It’s always nice to get away somewhere late in the year and after the hustle and bustle of our holiday in March to the USA we were looking for something more relaxing. A visit to our local travel agent unearthed a little village called Koutouloufari in Crete (the largest of the Greek Islands) and it was just what we were looking for.
Our flight times weren’t the best but as the holiday was really cheap we didn’t mind that much. We arrived at the hotel, Astra Village, at 11.45pm. The coach dropped us off at the end of the road and said it was a short walk. We were a bit worried what he meant by ‘short’ walk, but it was literally not even five minutes along the street, and a very welcoming street it was, lined with gift shops and restaurants which were still open, their lights twinkling in the darkness.  A waiter in one of the restaurants we walked past even asked us if we wanted him to keep the kitchen open! But it was late and we just wanted to sleep. We arrived at the hotel reception and were greeted by a very pleasant member of staff. He offered to carry my case to our room. This was a nice gesture but I only had a little carry on case, hubby had the large heavy case – his face was a picture watching this receptionist bounding ahead with my small, light, bag while he dragged this very large heavy one . Our apartment was on the second floor and a steep flight of stairs led up to it. Needless to say hubby was a bit breathless by the time we got to the top. He did laugh about it later.
We were woken at about 4.30am by the sound of a cockerel. I didn’t mind this too much as we’re quite early risers anyway. Looking from our balcony there was a little wooded area where we could see a chicken run … obviously the cockerel was going to be a daily alarm clock. But the view from our balcony was lovely – we could see the harbour down in Hersonissos and a panoramic view of the sea. There’s nothing like sitting on a balcony, first thing on a warm morning, with a cup of coffee and a good book. Shame we don’t have that at home. Our room at the Astra Village was basic but adequate, although the beds were very firm and took some getting used to. The weather in Crete in October was around 22 degrees, warm enough to just wear a t-shirt but not quite warm enough for me to lounge around the pool.
Hersonissos harbour looked like it was miles away when you looked from our balcony but we decided to take a walk down to it anyway. Koutouloufari is right at the top of the hill so going down was fine … walking back up was a bit challenging! The first time we took a different route to get back … big mistake. The hill was straight up, no turns with flat roads, just one big steep hill. We didn’t make that mistake again.  The harbour was actually closer than it looked, probably only took us about 30 minutes (maybe a little longer going back up), and it was worth the walk. The sea front is lined with restaurants and as we’d worked up an appetite after the early morning walk we had breakfast overlooking the sea.
Hersonissos is fairly big town so there’s lots of shops and bars and supermarkets, but we were after a fairly laid back holiday so didn’t really do any shopping apart from popping into a few gift shops. There is a little tourist train that runs from Hersonissos centre along the sea front and up to Old Hersonissos where you’ll find more authentic Greek restaurants. (They hold a proper Greek night once a week where you can eat, smash plates and dance. Unfortunately we missed it). The train costs 12.90 euros per adult so we tried it out. We got off at Old Hersonissos which meant we didn’t have to tackle the hill back to our apartment that day, as our apartment was just a short 20 minute walk from there along a flat road. It’s a bumpy ride and the train got very full (packed in like sardines comes to mind). I don’t think it was worth the money really as it just seemed to stop at a lot of hotels to pick up more passengers. There was supposed to be a mini-commentary as we drove around but you couldn’t really hear it. However it is a 1 hour 40 minute round trip so if you just fancy a tour of the local area then hop on.
Most days we spent lazing around in Koutouloufari where our apartment was. There were plenty of restaurants, bars and gift shops to look around. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. If you’re having a drink in any of the restaurants/bars in Koutouloufari they bring you a small bowl of free nibbly things which I thought was a nice touch. Hubby asked the waitress in one bar if we could have a bowl of olives and she brought us some of the nicest olives we’ve tasted … and they were free. We like to try the local beers when we’re away so we indulged in quite a few large Mythos while we were there. A lovely ice cold lager in very large glasses at around 3 euros each.
