Clear shallow water over rippled sand in Balos lagoon, with the orange cliff of Cape Tigani behind
Europe · Greece

Crete

10
Days
5
Stops
September
Best season
Car
Getting around
HER
Fly into Heraklion

We flew into Heraklion and drove an anticlockwise loop around the west of the island: 10 days, 5 stops, and never much more than two hours in the car on any one day. It starts in Rethymno, at a hotel that feels like visiting friends, slides west to Chania for sunsets on the Venetian port, climbs to the far north-west tip for Balos, then drops over the mountains to the south coast before heading back east. The one thing to know: you need a car for this route. For Balos, you need an alarm clock too.

Route notes Heraklion → western Crete loop Western Crete · 2024
10 days · 5 stops
The route, tap to jump
1
Rethymno, Made of BlueDays 1–3 →
 ~ 40 min drive
2
Lake KournasDay 3 →
 ~ 45 min drive
3
ChaniaDays 3–5 →
 ~ 50 min drive
4
Kissamos & BalosDays 5–6 →
 ~ 2h drive, over the White Mountains
5
Chora Sfakion & LoutroDays 6–8 →
 ~ 1.5h back to Rethymno · fly home from Heraklion
For the road
Music
Nikos Xylouris
The great voice of Cretan song, with the lyra up front. Made for the mountain roads. Also try Psarantonis, rougher and wilder, the lyra at full strength.
Book
Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek
Written by a Cretan and set on the island. Good company for the slow hours by a pool, and it makes the landscape outside the car window feel like part of the story.
01
Days 1–3 · 2 nights

Rethymno, Made of Blue

The place we come back to almost every year.

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Made of Blue
Wooden arch with a hand-painted Bio Garden sign over a boardwalk through fruit trees at Made of Blue
Stone villa, bougainvillea and the pool with white cabanas, the sea on the horizon
Breakfast plate of pineapple, watermelon and peach with croissants and jam

Rethymno is where we land, every time. Our base is a small place just outside the centre called Made of Blue Luxury Suites. We go almost every year, and the owners are now our friends, which probably tells you everything. It's really good. You get your own villa (they come in different sizes), there's a very nice pool, and you're close to the Rethymno centre, about 2.5 km from the old town. We spent a few days here and used it as a base for trips inland and down to the south coast.

Getting there
About 1h15 by car from Heraklion airport (around 80 km), west along the national road.
Where to sleep
Made of Blue Luxury Suites, individual villas around one pool, close to the centre.
Best for
Slow mornings. Breakfast by the pool, out in the afternoon, back for the evening.
Where to stay · highly recommended
Made of Blue Luxury Suites
Individual villas · pool with cabanas · bio garden
Don't skip

This is a small place, and that is the point. The villas sit around a pool with white cabanas, bougainvillea spilling over the stone walls and a strip of sea on the horizon. Breakfast is à la carte and served by the pool on slate boards, fruit and pastries arriving while you are still deciding whether to swim first. Behind the villas there is a bio garden: a boardwalk under a hand-painted sign, through pomegranates and fruit trees, where the hotel grows its own vegetables. Walk through it before breakfast.

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Practical: It's small, so book early, especially for late summer. Ask about the bio garden when you arrive.

Breakfast by the pool
Breakfast table by the pool with slate boards of pastries and tomatoes, the pool and cabanas behind
A quad trip at sunset

From here we booked a guided quad trip, with an instructor and a small group. You ride through the olive groves as the sun goes down, with views over the hills and down to a lake. There is a lot of dust. Really, a lot. But it was worth the experience, and the olive trees at sunset are the whole reason to do it.

A lake on the quad route
A deep blue lake below a flat-topped ridge, seen on the quad route
Preveli beach

We also went down to Preveli on the south coast, the beach where a river and a palm forest run into the sea. It's about an hour's drive from Rethymno. If you go: from the car park on the west side it's a steep walk down, around 470 steps, and every one of them is waiting for you on the way back up. Arrive early, because parking fills up.

2-day plan

Day 1: Land in Heraklion, pick up the car and drive west to Rethymno. Check in at Made of Blue and do nothing ambitious.

Day 2: Walk through the bio garden, then a long breakfast by the pool. Preveli in the day, and the quad trip through the olive groves in the late afternoon so you ride into the sunset.

