Майские праздники на о.Крит May holidays in Crete

We went to Crete for the May holidays (2 sisters). We flew with Aeroflot from Moscow. They were afraid that it would be cold, as many wrote on the internet about bad weather in early May. We were lucky - it was sunny all the time, not a single cloud and during the day the temperature reached 30 degrees (in the sun). The sea was cool, but we warmed up on the sunbeds and could easily swim in it.
We stopped in the district of Malia. Loved the Alexander Beach Hotel! Nice staff, they speak excellent English and German. Large, well-groomed and green area, small 3-storey houses. We got a room on the 2nd floor with a sea view. Since the hotel is located right on the beach, it was always nice to fall asleep to the sound of the surf. The rooms are clean, cleaned every day, there is everything you need. The hotel has a good sandy beach, the bottom is not rocky, as in other places, but rather shallow, you had to move a hundred meters to swim normally.
The hotel has very tasty and varied breakfasts (what delicious pastries they have !!! ), dinner - there is a lot of choice, dishes from different countries were offered every day (Italy, Spain, China, etc. ) We took HB meals, buffet. Sometimes during the day we went to local cafe-restaurants for lunch, the prices are affordable, lunch for two cost 30-40 euros. "Sometimes" - this is because they fed well at breakfast, and the feeling of hunger came more often by the time of dinner : ) There were few people in the hotel itself, mostly Germans and British, who did not bother us with anything, there were few Russians and more often they were family couples with children.

As for the island itself, the island in the Malia region was not at all impressive, rather dirty and not well maintained, the capital of Heraklion is generally a solid "garbage dump" (in the middle of the main street - mountains of garbage dumps and garbage! ), although there are several historical buildings on which you can see. From the excursions - we visited the Knossos Palace - a pleasant place, we went ourselves, because firstly it’s expensive for a tour company, and secondly, you can safely drive yourself (by bus to Heraklion - they go every half hour - and then transfer to the bus to the palace itself ). We also went on safari jeeps (already from a travel agency, about 55 euros per person, lunch included) and to the island of Santorini (120 euros per person + transfer to the port for 10 euros, lunch is NOT included). I must say right away that this island has NOTHING in common with Crete - the island is beautiful, left very vivid impressions! But you should go there for at least 2 days, as one day is not enough! On the streets of Crete, you can easily purchase such excursions for 2-3 days.
I regret that we didn’t have time to visit Crete also an excursion to the cave of Zeus - they say it’s interesting.
The result - the north of the island was not particularly impressive (Malia is a stupidly "tourist artificial" place, we lacked the spirit of real Greek life, but I think all this is in the south of the island - there are very beautiful grottoes and beaches, it is not so popular among tourists, and therefore not May is a month - you can go, but it will be a little boring for those who hope to get into the midst of night festivities in clubs and who want to see a bunch of young people, because May is not quite the season for both swimming and parties "Many cafes, and even more so clubs, are closed at this time. We weren't bored, we entertained ourselves with excursions. But still, upon arrival home, there was no feeling "I want to go back"! There are more interesting and more beautiful places on Earth! (there is something to compare, abroad is not the first time) : ))
Separately, a few words about the tour company - Pegas tourist, I think I won’t surprise anyone if I say that I didn’t like “cooperating” with them, because of incompetent guides who know little about Crete itself, and they couldn’t really tell about excursions, which their own company offered.
Have a good rest and new bright impressions!!! !