Travelling abroad was put on hold for a little while whilst child number 2 was baked and delivered! [For their anonymity, they’ll henceforth here be known as Small (currently approaching 4.5) and Tiny (just turned 18 months old).] However, we can rarely keep our wanderlust at bay for long, so we did our first two international trips during my maternity leave: I just never got around to sharing them here in the busyness of life. But I’ve recently discovered that Dean actually frequently uses this blog as a reference in many travel-based conversations with friends and would consequently like it to be up to date!

I couldn’t possibly live with myself if my posts weren’t chronological so, with several exciting adventures planned for this year, I’m going to share a little about each of 2023’s first: Crete in May, Zakynthos in July and, if I get chance, Mersea Island, Essex in October.

Crete was the dream. 

I think it was and will remain one of my favourite trips ever. Small was 3.5 and so was pretty interested in what we were doing, independent in many ways, and resilient about most of what the holiday entailed. Tiny had just turned 7 months old and she was keen to explore all the foods a new country had to offer but wasn’t yet mobile so this made keeping her contained quite easy. I wouldn’t say it was a restful holiday but it was wholesome and varied and relaxed and a lot of fun.

This was our fairly relaxed itinerary: 

• Day 1 UK to Kissamos
• Day 2 Kissamos (low-key local day)
• Day 3 Chania and the Botanical Gardens (long day out)
• Day 4 Falassarna (low-key local day)
• Day 5 Kissamos (low-key local day)
• Day 6 Elafonissi (long day out)
• Day 7 Lake Kournas (long day out)
• Day 8 Balos Beach (long day out)
• Day 9 Polyrrhenia (half-day outing plus a return to Falassarna)
• Day 10 Kissamos to UK

Here’s a mini guide to each destination. There honestly wasn’t anything we wouldn’t recommend.

Kissamos (aka Kastelli)

This was a brilliant base for exploring the west of the island (see sample journey times at the end of this post). There’s a lovely little old town with restaurants, some high-quality souvenir/gift shops, a museum, a beautiful tiny church and plenty of cafes. In May, there were very few tourists and the locals were really friendly, especially towards the girls. The added bonus of seemingly countless cats and goats and spring flowers in every colour meant that any wander round the town was approved of by Small. 

There’s also the beachfront with more restaurants (we recommend Breeze Cafe Bar at any time of day but especially for a Cretan breakfast and I think they’ve got a rooftop restaurant in high season).

The small stretch of sandy beach which was completely empty when we were there.  

Beyond this, there’s a commercial street with loads more cafes, fast food places (gyros!), supermarkets and anything else you might need. We grabbed good coffee from Coffee Stories on our way out of town a number of times. We stayed JT Apartments which we’d strongly recommend, especially for families. See more info at the end of this post.

Chania (aka Hania)

Beautiful Chania is the main city of western Crete. Its Venetian harbour is full of cafes and presided over by the picturesque 16th century lighthouse. A wander, soaking up the atmosphere and people-watching, is a very pleasant way to spend some time and there’s plenty for kids to look at. We didn’t pay to do anything here except eat ice cream but you can explore the harbour by horse and cart or glass-bottomed boat or got to see a ‘live’ ‘mermaid’ show!

Then you can head into the old town where Venetian and Turkish architecture nestle together, now turned into souvenir shops (but largely very tasteful, high-quality ones), boutique hotels and cafes. Dean had a loose route in his head but mainly let Small pick which turnings to take which she loved.

To fill your day further, you can visit the beaches or walk to the lighthouse for views back towards the harbour or visit one of the museums, an art gallery, churches, a mosque or a synagogue. Firkas Fortress is a great spot to explore (weekdays only), especially if you like walking along walls and climbing steps for harbour views. The Maritime Museum of Crete is a part of the Fortress but costs €2/3 to enter.

It was definitely the busiest place we visited but we were glad we didn’t miss it. 

Botanical Park & Gardens of Crete

We combined this with our Chania day trip (having opted not to do much more than a wander in Chania). The journey was a beautiful one of olive trees, winding hills and the smell of orange blossom. 

