Crete - Hersonissos - Do's and Dont's

trotter_inc

Hey!

Headin to Hersonossis in just over a week (wahoo!). Just wanted to get peoples opinions from people who've been there on what to do and what not to do, good places to go, good excursions, etc, etc,

Anything really.... Cheers!

sound_wave

went there after 6th year for my leaving cert holiday thing!

First thing, Dont do anything stupid cause the createns dont look too kindly on tourists. Drink is cheap, not stuff like bud or heniken, the local stuff and shots. Some times shots are watered down or you get a free "shot" when you enter a bar, which could be cheap industrial alcohol, taxis are cheap, food is cheap enough.

Id recommend getting a moped, me and my friends got one each but you have to be very very careful as they drive like maniacs over there! :eek:

Dont bother going to Star Beach it sucks donkey balls

Europes deepest gorge is in the surrounding area too!

Any other questions PM me.

WezzyB

I stayed at the Dream Apartments, near Hersonissos, between the 7th and 15th of May, it was a very good holiday. I posted a review of it up here: http://www.explorecrete.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1714

trotter_inc

Cheers lads - what about excursions? anything decent worth going on?

Turner

Go to kellys, go to new york, go to amnesia go to NRG, go to camelot club, eat in old hersonissos, get mopeds, go to star beach on the piss only, go to aqua splash, go to tiger bar for all the lovely scandinavians and the 2 drinks for 1, go to golden beach.


Been there 3 times and will go back again and again and again.


That is all.

Rabies

WezzyB, i stayed in the Dream apartments a few years ago. I think there are new one up now. It was a kip when i stayed there.

I stayed for 2 weeks. Found that was a little bit too long. One week would have been too short but yet two weeks too long :dunno:

WezzyB

Yep Dream are a bit too from for the resort but the taxis are cheap and it is very close to Kotoulofari which is a very picturesque village, similar to Old Hersonissos, with some really good restaurants and taverns.

We drank plenty of cocktails down in the resort in Players, New York and Blarney Stone but I never really got drunk just sick from all the sweet stuff.

With respect to Star Beach when we went by it on the bus it looked like a construction site and also we heard from a bar tender who worked that its crap.

Imposter

Originally posted by trotter_inc
Cheers lads - what about excursions? anything decent worth going on?

Samara (or maybe Samaria) gorge. It's a 10 mile hike but it's well worth it. Don't do it through your tour, instead buy it off an agency on the main street. You'll be leaving early (I mean early) to get there and it'll be late enough when you return. If possible do it near the end as your legs will probably be sore for a few days afterwards.

Knossos is also good for half a day. It's a bit touristy with all the reconstructions and stuff but still worth some time. We got the public bus into Heraklion and then another bus to Knossos from the bus station. No point in buying an overpriced tour for it! It also gives you time to explore Heraklion on the way back. The city walls on the way into Heraklion from the bus station are quite impressive.

Spinalonga is ok as a trip too but i'd do the 2 above first.

trotter_inc

Thanks lads!

Is the beer and other alcohol cheap??

namaimo

Hmmm i wouldnt recommend getting a moped two differnt people in our apts fell off theirs and had to be taken to hospital and when i say hospital theres only a medical centre in Hersonossis... Its not how well you can drive it that you have to worry about its the locals -their lunatics!

But we got round this and rented a car on my provisional I didnt have my full one at that stage and sure they didnt know what a full licence looks like anyway! Think the name of the place was Davakis in koutouloufari where we stayed.

Alcohol is dirt cheap so stock up! Enjoy!

trotter_inc

Deadly!

Was thinking about renting a car alright - had a look at some sites and all of they state that you have to have your full licence for at least a year! Ive only got my full licence 4 months but hopefully it'll be ok when I get over there.

I'll make sure to stock on the booze alright!

lynchie

Theres not much restrictions on renting a car over there. We rented 3 last year, with me the only one with a full license, the other two had full licenses but didnt bring them on holidays - a passport done the job.

Its well worth taking a trip to the south and the west of the island. Samaria gorge is well worth the drive as is lake kournas (something like blessington lakes in the middle of crete). Its a nice drive along the north coast with plenty of nice beaches to stop of at on the way.

trotter_inc

yeah - I heard that the Samaria gorge nice alright - wil def make the journey to see it.

whats knossos like? I heard that a lot of it has been renovated and doesnt show the "real" ruins - is this true? went to see Ephesus in Turky last year - amazing, never seen anything like it!

Imposter

Originally posted by lynchie
Samaria gorge is well worth the drive

Did you walk down and up it? If so how long did that take.

For those who don't know it's a really long gorge that ends in the sea. There's a town on the seafront that is not accessible by road so you have to get a ferry back to civilisation or walk back the gorge. Add to that the first 2km on the way down is quite steep so it's quite rare that people walk back up it.

davej

It might be worth taking a day trip to rethymnon too, It's quite a nice town. Sit in the shade and have a few beers, check out the market/shops.

Also you could head to mattala beach on the south west of the island for a daytrip. I was there in mid August and the heat was unbelievable.

The town of Agios Nikolaus (sp?) and the spinalonga leper colony would be another possible daytrip

davej

trotter_inc

Lynchie - how much was the car hire per day?

peeps

i went to knossos a fair few years ago and i really liked it especially after growing up hearing all the minataur labarynth stories.it mightent be as good if theyve been doing too much reconstruction thoug.
i enjoyed the trip to spinalonga, at one point you get to swim off the boat in the clearest water i have ever seen.
chania is supposed to be a nice town to viset but you will need a car to get there from where your staying.

trotter_inc

yeah - I seen knossos on tv one night - it looks like they completely ruined the whole atmosphere of the place by rebuilding it - its looks brutal.

thanks peeps - might try out spinalonga though - 4 days to go and countin.....

ravenhead

Yeah Spinalonga is good craic - the bbq on board & the lagoon are well worth it..... You really should call into George in the Blaney Stone ... he is some laugh & the pub has a good holiday atmosphere & of course the shamrock is a laugh & Boomarang has great cocktails........... the local beer is very cheap & not bad either - it's MYTOS & it tastes like Miller ... & go to the foam beach party on star beach - great place to pull & a good laugh if you're with someone..... you'll have a ball

trotter_inc

yeah - forgot to ask - how much are pints of that mythos beer??

ravenhead

the cheapest pub is the blarney stone - it's €2.00 in there - everywhere else seems to be around €3.00/€3.50 - the New York is the dearest

munster rucker

just down at the other end of the lane beside the blarney stone bar, is a bar called players .... no matter what drink you buy, you get another free. had some mental nights in that place. Although it does get a bit crowded, and there is only one toilet per sex.

trotter_inc

Nice one - thanks lads - cant wait now - 2.5 days to go...