviews and 849 photos

Snow behind Almirida - Prefecture of Chania

Last Minute Crete

October 2001 and we were lucky to be in the position of booking a last minute holiday (to Greece of course!). We trawled teletext and came up with a Manos holiday to Almirida, Crete, the last week of the season at the very end of October. So, Crete for the fourth time.
We flew with Virgin Sun who on our return journey were going into liquidation. The cabin staff had no idea what was happening to them after this flight and it proved a very jolly flight indeed!!
Arriving at Chania Airport was a pleasant experience and we were out and onto our resort coach very swiftly.
Almirida was about a 30 min. transfer, ideal when we only had a week. It is to the east of Chania, the west of Georgioupoli and approx. 4 km. east of Kalyves.
We stayed in the Isadora Apartments (no longer in the Manos brochure) which were in a superb location overlooking the harbour with views around to the village.
We were really impressed with our two bedroomed apartment and still reckon it has been one of the best places we have stayed in Greece. The only downfall was the owner's dog which was always out on their veranda above us and it would bark like mad when anyone passed.
We enjoyed sitting on the balcony in the early evenings but at that time of the year the sun had soon disappeared and it was cool. We were into jeans and jumpers by 5.30 and it was dark by 7ish.

Almirida

Kalyves

Almirida is a very small,once fishing, village which probably relies on tourism more for a living now.
It is very pretty with three sandy, clean beaches and another on the way to nearby Kalyves.
There are a few tavernas along the front, all with outdoor areas across the road by the sea. In october they had their awning sides well and truly battoned down and in fact we had to eat indoors most nights it was so cold.
At least one of these tavernas was open all year, catering for the Greeks who apparently flock here. I must admit the quality of the food was exceptional. As our week progressed and the weather worsened, all but one taverna closed down.
Most of the accommodation appeared to be package but Isadora was advertising rooms to rent when Manos finished for the season. There is the newish Almirida Beach hotel also.
There are is no bank or post office and only one (I think) mini-market. It is only a few kms. to Kalyves where there are lots of shopping opportunities including a big co-op.

On Our Tours

October evening in Almirida

Naturally we hired a car and toured around. This was Nick and I's third trip to Kriti, together, and the fourth for me. In the early '80's we toured for three weeks on a motorbike, then in 1993 we stayed in Kalyves and explored more of the west and now this last trip to Almirida.
We did find it hard to visit places from Almirida that we hadn't already seen, that weren't too long a drive away. Kriti being such a vast island, if you are not careful you can find yourself travelling all day.
I will combine some of our older Kriti
holiday outings with the newer ones (when the photos have been scanned and reduced.)
There are so many places we have visited in this area that I'm not going to cover them all, others have already done so and my info is a bit out of date.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Vastly differing scenery, a huge amount to go at....
Cons:Too many foreigners buying property here, not enough Greek....
In a nutshell:Nowhere really "undiscovered"

Last visit to Prefecture of Chania: Oct 2001
Intro Updated Nov 28, 2005
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Reviews (48)

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Favorites (5)
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Transportation (4)
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Off The Beaten Path (11)
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Local Customs (2)
See All Lady Next Door
Tourist Traps (1)
Argripouli Waterfalls

Shopping (1)
Shopping For Dinner....
Restaurants (4)
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Hotels (2)
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Warnings and Dangers (1)
Cats
Nightlife (1)
Getting Fatter By the Minute.....

Travelogues (1)

Written Jul 6, 2005

8 photos

Spot The Changes, May '92 - Oct 2001

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Comments (9)

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angiebabe Jan 14, 2009 at 4:18 AM

Hi and thanks for yr recent visits to my Arcadia pages - you sure have been busy with so many pages made for yr travels around Greece!Great efforts, nice writeups and pics - and belated new year wishes for 2009!
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Escadora7 Nov 6, 2007 at 9:11 AM

Hello Christine! Love your Chania page and tips. Hehehe - poor ostriches!!!!! Hope you have a great trip. Ash & Eve
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Jim_Eliason Jun 15, 2007 at 6:34 AM

great pics!
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Elenitsa May 1, 2006 at 2:07 PM

My favourite part of the journey to Sfakia iswhen you just tip over the lip of the mountains and the Askyfou plateau comes into view for the first time - bliss! Only 4 weeks and a bit to go!
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sprdak11 Apr 8, 2006 at 5:59 AM

Great page! Greetings.
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socrates_07 Feb 26, 2006 at 2:10 PM

I remember when I visited Akrotiri Peninsula. For me it was a must to go there because the movie Zorba the Greek is one of my favorte. Btw, visiting your Chania page makes me missing that wonderful place!
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sinequanon Feb 13, 2006 at 2:36 PM

you should visit at some point. northern Greece is just amazing! especially the nature
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Tayto Jan 20, 2006 at 4:48 AM

Great pages and photos. I think you would like Co. Clare and other parts of Ireland to add some more photos to youer excellent collection
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Spincat Nov 14, 2005 at 11:46 PM

Fab tips - I don't know far west (except Kissamos) - hope to go next year, so v helpful. Coves on south coast - loads of deserted beaches either side Frangocastello. One I know is 'Kastellos': a BBC 'survivor' type programme was filmed there!