East Crete in May
Crete is a serpentine of adventure, food worthy of the gods of Olympus, and landscapes from which wings grow. I visited the island for the second time and I will not promise a third. If last time we rested near Rethymnon, then this time, for a change, we chose Herssonisos.
Flight. Flying WindRose. It is currently my favorite carrier. After flying with Khors from JoinUp, I felt all the delights of comfort. Flight is on time. The cabin is clean, the flight attendants are just angels, very smiling and friendly. The food is standard. Children are given children's sets with felt-tip pens. The company does everything for a pleasant start to the holiday. Thanks.
Tour operator. TUI was met normally, put on the bus. We were accompanied to the hotel by a boy of about 20 years old, 100% some kind of trainee, in a very wrinkled shirt (maybe it was his first day and he got this shirt out of the bag; ), he read syllables with hesitation on every word (I'm not exaggerating) leaflet. When we stopped by Herssonisos, tourists asked the question: what is the name of the city? Hesitating, with confidence in his voice, he declared: Heros! Half of the bus precipitated)) And the driver showed all his Greek temperament with horror in his voice, announcing three times that it was Herssonisos! We all had great fun. We were also taken away cheerfully. We left on time, waiting for the bus, which should bring us to the airport. He stopped 5 minutes early, one hotel away from us, picked up the tourists and drove on. 20 minutes after the appointed time, the same bus returned for us. We are a little "forgotten". But it's not a problem. Even there is something to remember. In general, everything is organized and good. The hotel guide Tatyana explained everything to us clearly and competently, without unnecessary ranting, expression and imposing excursions.
Thalia Hotel 3*. The hotel is located on the main street El. Venizelou, which is the center of entertainment. Here you will find shops and cafes, bars and a maximum of 4 minutes from the sea in a straight line (it can be seen from the hotel). The hotel lobby is small, beautifully furnished, homely. We were met by a girl who told us that the hotel is a family property. My first impression was the best. We were asked to walk for an hour while they prepared the room for us. Satisfied with our good choice, we set out to explore the nearby beaches. Ours, which is a 4-minute walk, turned out to be a small rocky beach, on which there were a lot of people. After looking at it, we went to Star Beach, so often mentioned by many tourists. It turned out to be sandy, with a transparent sea. Very good! After a cursory walk along the nearby beaches, we returned to check into the hotel. Our room was on the 3rd floor. Built-in wardrobe, bed, table, bedside tables. The walls are whitewashed, which gets dirty, so it's better not to lean. The windows are small, for which we called the room - a cell. ) Refrigerator, TV, air conditioning - for a fee. We did not use it, but I checked - everything can be turned on like that. The bathroom is small but looks ok. The shower cubicle is really very small. We are not large-sized people, but all the time we fought against the walls of the booth, at every turn. The room was quite large enough to accommodate a larger booth there. In general, the room is absolutely suitable for tourists without children who do not plan to spend time within four walls and choose a hotel only for an overnight stay.
And now the text without enthusiasm. In the room for 7 days hot water was only 2 days. The rest of the time - cold flowed from the tap with low pressure, and not only in our room. Other hotel guests also complained about this. Cleaning. I never understood the reviews of tourists who write that the room is poorly cleaned. Now I understand. I always leave a tip for hard human work, but when I went to the hotel in the evening, epithets came out of me. What was worth only a bed filled with a Greek Mary the mistress. Towels were changed once in 7 days. In the kitchen, where there are only 10 tables, there are special rules - eat, clean up the dishes. We didn’t do this the first time, we were returned from the corridor)) Well, you should have seen how tourists with a slide of dishes maneuver between the tables to get to the shelf from which the staff should remove these dishes. However, some Russians, like some foreigners, still managed to limit themselves from self-service. There were even dissatisfied exclamations: maybe I should wash the dishes with them? And now for the food: our 7-day BB consisted of the following: boiled eggs, yogurt, oatmeal, 1 type of fake sausage, 1 type of cheese, bread, thinly sliced oranges, jam. Comrades who complain about the scarcity of food in European and especially Arab resorts: I don’t understand you! ) Show not to die of hunger - that's what it was. I appeal to the owners of the hotel: guys, have you even thought about how it is for people who, for example, do not eat yogurt and cereal. How is it to eat boiled eggs 7 times a week? Was it really so hard to diversify at least a little bit - at least scrambled eggs, make an omelette? Mockery. The boys repeatedly simply ignored breakfast and went to eat in cafes. Question: What did you pay for?