There is a large local produce shop and two trails you can do around the extensive and varied gardens. By the time we got there, though, the day was drawing to a close and we’d done a lot of walking so we opted just to enjoy the stunning views and some refreshing drinks on the restaurant’s terrace. 

Small and Dean did pop down onto the trail briefly to meet the peacocks though!

Falassarna Beach

This beach is only 20 minutes from Kissamos and is really lovely. There are loungers and water sports hire on the beautiful sandy beach. The restaurant, Playa Paraiso, serves both on the beach and in its beach bar/restaurant further up the sand. We hid out there for several hours during a rainstorm one afternoon! For a chilled, easy beach day, look no further.

Elafonissi Beach

We took the mountain road to Elafonissi beach (about 60 mins) instead of the coastal road (80 mins) because we wanted to make one special stop… at Petroula’s fresh orange juice stand in Inachori. Petroula is a donkey. A very friendly donkey. She and her owner gave us a warm welcome despite the gale force winds buffeting around their hillside location. Small fed Petroula some bread and was given a lollipop. The orange juice was well worth the trip! 

On to Elafonissi. Its pink sand makes it one of Crete’s most famous beaches. It contrasts so beautifully with the turquoise water and white sand. I was very dubious before we visited, thinking the sand was perhaps an illusion but, no, it really is pink! 

Google tells me that the pinkness comes from the crushed reddish shells of Foraminifera shellfish which mix with the white sand.

It was a very windy day so we were glad of our tent for shelter although everything still got incredibly sandy. Dean took Tiny for a nap-walk to the island which you can wade to. Small wasn’t feeling it so we had tent cuddles instead!

Refreshment stalls on the beach were setting up for the busy season but weren’t actually open during our early-May trip. There were toilets on the beach which I think you have to pay for when everything’s open. TIP: loads of signs at restaurants on the road down to the beach try to distract you with offers of shady parking. This may be necessary at busier times but, if it’s quiet, there’s a carpark right next to the beach. They really want you to park near them because there’s so much competition among the eateries on the road down to the beach!

We opted, instead, for a lovely local roadside taverna on our route home. It was called Nepatzoyaa and had fresh home-cooked food and friendly owners.

Lake Kournas

Just look at the colour of that water! If that doesn’t make you want to visit Crete, I don’t know what will! We stopped off at Ambrosia restaurant to enjoy this view on our way to the lake. More delicious orange juice consumed!

Beautiful Lake Kournas is the only natural freshwater lake in Crete and is fed by underwater springs. The water is clear and apparently warm though we didn’t get in it. You can hire a pedalo or a canoe from the lake’s edge. It’s also home to turtles (which we saw), snakes and crabs (which we didn’t). It’s 1.5km in diameter, 3.5km perimeter, 45m deep and is surrounded by mountains and lush greenery making for an incredibly serene experience… unless you have a hungry baby and an over-zealous 3-year-old on your boat! 

That was more towards the end though, when Dean was nearly a goner from pedalling for 4 against the breeze! For most of the ride, Small was a very keen co-pilot and enjoyed a little boat picnic whilst Tiny played with a lunch box lid!

Public transport doesn’t reach the lake but the Talos Happy Train runs (on the road) from Georgioupoli village. There are various tourist trap shops and restaurants nearby – we tried Mythos out of baby feeding necessity and we don’t recommend it. I’ve heard it can be horribly busy in summer.

Balos Beach and Lagoon

This was definitely the most challenging day of our trip. It tested us but was totally worth it! We struggled to find reliable information online so I’ll detail it here for anyone wanting to do the same. You’ll find that there are a lot of people who try to put you off, saying that the drive is impassable and the hike down the mountain to the beach is too challenging. They recommend taking a boat directly to the beach (€20-25 for an adult in 2023). 

But we thought it sounded like a great adventure! So off we went and discovered that the road, whilst unpaved, is really not that bad so long as you’re attentive. Goats, wildflowers, beautiful sea views and a little church provide distraction from the slow, bumpy progress and steep drops of the 40-minute drive. We didn’t have a 4WD.

You have to pay a small conservation fee (€2) and parking charge (€3) at the end of the road. There’s a little kiosk in the car park serving refreshments and some paid toilets. 

