Stalis Crete?

tiny_penguin

Just booked a holiday for Stalis in Crete for a week the first week in september. Wondering has anyone been and what there is to do there?

schemingbohemia

Sorry but do you mind me asking why you booked it and then asked for advice? Why not do it beforehand?

tiny_penguin

I had to book the holiday quickly on short notice, or there was a good chance I would not get one at all (long story why). I have wanted to go to crete for a while and for the dates that I had booked off this seemed like the best deal. I checked out reviews for the particular resort before booking and all were excellent. So now I am just looking for a little advice on things to do when we get there.

Hilly Bill

Check it out on Tripadvisor, it will give you a better range of views on the place.

johngalway

Think I stayed some place near there. The Greek night is a bit of fun, also a landrover safari, definitely go on the day trip to Santorini.

bladebrew

tiny_penguin wrote: »

Just booked a holiday for Stalis in Crete for a week the first week in september. Wondering has anyone been and what there is to do there?

I was there but it was in 2010 so im not sure how relevant info would be, i stayed in apartments above an irish bar on the main strip, plenty of restaraunts to choose from, but marias golden beach is by far the best, we went back a few times, some places are down corridors because they are on the seafront so you cant see how busy they are before you go in which is terrible when you go into a restaraunt that is nearly empty and has terrible food! so i would look at tripadvisor for some names first (marias is #1)
the beach across from us had sunbeds at €6 for 2 people for the day so its cheap enough,
we also did a trip to spinalonga i dont remember the price to be honest but it was good apart from getting up at 7:30am:eek:

it does depend on what holiday you want though you can go out drinking all night or go for a meal and have a few beers after etc, me and my other half stayed in a place which was family run and we didnt go to their special nites so they didnt like us which annoyed me a bit but was ok,

Hilly Bill

johngalway wrote: »

Think I stayed some place near there. The Greek night is a bit of fun, also a landrover safari, definitely go on the day trip to Santorini.

Agree with the jeep safari, great fun .

johngalway

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Agree with the jeep safari, great fun .

Yeah, there was an English guy doing ours, he was hilarious. Can't for the life of me remember his name. Got pulled by the traffic cops and all.

The Samaria Gorge is something I'd have liked to do but didn't get the chance.

One thing to keep in mind, be aware of your money. Particularly if you've had a few drinks and go to the bar for more, ALWAYS check you got the right change.

coylemj

johngalway wrote: »

One thing to keep in mind, be aware of your money. Particularly if you've had a few drinks and go to the bar for more, ALWAYS check you got the right change.

You don't have to go to Greece to get ripped off by bar staff, apparently the staff in lots of Temple Bar pubs are so badly paid that they supplement their income by sort changing customers on busy nights.

I could also name a well-known pub in D4 where even on quiet nights a certain barman will rip you off every time.

convert

I've been there a few times and really enjoyed it. Depending on where you're staying, it can get a little loud (esp if you're staying somewhere that has a bar and get a room above/beside it). However, accommodation is generally cheap enough out there that you could always find somewhere else to stay if you didn't like you're initial accommodation. Also, the ratings that are given in some of the guides don't necessarily correspond with Irish ratings, so you'll find 3 star accommodation is very basic, but fine if you don't want to spend all day in the place.

There's loads of great places to eat there, and the beach is lovely, so if that's what you're into, you're sorted. It's also a very close walk to the bus which runs to either end of island, so it's very handy (just remember they drive on the wrong side of the road out there!). Would definitely recommend a trip to Spinalonga (can get a bus to Agios Nicholaus (sp?) and a boat from there). There's also some nice cafes there, too.

If you're going with a tour company, they'll often organise day trips, which can be quite expensive, so it might be worthwhile checking out some 'local' organisations before booking so you can compare what you're getting for the price.