There was a really good selection of restaurants and the majority of them catered for vegetarians … a couple of them even had vegan friendly menus. I was very impressed. We tried a traditional Greek restaurant (Mezes by Alex and Christine) and discovered the owner used to work in the Greek restaurant in the Metrocentre and his wife came from Gateshead. Small world. We opted for a vegetarian meze which included stuffed vine leaves, tzatziki, a yellow split pea dip, beetroot, garlic mushrooms, spicy beans and fried potatoes. Delicious and reasonably priced at around 40 euros for two of us (that included a couple of drinks). Unfortunately we had eaten most of it before I remembered to take a photo.
Other restaurants along the street included Chinese, Steakhouse, Mediterranean, Pizza and lots of cafe/bar type places. The only one we tried that we didn’t really like very much was a Greek restaurant called Galini. Although the food was really good I felt like the waiting staff were hovering around us all the time. The lighting was very bright which didn’t seem right for a restaurant and when hubby gave the waiter cash to pay the bill the guy actually asked if he wanted the change. Now normally we would leave a tip in a restaurant but we thought it was a bit cheeky to ask for it! So we didn’t leave a tip. Maybe the place was just a little bit too posh for us.
Our favourite place for a few drinks before dinner was the Atrium. Their food menu didn’t really cater for vegetarians so we didn’t eat there, but they have a really cosy bar area and the staff were really nice. As well as serving large glasses of Mythos they also bring you free bowls of what look like nachos but they’re fried triangles of flat bread – very tasty.
We did one trip during our stay in Koutouloufari, Crete. And that was to Spinalonga island. This is an island just off Elounda village which, up until 1957, was a leper colony. I read Victoria Hislop’s book ‘The Island’ while I was in Crete, which really brought Spinalonga to life for me. The book is about a girl who contracts leprosy and has to go live on the island. If you haven’t read it, it’s worth a read … a bit of history as well as a love story.  Spinalonga has a long history of being occupied by the Venetians, the Turks and then the lepers. Although it’s now uninhabited they are restoring the buildings and it has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Crete. The tour was very interesting and the views are spectacular. As well as a traditional meze lunch in Elounda, the trip also included a stop in Agios Nikolaos, a busy town that you could probably spend a full day in. We spent our couple of hours there browsing the area around the lake and having a coffee and some baklava. This was a full day coach trip that was made more interesting by the tour guide who gave us a running commentary on the places we passed and told a story about Cronus and Rhea, the parents of Zeus … very entertaining. At 60 euros each for the trip I thought it was well worth the money.
The other noticeable thing about Koutouloufari, Crete was the large number of stray cats. Even down in the harbour they were everywhere. As we’re very much cat people we loved the way they just wandered into the bars and curled up around your legs but if that’s not your thing you can always shoo them away.
I would definitely recommend Koutouloufari, Crete, for a nice relaxing holiday. The food is good, the people are very friendly and the history is really interesting. The lady from the little supermarket opposite our apartments, and the waitress from the Atrium even shouted and waved bye to us as we passed on our way to getting the coach back to the airport. How friendly is that?!
We loved Crete so much it really gave us a taste for all things Greek, so I think Corfu is next on our list of Greek Islands to visit.
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Oh and by the way, a small tip for the airport. Listen very carefully to tannoy announcements – the English isn’t very good. The departure lounge was getting very empty and we wondered where everyone was for our flight … then we heard the announcement … our names being called for the last call for the flight to Newcastle! We’ve never done that before … maybe we were tired. Well it was 11 o’clock at night 🙂
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Beautiful pics! I’m currently staring out at miserable rain and wishing I was there!
Thanks! I know the feeling, wish I was back there lol
What a lovely account of your holiday, Karen. The photos are brilliant too and I’m salivating at the thought of that meze – one of my favourite things about Cyprus when we go there. Thank you for popping over to my packing blog post too! Crete has been recommended to me before and you have now convinced me that we must try it out for ourselves.