Chiva's note

Go on the quad trip, but go knowing what you're signing up for. There is a lot of dust, so wear clothes you don't mind ruining and bring something to cover your nose and mouth. The olive groves and the sunset make it worth it.

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02
Day 3 · on the way

Lake Kournas

Crete's only freshwater lake, an easy stop on the way west.

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Lake Kournas
Wooden jetty leading into clear green water at Lake Kournas, pedalos moored and bare mountains behind

On the drive from Rethymno to Chania we pulled off the national road at Lake Kournas. Very, very nice. The water is green and clear, the mountains behind it are bare, and a wooden jetty runs out from the shore with a row of pedalos waiting. It's the only natural freshwater lake on Crete, and it breaks up the drive perfectly. An hour or so is enough, which is why it gets two diamonds rather than three.

Getting there
About 40 min from Rethymno, just off the national road towards Chania.
Parking
A paid lot at the top, about 2 EUR. Free parking further down by the lake.
Time needed
About an hour. Arrive late morning and carry on to Chania.
On the water

You can rent a pedalo from the jetty and paddle along the rocky shore. That's where the freshwater turtles hang out, so go slowly and look down.

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Practical: Pedalos cost about 10 to 16 EUR an hour, and prices vary by operator. If there's space lower down, skip the paid lot at the top: the free parking by the lake is closer anyway.

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03
Days 3–5 · 2 nights

Chania

The most beautiful old town I have ever seen, especially after dark.

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Chania & Akrotiri
The Venetian harbour of Chania, the lighthouse on its breakwater and the harbour front across deep blue water
Seitan Limani from the cliff top, a narrow turquoise inlet between rock walls
Dinner at Bohème, Chalidon street: a pistachio-crusted dish and roasted vegetables on patterned tile placemats

Chania is the most beautiful old city I have ever seen. I'll say it plainly and stand by it. The sunset is just amazing, and at night the Venetian port is so beautiful, with the lights of the harbour front doubled in the water. We based ourselves here for two nights. Behind the port, the old-town lanes climb away from the water, and you can lose an evening in them without trying.

Getting there
About 45 min from Lake Kournas on the national road. Park outside the old town and walk in, the lanes are narrow.
Where to sleep
Inside the old town, so the port is a short stroll away at night.
Best time
Sunset, then stay for the evening. The port is at its best after dark.
What to see & do
  • The Venetian port and the lighthouse

    Walk the harbour front round to the lighthouse on its breakwater. For the classic view of it, head to the west side near the Firkas fortress, which is free to enter and houses the Maritime Museum of Crete. Then come back at night for the port itself.

  • The garden above the port

    There is a garden up high with a very beautiful view over the whole Chania port. Go there at sunset. You will not miss it. Sometimes there's live music too.

Where to eat · highly recommended
Bohème
Old town · Chalidon street
Don't skip

This is the one I want to recommend. We had a very nice dinner at Bohème, on Chalidon street in the old town, the lane that runs from the harbour up towards the cathedral. On our table that night: a pistachio-crusted dish and a tray of roasted vegetables, on patterned tile placemats. Pair it with the garden above the port at sunset and you have the perfect Chania evening.

Where we slept: il Campanile

In Chania we slept inside the old town, at il Campanile Luxury Living: a handful of suites in an old building right next to the cathedral bell tower (that's the campanile). Ours had a jacuzzi set against the original stone walls, and the port is a few minutes' walk away.

Old stone and a jacuzzi, in the old town
A sunken jacuzzi with brass taps against an old stone and brick wall
Day trip: Seitan Limani

About 20 minutes' drive from Chania, on the Akrotiri peninsula, Seitan Limani is a tiny beach at the end of a narrow, fjord-like inlet, turquoise water squeezed between two walls of rock. The view from the cliff top is the one everyone comes for. Getting down to the water takes 10 to 15 minutes on a steep path of loose gravel.

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Practical: Wear trainers, not flip-flops. Parking by the little church of Agios Spyridon is limited, and latecomers end up on the steep road (handbrake on, properly). Go early.

2-day plan

Day 3: Arrive from Lake Kournas in the afternoon and check in. Evening on the Venetian port, and stay until it's dark.

Day 4: Morning drive out to Seitan Limani on Akrotiri. Back in town, sunset from the garden above the port, then dinner at Bohème on Chalidon street.

