[June 2025] This year, we took our summer holiday early and went to Crete, Greece, for the first time in 16 years.
We based ourselves in Agios Nikolaos, a town on the eastern side of the island.
It was our first time in the eastern part of the island.
First, let me tell you about how we got there.
We had to wake up at 4 a.m. which we had not done for a while.
We departed from Milan’s Malpensa Airport on the low-cost airline Ryanair.
One of the unexpected problems we encountered when moving to Italy from London was the limited number of flight destinations.
ITA is the most popular Italian airline, but flights from Milan are limited.
Since changing planes is a pain, we searched for direct flights, and low-cost airlines like these came up.
So it was our first time flying Ryanair in a while.
I was a little nervous because it’s a notorious airline, but in the end we had no problems.
I think we’ll use them again in the future.
When we arrived at Heraklion Airport, it was pretty shabby.
Usually, airports have a corner or two that makes me want to take photos, but here I didn’t feel like doing that at all.
And I realised that it was our first time to land here, because 16 years ago we came here by a ferry from main land.
We quickly went outside and saw a row of car rental companies right in front of us.
There were many people holding signs saying they were picking up groups, too.
It was clear that we were in the minority, planning to explore Crete independently using public transportation.
Our plan was to take a taxi to Heraklion bus station and then a bus to Agios Nikolaos.
However, at the taxi stand, we were told that it would cost €18 just to get to the bus station.
My prior research had shown fares ranging from €3 to €6.
I considered looking for a bus, but my husband seemed keen to take a taxi, so we decided to take one.
A little while into the car, the driver asked us where our final destination was.
When we answered, he offered us €80 to get to Agios Nikolaos.
This was the same price as the one we’d researched beforehand, and being of a certain age, we decided to go along with the suggestion.
At first, I was a bit sceptical of this driver, but as I got to know him better, I realized he was a nice guy.
He did a bit of guiding around the island for us.
Crete’s main industry is olive oil, and there are 30 million olive trees across the island.
His father also owns 200 olive trees that have been passed down through generations.
That’s why he said he’s never bought olive oil and doesn’t use any other oil.
The inland is covered with rocky mountains, and there are around 1,000 small villages scattered across them.
Each village usually has two or three churches, and everyone apparently lives off olives and sheep.
There were many road works along the way, and this was due to road widening for the construction of the new airport.
Now I knew why the airport in Heraklion looked so shabby, because a new airport is planned.
He said it is a good time to come here because there aren’t too many tourists yet.
But he also said it’s still too early to swim.
I guess that’s a shame.
By the way, apparently the majority of tourists to Crete are French, followed by Germans and British.
