Crete

Crete is Greece on a different scale. It is the largest island in the country, with mountain ranges that hold snow into spring, a south coast facing the Libyan Sea, and enough palaces, gorges, beaches and villages to fill several separate holidays. Many visitors treat it as one destination and see a fraction of it. The better approach is to choose a base and explore outward. The island's four main bases sit along the north coast, and each gives a different holiday. Heraklion puts you next to Knossos and the Archaeological Museum. Chania pairs a Venetian harbour with the famous beaches of the west, including Elafonisi and Balos. Rethymno balances the two, with an old town of its own and long sandy beaches. Agios Nikolaos opens up the calmer east, with Spinalonga and the palm forest of Vai within reach. In between lie the experiences that made Crete famous: walking the Samaria Gorge through the White Mountains, boat trips to coasts you cannot reach by road, Minoan sites that predate classical Greece by a thousand years, and a food culture that Cretans will tell you, correctly, is a cuisine of its own. Distances are real here, so plan by region rather than trying to see everything from one spot. Whichever base you choose, the tours below cover the whole island.