Travelling to Crete in the "new normal"
No better way than to actually experience it and report back, so at the end of July I booked a trip to one of my favourite destinations – the Greek island of Crete. I was comfortable that Greece had managed the Covid pandemic very well, and my chosen hotel had a very comprehensive protocol in place regarding safe spacing.
The airport experience was very smooth – Edinburgh airport has a video online showing what to expect, so there were no surprises. Masks are worn throughout, except when eating and drinking, and with an average of 4 flights per hour, the terminal was fairly quiet. It was actually a very good time to fly!
I have heard people say that they won’t get on a plane again “until this is all over”. Everyone has to make a decision for themselves, but the fact is that the risk of contracting a virus on a plane is lower than in a shopping centre or an office, according to IATA. Wearing a mask and good hand hygiene is always important and the airlines are introducing measures such as limited queues for the toilets, boarding by seat row and reducing the numbers of passengers on board transfer busses to help with social distancing. Although wearing a mask is a new experience for us all, it was generally a very pleasant flight and I wasn’t at all concerned.
My son and I were both tested on arrival in Greece, nothing to worry about and we were soon out of the airport and on the way to Daios Cove Luxury Resort which is about an hour from the airport. We landed around 9pm, were in the hotel just after 10pm having a late dinner. Waking up the following morning to blue skies, warm sunshine was the best feeling – the travel bit was over – let the holiday commence!
Our room had a private pool, so we all had a swim before breakfast and exploring the resort in daylight. The views are stunning – one of my favourite things was that you can’t see any other buildings. The hotel is set in a cove with every room having a sea view, and there are 165 rooms with private pools, so having your own space here is very easy. The hotel had only reopened for the season the day prior to our arrival, so it was fairly quiet, but by the end of the week they were at around 40% capacity. The Ocean restaurant, lounge and main pool area had undergone a renovation in the last few months, and it is a very luxurious, chilled out area. Sunbeds are comfy, towels are thick and fluffy and the cocktails are fresh and innovative.
We hired a car for the day and visited the lovely picturesque town of Agios Nikolaos, Elounda and Plaka, where we had a lovely lunch of fresh fish overlooking the island of Spinalonga. I love Crete – we didn’t see a single cloud in the sky all week, and that deep blue sky, aquamarine sea, cypress trees, olive groves, mountains with ravines, tiny white churches dotted about, with pink oleander flowers growing profusely by the side of the road…. to me it is heaven. After being stuck at home for more than 4 months we really appreciating every minute.
Everything felt very normal – it was lovely to see families enjoying their time together and relaxing – Daios Cove is very child friendly with kids menus available in each restaurant; age appropriate clubs provided by Worldwide Kids; water sports and tennis for the older ones. I love swimming in the sea as well as the pools.
The food was exceptional here – either Half Board, or if you upgrade to a suite or a villa you get to experience the Residents Club where you have an elevated service for breakfast, can eat in any of the speciality restaurants, as well as unlimited cocktails and wine with lunch or dinner. Well worth it!