The walk down was definitely challenging and shoes are advised rather than flipflops. Within moments, Small had fallen and grazed her knees. But, once she was back up and holding my hand, she actually managed the rest of the descent. It took 50 minutes; we were very proud of her. It’s said that the downward walk is normally 20 minutes. If you’re not fit and able or have children who couldn’t walk it themselves/you couldn’t carry, we’d recommend getting the boat since it’s steep, rocky underfoot and has very deep steps.

The views were spectacular: something you wouldn’t get by boat.

The beach itself was a beautiful sandy one. The lagoon was warm, even in May, and you could walk all the way across it or, with good footwear, all the way around it. You can hire sunbeds and parasols and aren’t meant to bring your own umbrellas (though we weren’t stopped from using our tent).

Heading back up was much more of a challenge. I carried Tiny in our Ergobaby360 all the way up (in considerable pain due to a slipped disc!) and Dean coerced/carried Small up. It took us nearly an hour and a lot of water!

A proper Cretan adventure! 

Polyrrhenia (aka Polyrrinia)

It was quite a hot day for another steep walk! The ruins of Polyrrhenia are set amongst and above its modern-day namesake. Set amongst beautiful wildflowers in May, you’ll find rock houses and tombs, an acropolis and a Roman viaduct built by Hadrian. There’s also the Church of Holy Fathers which is built on the ruins of a 4th century BC Hellenistic temple. There’s a map in the village as well as a tourist information office and cafe (staffed by volunteers but closed when we were there). The Polyrrinians’ decision not to resist the Romans’ invasion means their ruins are more intact than most.

You can follow the road up through the village and past many of the points of interest (and needn’t do the ’15-minute scramble up an overgrown path’ mentioned into the Lonely Planet). Small and I were not feeling the steep 20-minute climb up to the acropolis at the very top of the hill so we slowly made our way back down once we reached the Church of Holy Fathers, doing some lizard spotting on our way. Dean took a napping Tiny to the top of the hill for panoramic views from the Byzantine-Venetian acropolis. 

We reconvened at a tiny gift shop for a cold drink on our way back down. The lovely owner offered us some traditional biscuits and Small picked a postcard out to take home.

Overall, we were wowed with Crete’s friendly people, beautiful landscapes and relaxed way of life. I’d say we’ll go again but I’m not sure I want to risk ruining the magic!

The logistics:

• May was shoulder season and consequently pretty quiet; we even had beaches to ourselves at times. Despite that, most things were open with the exception of a couple of refreshment options on beaches. The temperature remained in the low 20s.
• We stayed in one brilliant Airbnb the whole 10 days.   It was very reasonably priced (£55 per night) and had two bedrooms, a kitchen and living area, a high chair, a cot, a toddler bed guard and a small pool (although it was too cold to make the most of this in May!). The apartment was serviced every three days. The owner was even kind enough to leave a cake for Dean’s birthday! Location-wise, it was fantastic too. It was in the smallish town of Kissamos which had a low-key local feeling in May and everything we needed in terms of amenities. It was a great base for exploring the west of the island.
• We hired a car with car seats. It cost about €270 and was perfect for our needs. We spent many, many hours in the car, mainly because the roads are windy, because we opted for scenic routes and because we wanted to see a lot, rather than because distances are long. The kids actually got used to this very quickly although we did have to sing Wind the Bobbin Up for Tiny A LOT of times! Other than the need to drive on the right, driving was pretty straight forward.
• Baby stuff was relatively easy to come by. We managed to get nappies easily and there were infant foods and powdered formula available (though pricey). We couldn’t find ready-made formula though (which we’d hoped to find for ease on the road). High chairs were available in most restaurants. We didn’t find many kid’s menus but we didn’t eat out loads.
• Journey times from Kissamos:
  • 40 minutes to Chania airport
  • 40 minutes to Chania town
  • 60-80 minutes to Elafonissi beach depending on route 
  • 50 minutes to Balos Beach car park 
  • 20 minutes to Falassarna Beach
  • 15 minutes to Polyrrhenia 
  • 70 minutes to Lake Kournas
  • 40 minutes to the Botanical Gardens

See more photos and videos on our Instagram @four_go_exploring