Day 5: One more walk round the harbour to the lighthouse, then drive west towards Kissamos.

Chiva's note

Whatever else you do in Chania, be in the garden above the port at sunset. You will not miss it. Then walk down to the water once it's dark, when the port is at its most beautiful.

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04
Days 5–6 · 1 night

Kissamos & Balos

Sleep next door and have Balos before the crowds.

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Balos · sunrise over Kissamos bay
Balos lagoon from the path: sandbars curling through shallow turquoise water, Cape Tigani and an islet on the horizon
Sunrise over Kissamos bay from the hotel in Kaliviani, palms and rocks in the water under an orange sky
The same sunrise over a plunge pool, big orange and grey clouds above the bay

We came to this corner of the island for one thing: Balos. The lagoon sits at the tip of the Gramvousa peninsula in the far north-west, shallow and incredibly clear, and it's famous enough that by late morning the boats arrive with the day-trippers. So we slept one night right next to it, in Kaliviani, about 5 km west of Kissamos at the start of the track to Balos, and went in early.

Getting there
About 50 min from Chania to Kaliviani. From there, about 8 km of dirt track to the Balos car park, around 30 min each way.
Where to sleep
Balos Beach hotel in Kaliviani, right at the start of the track.
Best time
Early morning, before the boats. We were at the viewpoint a little after 9.
Where to stay
Balos Beach hotel
Kaliviani · pool on the sea · faces east

A very nice hotel with a pool directly on the sea. It faces east over Kissamos bay, so set an alarm for the sunrise: the sky turns orange behind the palms and the rocks in the water. Then leave for Balos straight after, you're already on the right road.

Balos lagoon

Go early, otherwise the crowd comes. We drove the track in the morning and walked down past the viewpoint, the famous postcard view with sandbars curling through the turquoise. Then down into the lagoon itself, where the water is so shallow and clear you can see every ripple in the sand. Later a very nice boat came in and anchored in the bay. That's the cruise from Kissamos port, and your cue that the quiet part of the day is over.

Sleep next door, go early, and you get Balos before the crowd does.

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Getting in: From Kaliviani it's about 8 km of dirt track, roughly 30 minutes, with a small fee per car (about 3 EUR) plus about 1 EUR per person for the protected area. Then you walk down from the car park past the viewpoint, and back up in the heat, so bring water. The alternative is the boat from Kissamos port, which stops at Gramvousa first and reaches Balos later in the day, about 30 to 40 EUR per adult.

When the boats come in · Kaliviani · Korfalonas
Balos bay from the path, a cruise ferry anchored among small boats and yachts beside a rock pinnacle
Lunch in Kaliviani: a Greek salad with feta and rusks beside a baked clay dish of melted cheese
A vegetable garden in Korfalonas with bean trellises and pumpkins on a big clay pot
Where to eat
The restaurant near Balos
A Greek friend's tip · very popular
Book ahead

A Greek friend gave me the name of a very popular restaurant close to Balos, and we went. Unfortunately there was a big queue. Learn from us.

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Practical: Book in advance. It's popular for a reason, and the queue is real.

Lunch in Kaliviani, and a garden in Korfalonas

After Balos we had lunch in Kaliviani, a Greek salad with feta and rusks next to a baked clay dish of melted cheese. Heading east, just past Kissamos, we stopped in Korfalonas at a vegetable garden with bean trellises and pumpkins piled on a big clay pot.

Chiva's note

If you take one thing from this page for Balos, take this: sleep nearby and go early in the morning. Otherwise the crowd comes. We planned the whole night around it, and it was the right call.

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05
Days 6–8 · 2 nights

Chora Sfakion & Loutro

The end of the road on the south coast, where the boats leave for Loutro.

Panorama New Generation
Sunset over the infinity pool and the breakwater, one person sitting at the pool edge
The hotel pool at the foot of a red rock cliff, sunbeds and a white-curtained cabana
Infinity pool above the ferry port of Chora Sfakion, a big white ferry at the quay

From Kaliviani we drove south, over the White Mountains, to Chora Sfakion, a small harbour village where the south-coast road simply stops. Beyond it, the coast belongs to the boats: ferries leave for Loutro, and further west for Agia Roumeli at the foot of the Samaria gorge. We based ourselves in Chora Sfakion for two nights, at a small hotel above the port.

