Welcome to the second part of my Crete travel report! This time I'm taking you to the area east of Iraklio that I visited last year. While we stayed in Chersonissos, I sadly wouldn't recommend that place to anyone since it's full of tourists, but, thankfully, we rented a car so that I can show you some more of my favourite places on this wonderful island - I hope you enjoy 💙

On our first day we went on a trip to Spinalonga which is a former lepra colony. In order to get there you have to take a ferry from either Elounda or Plaka. Both are lovely fishermen's villages which is why I recommend to stop in Elounda first and then take the ferry from Plaka. That's what we did and it was certainly worth it 💖 The ferry is 8 € (return ticket) and departs every 10 to 15 minutes from the harbor.

Visiting Spinalonga was very interesting and we were lucky with the weather since it was sunny but not too hot. I'd recommend sturdy shoes though since you have to climb a bit to get the most spectacular view from the island 😍

When you go and visit Spinalonga you may also stop in Agios Nikolaos which is a lovely little town about 10 to 20 kilometres from Elounda. Once you're there you can go for a walk on the harbour that reminded me a little bit of Venice and have a cool drink in one of many cafes next to the water 🌊

One of my personal highlights on this trip was Chrysi Island. Chrysi is a beautiful, uninhabited island located a couple of miles south of the southern Cretan shoreline. It has been blessed with astonishingly beautiful nature and wonderful beaches that are equal to Balos beach lagoon and Elafonisi nature reserve. In order to get there, you can take a ferry from Ierapetra. The cruise lasts about one hour and a return ticket is between 25 and 30 €. If you get there early, you can stay the whole day since the last ferry departs from Chrysi around six o'clock in the afternoon.

Finally, while exploring the most wonderful beaches you shouldn't leave the mountains unattended and when it comes to mountains Crete has plenty to offer. In comparison to my trip in 2015 I have to say that the mountain range east of Iraklio is very different from those fantastic mountains behind Rethymno. They are higher and feature some of the most majestic peaks behind which you'll get another glimpse of Cretan culture at its best.

We began our trip in Kritsa which is quite near Agios Nikolaos. It's a mountain village which is typically Greek but still a little bit too touristy for my taste. However, from there you can set out to explore the Lathisi Plateau that was also one of my highlights on this trip. The mountains on Crete are majestic, extremely high and so beautiful. I absolutely loved this part of the island.

Last but not least, we visited a Greek monastery in the mountains. Entrance was 2 € and absolutely worth it 💕

So much for the second part of my travel report on Crete. I hope to go back in the future so that I can post more pictures of this lovely island but until then I'd love to hear whether you've been to Crete yet and if you have, do you have any recommendations of where to go next? 😊 Let me know in the comments down blow. Until next time and Happy New Year!

Love, Sarah

If you’re following me on Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve posted a lot of pictures of Crete recently. So I thought it’s time for my long overdue travel report. Crete is the only Greek island I’ve traveled to so far and I instantly fell in love with it. It’s absolutely beautiful! For this reason, I decided to share some of my favourite places with you.

Since I’ve visited Crete twice within the last two years, I had to divide my travel report into two parts. For starters, I’ll show you some of the most stunning places on the Western part of the island.

Balos Beach Lagoon. This beautiful lagoon is located on the upper West coast of Crete. It’s definitely a must see if you’re visiting this area of the island. You may take a cruise from Kissamos (42 km west of Chania), but I’d advice to go there by car. The road is horrible and you need to climb down the rocks. However, this way you can come and go as you like and you are free to arrive early in the morning or late in the afternoon so that there’s won’t be too many people. If you want to avoid mass tourism, cruises from Kissamos usually arrive from 11 am onwards and the last cruise for Kissamos leaves around 5 pm.

Iraklio. Finally, I need to mention Crete’s capital. Although it’s not as lovely as Rethymno, Iraklio has a beauty in itself. You’ll be fine to visit for a day. Strolling through Iraklio's Old Town you’ll come by the Morosini fountain and the town hall. On your way down to the harbour you should visit the Church of Saint Titus and don’t miss the fortress at the harbour where you can learn a lot about Cretan history. Kazantzakis’ tomb is probably the most famous sight in Iraklio. It’s located on top the city walls and if you go there, you’ll have a lovely view of the city centre.

So much for the first part of my travel report. Have you been to Crete yet? If so, I’d love to hear what your favourite places are. Please feel free to comment down below 😊