Greece - Korina Miller [404]
Sleeping
Bikakis Family ( 28220 22105; www.familybikakis.gr; Iroön Polemiston 1941; s/d/studio €20/25/30; ) This well-run collection of self-catering rooms and studios has good views, and makes an excellent budget choice.
Thalassa ( 28220 31231; www.thalassa-apts.gr; Paralia Drapanias; studios €35-55; ) This isolated complex on the beach offers immaculate, breezy studios with all mod cons. A barbecue stands on the lawn and there’s a small playground.
Eating
Kellari ( 28220 23883; mains €5-7) On the waterfront’s eastern end, Kellari does excellent Cretan dishes, grills and fresh fish. Owned by the same family that runs Strata Walking Tours, it uses its own meat, wine, oil and other produce.
Papadakis ( 28220 22340; mains €6-11) One of Kissamos’ oldest tavernas, this local favourite is well situated overlooking the beach and does great fish dishes.
Getting There & Away
BOAT
From Kissamos, ferries serve Kythira and Gythio; Island Hopping for details.
BUS
From Kissamos’ bus station ( 28220 22035), 14 daily buses serve Hania (€4, 40 minutes). In summer, two daily buses go to Falasarna (€3, 20 minutes), and one to Elafonisi (€5.90, 1¼ hours). One daily bus serves Paleohora (€6.50, 1¼ hours).
Getting Around
Moto Fun ( 28220 23440; www.motofun.info; Plateia Tzanakaki) has cars, bikes and mountain bikes for hire.
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AROUND KISSAMOS
Some 16km west of Kissamos, Falasarna was a 4th-century-BC Greek city-state, though its mysterious place name possibly pre-dates the Greek language itself. Falasarna’s long sandy beach is one of Crete’s best, comprising several coves separated by rocky spits. Falasarna’s end-of-the-world feel is accentuated by spectacular sunsets, when pink hues are reflected from the sand’s fine coral.
Falasarna has no settlement, though a few domatia and tavernas stand behind the beach. You can drive, or else there are three buses daily from Kissamos (€3, 20 minutes), or three from Hania (€6.50, one hour).
North of Falasarna, the wild and remote Gramvousa Peninsula shelters the stunning Balos Beach on its western tip. From the idyllic sands here, you can gaze out at two islets: Agria (wild) and Imeri (tame).
A rough but drivable dirt road to Balos begins in Kalyviani village, and ends at a car park with a kantina (snack bar). A path leads down for 30 minutes to the sandy cliffs (the return takes 45 minutes).
West-bound buses from Kissamos leave you at the Kalyviani turn-off; from here it’s a 2km walk to the beginning of the path, straight down Kalyviani’s main street. The 3km walk to Balos is shadeless, so gear up and take water.
Summertime boat tours ( 28220 24344; www.gramvousa.com; adult/concession €25/15) go regularly from Kissamos. The morning boats stop at Imeri Gramvousa, crowned with a Venetian castle. The trip takes 55 minutes, departing at 10am, 10.15am and 1pm, returning at 5.45pm and 8pm.
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EASTERN CRETE
If travelling east from Iraklio on the north-coast road is painful at first, close your eyes and think of England while passing the fish, chips and chlamydia of Hersonissos and Malia, the two package-tour ghettoes most infamous for foreign drunkenness and debauchery. Beyond this unfortunate stretch of road, however, Crete’s less visited eastern expanse is actually quite intriguing. The fertile Lasithi Plateau, tucked into the Mt Dikti ranges, is atmospheric, offering cycling opportunities through tranquil villages to the Dikteon Cave – where Zeus himself was born. The eastern hinterland boasts the beautiful palm-forested beach of Vaï, and Minoan palace ruins at Zakros.
Eastern Crete also contains luxurious resorts around Elounda and Agios Nikolaos, frequented by the international jet set, though they also offer fun and excitement for mere mortals. Spinalonga, a former Venetian fortress with an intriguing history, lies on an islet near the former, while south-coast Ierapetra also has its own