Fun Things to Do in Crete

A Greek island vacation usually means enjoying small island life, hanging out on the beach, taking a walk through a village, and perhaps renting a scooter for a day.  But Crete is a bit different from the small islands of the Cyclades.  Crete is big!  Crete is Greece’s largest island and is almost the size of Hawaii’s Big Island, taking about five hours to drive across east to west and an hour and a half north to south.  Its large size also means there are a lot of fun things to do in Crete. 

Chania: A Harbor Town on Greece’s Island of Crete

Crete is Greece’s largest island and, therefore, has a number of cities and towns from which to choose.  Our trip to Crete was actually a last minute add-on to our off-road trip through Central Greece with Tripology Adventures.  A friend of ours told us his favorite Greek islands were Santorini and Crete, and he won me over with his description of the beautiful town of Chania, a quaint old fishing village with a gorgeous Venetian harbor.  Chania not only makes a great home base from which to explore Crete, there are also a number of things to do in Chania itself.  The Venetian quarter of Chania is chockfull of tourist attractions along with a mixture of Venetian and Turkish architecture.

What to Drink in Greece: 5 Greek Alcoholic Beverages

Except for the inventive cocktails we found at some Athens rooftop bars, the Greeks don’t really drink a lot of mixed beverages.  It seems they are purists when it comes to alcohol.  The drinks they do enjoy have been around for hundreds if not thousands of years.  Here are five traditional Greek alcoholic beverages to drink while traveling in Greece.

Delphi to Meteora: Central Greece Attractions

The monasteries of Meteora.

Can I be honest?  Greece wasn’t really at the top of my list for travel destinations I wanted to visit.  I’m not exactly sure why that is.  I love ancient ruins, and Greece has a ton of those.  The quintessential picture of Greece, the blue domes and white walls of Santorini, is stunning.  But Rome wanted to go to Greece, and when I read about Tripology Adventures’ off-road trip through Central Greece, it sounded exactly like the adventure for us.  We always like a good drive.  What I didn’t anticipate was falling head-over-heels in love with all the varied landscapes and attractions of Central Greece.  What we discovered, with Tripology Adventures’ Greece road trip itinerary, was ancient monuments, picturesque villages, and nature, from impossibly clear blue seas, emerald rivers, green sceneries that rival Switzerland, and snow-capped mountain ranges. 

Wine of the Gods: Discovering Greek Wine in Crete

Photo courtesy Anoskeli

When you think of wine, do you think of Greece immediately?  I’m guessing you probably don’t.  Yet the Greeks have been making wine for thousands of years with grapes with names you may not recognize.  There’s even a Greek god of wine.  Greek wine regions can be found throughout the mainland and islands of Greece.  We received our Greek wine education on the island of Crete, first with a taste of Crete’s great wine paired with Cretan cuisine, and then with a behind-the-scenes tour of one of Crete’s great wineries, Anoskeli.

The Best of Athens in One Day

Admittedly one day in Athens isn’t enough to really get to know the city, but oftentimes travelers to Greece spend very little time in Athens before heading out of the city to explore other parts of the mainland or one of the hundreds of islands.  So if you do only have 24 hours in Athens, it is best to have a game plan before heading out so you can see as much as possible in a short time.

Everything You Need to Know About Hiking Samaria Gorge

If there is one thing you do when visiting the Greek island of Crete, you must hike Samaria Gorge.  There are certain epic hikes throughout the world, and the hike through Samaria Gorge National Park is one of them.  What makes Samaria Gorge epic?  At 16 kilometers, Samaria Gorge is one of the longest gorges in Europe (some sources say the longest, others the second longest), is located in Crete’s only national park, and provides stunning views all day long.

Travelers Guide to 33 Traditional Greek Foods

It really shouldn’t have surprised me, the Greek culture being one of the oldest in the world and all, but the Greeks have a ton of traditional foods!  What with the different alphabet and the difficult pronunciations, it’s hard to remember what everything is.  So here is a guide to some of the traditional Greek food you’ll be ordering and eating when you travel through Greece. 

Getting to the Heart of Central Greece: An (Off)-Road Trip

Look, Mom, no guardrails!

We love a good road trip. We have circumnavigated Spain, managed a particularly worrisome rust-bucket around Belize, blown up a rental in Ireland (the green handle is not necessarily diesel), driven the length of Croatia, bent a rim in Costa Rica, gone across and back Denmark, and managed to get not one but two flats right in front of London’s Department of Transportation.  Driving is one of the best ways to explore a country, and Greece is no exception.  Our road trip through Greece was no ordinary road trip.  To explore the heart of Greece (or the navel of Greece according to the Greek god Zeus), we took our standard road trip one step further.  We took an off-road trip through Central Greece.  Tripology Adventures’ off-road trip from Athens through the Pindus Mountains is the mythological mother of all road trips. 

3 Athens Rooftop Bars with Acropolis Views

No matter where you are in Athens the Acropolis towers above, ever present.  Somehow, the sight of the Acropolis just never gets old.  The Acropolis shines even more at night when the Parthenon and other temples are lit when the sun goes down.  If you haven’t had enough looks at the Acropolis, you can head to one of these three Athens rooftop bars, each providing stunning views of the Acropolis from different angles accompanied by a cocktail.

An Athens Food Tour on Three Wheels

Greece has an abundance of food and dishes unique to the country and it can be overwhelming for a traveler to Greece who doesn’t have knowledge of Greek food beyond Greek salad and baklava.  A great introduction to traditional Greek food is with an Athens food tour.  Even better is an Athens food tour that also provides an overview of the layout and sites of Athens, all while riding around on three wheels.  Scooterise provides such a food tour of Athens.