#BacktoCrete

We had such a fabulous time in Crete during September 2020, that it seemed inevitable that we would return again sooner rather than later! Our Silver Wedding Anniversary is the 4th October and if you`d have asked me 2 years ago where I envisaged spending it, I would have answered India & The Maldives, but given the current situation and restrictions a trip back to Crete was more than welcome, and we travelled as a family of 4 in mid September 2021.

Initially we had intended to return to the harbour side village of Sissi, however a last minute change saw us booked into a lovely boutique hotel in the hillside village of Koutouloufari, about a kilometre up the hillside from the coastal resort of Hersonissos and about 25 minutes from the airport. The village sits next to Piskopiano and Hersonissos Old Town.

It was great to see another corner of this beautiful island, and even though we weren`t seaside, the resort afforded tremendous views down to the sea and around the bay. Our hotel warmly welcomed us and it was great to hear that the hotel was fully booked for the coming weeks. We were especially grateful to receive an upgrade to a 2 bedroomed suite with hot tub on the balcony, and again super views over the coastline. The hotel staff were friendly, approachable and couldn`t do enough for their guests, we found the food excellent, rooms spotless and 2 super swimming pools enhanced this property. I especially liked that we never had to "fight" for a sunbed and there were always plenty available at all times during the day.

The village of Koutouloufari had a lovely atmosphere, typically olde worlde Greece, there was a good choice of restaurants catering to all tastes and pockets, some very unique craft shops and the obligatory supermarket where a decent bottle of ouzo could be purchased to bring home as a gift!!!

Having just read the book "The Island" by Victoria Hislop (only been on my book shelf for 10 years and never been read!) I planned a full day boat trip to visit the former leper colony of Spinalonga. I found it interesting listening to our guide telling us about its history, the island once belonging to the Venetians, and then the Ottomans, before becoming a leper colony in the early 1900`s - it really brought the book to life for me, and I would recommend anyone visiting Crete to take the trip. Once leaving the island we had a lovely lunch on board the boat and a swim at one of the pretty beaches before arriving at the cosmopolitan resort of Aghios Nikolaos, with it lake, pavement cafes and boutique shops. It`s over 30 years ago since I have been here and it has really altered into a very upmarket area to stay.

As we had stayed in Sissi last September, we had a couple of day trips back to the village, to revisit a couple of our favourite restaurants, swim in the harbour and potter around the town, everything was still as I remembered it from last year, even down to the menus.

The weather at this time of the year I found was perfect, we had just one "off" day but chose this day to walk downhill to the coastal town of Hersonissos when it was a lot cooler. Hersonissos is a big spread out coastal resort with a bustling vibe, a few beaches, many restaurants, bars, cafes and souvenir shops, it also has a big choice of resort style hotels offering everything from B & B to all inclusive. I preferred the hillside village location of our hotel but Hersonissos is a popular holiday resort enjoyed by many and it was good to see it really busy.

Again we had a fabulous holiday here and I can see us returning for another visit in the not too distant future.