Getting there
About 2h from Kaliviani, via Vrysses and across the White Mountains. The last stretch winds down to the sea.
Where to sleep
Panorama New Generation, above the ferry port.
Getting around
Loutro has no road. Ferry or taxi boat from Chora Sfakion, or on foot along the coast path.
Where we stayed
Panorama New Generation
About 7 rooms · infinity pool over the port · sunset terrace

A small hotel, only about seven rooms, with an infinity pool that looks straight down onto the ferry port and a red rock cliff rising behind it. From the pool you can watch the big white south-coast ferries come and go. There's a terrace and bar facing the sunset, and the town's pebbly Vrissi beach is about 400 m away.

Loutro

Loutro is a white, car-free village wrapped around a horseshoe bay, with a bare mountain behind it and boats moored in the turquoise water. The only ways in are by boat or on foot. Ferries run between Chora Sfakion and Loutro several times a day in summer, and the crossing takes about 20 to 30 minutes. From Loutro, small boats go on to Marmara and Glyka Nera (Sweetwater beach).

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Practical: Check ferry times on anendyk.gr before you plan the day. Taxi boats from Chora Sfakion are the flexible alternative.

Loutro · the port from the pool
Loutro, a white village around a turquoise bay with a bare mountain behind and boats in the water
The edge of the infinity pool above the small port of Chora Sfakion, with a glass balustrade and a sunbed
The Anopolis road and the Aradena bridge

Above Chora Sfakion, the road up to Anopolis is a run of hairpins, about 20 of them, climbing to a plateau at around 600 m with very little guard rail. Take it slowly. Past Anopolis is the Aradena bridge, a one-lane bridge of steel and wooden planks about 138 m above the Aradena gorge, with a straight drop to a dry riverbed. On summer weekends people bungee jump from the middle of it, one of the highest jumps in Europe. The abandoned village of Aradena sits right beside the bridge.

The hairpins also give you the best view of Chora Sfakion harbour from above: the old port with its waterfront tavernas, and the coast running west towards the mountains.

Chora Sfakion from above · Aradena
Chora Sfakion old harbour from above, tavernas and pine trees, the coast running west to the mountains
Looking straight down into the Aradena gorge from the bridge, red and grey walls above a dry riverbed
The hairpin road winding down to Chora Sfakion village and harbour, the sea on the right
2-day plan

Day 6: Balos in the morning, lunch in Kaliviani, then the long drive south to Chora Sfakion. Check in above the port.

Day 7: Morning at the infinity pool, Loutro in the middle of the day, sunset back at the pool.

Day 8: The harbour in the morning, then up the hairpins towards Anopolis and the Aradena bridge, and on towards Rethymno in the afternoon.

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Copy my trip

Back east, and the whole loop day by day.

Then: back east and home

From the south coast we drove back north towards Rethymno, about an hour and a half, and spent the last nights in that area before flying home from Heraklion on Day 10. The drive from Rethymno to the airport is about 1h15, so an evening flight leaves you most of the final day.

Day by day

Day 1: Fly Zurich to Heraklion, drive to Rethymno, check in at Made of Blue.

Day 2: Slow breakfast by the pool and a walk through the bio garden. Preveli. The quad trip at sunset through the olive groves.

Day 3: Drive west, stop at Lake Kournas, check in in Chania. Evening on the Venetian port.

Day 4: Seitan Limani in the morning. Sunset from the garden above the port, dinner at Bohème on Chalidon street.

Day 5: Harbour and lighthouse, then drive west to Kaliviani and the pool on the sea.

Day 6: Sunrise at the hotel, Balos early, lunch in Kaliviani, drive south to Chora Sfakion.

Day 7: Pool morning, Loutro, sunset at the pool.

Day 8: Chora Sfakion harbour, the hairpins up to the Aradena bridge, then back towards Rethymno.

Day 9: A free day near Rethymno.

Day 10: Drive to Heraklion and fly home.

Chiva's note

Rethymno is the place we keep coming back to, and this loop is how I'd show a friend the west of the island. Chania at sunset and Balos at dawn are the two things not to miss. And book that restaurant before you need it.

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Chiva's Diamonds

Every place earns Chiva's Diamonds, based on my own experience.

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BofWorth a look if you're nearby, but not a special trip.
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OlalaA rewarding stop, well worth your time.
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OMGExceptional. Worth planning a whole trip around.