Bottom line: The location of the hotel is very good, but dozens of other hotels are located one next to the other along the same street. The rooms are normal. But to be honest, I don’t quite understand why the hotel deserved 3-ku. It would be more appropriate to call it: apartments for rent. I advise the hotel to those who are not pretentious, very slender (to make it easy to take a shower), and at the same time the walrus (cold hardening awaits you) does not have breakfast (RO) and does not pay attention to cleaning a la “the mouse ran, waved its tail”. I read very good reviews and always treat everything with humor and lightness, the hotel did not spoil my vacation one bit. But I wouldn't go there a second time either.
About travel. On the second day of our stay, we took a car from a local office (there are many offers, 99% of local companies provide full insurance), everything was without problems. Service at a very high level. If last year we were in the Rethymnon area and visited the sights of that part of the island, this year we paid attention to the eastern part of Crete, driving 1000 km in 4 days. We went to Matala, Vai Beach, Plakias, Elounda, Agios Nikolaos, Lassithi Plateau, Sitia, Itanos (there is a cool sandy beach on the way from Vai to Agios Nikolaos), Lake Kournas (hooray! We saw a carriage-carriage there), Kourtaliot Gorge, stopped by in Rethymno. If you need details, I'll be happy to share information). A separate day was allocated to Santorini. We did not have time to buy tickets for Flying Cat (attention, it is better to buy in advance during the high season), which takes 1.5 hours to the island, so we took tickets for Super Jet, which takes 2.5 hours. What is the difference? To go by Flying Cat, leave at 8 am, to go by Super Jet - at 7 am. The local agency told us that the ship leaves an hour earlier, at 8 am, but we left only at 9. I don’t know what this is connected with. Excursion 99 euros per person. On a Flying Jet, the cost is 107 euros. Duration of the tour promised by the agency: 1.5 hours each for Oia, Fira, Kamaris. As a result, we spent 1 hour in Oia, 30 minutes in Fira (this is enough for a quick acquaintance) and 2 hours on the beach. So it's ok. There are crowds of people in Oia, everyone is taking pictures, it is difficult to get through. And only vacationers there sit on the terraces, drink frappe and slowly enjoy the views. If you also want to go to Santorini on your own. The same flying jet in the port costs 120 euros per person. But, to be honest, I don’t even know how to get to these cities on my own. We also left for Crete a little later than the appointed time. On the way back we were caught by a small storm, the ship wore decently. For the first 5 minutes, the passengers felt like a roller coaster, but the ship was shaking so that everyone took out paper bags at the same time. And only the attendants managed to run around with bags (already large plastic ones). So, my advice to you: if you have a weak vestibular apparatus, take pills for motion sickness. We spent the last day in a relaxed atmosphere on Star Beach.
About the kitchen. Greeks cook with love. Every dish is licking your fingers. You should definitely try their national dishes - tzatziki, gyros, souvlaki, dolma, moussaka and more. The Greeks have a completely new taste, sweet, divine orange fresh. Oranges have some kind of nectar. I will miss him all year. From alcoholic drinks - rakia (grape vodka - 80 degrees), ouzo (aniseed vodka. If you add a little water to ouzo, it starts to become cloudy. This is how the Greeks themselves taught us to distinguish real ouzo from fake). Also try Greek frozen yogurts with a wide variety of toppings and Greek ice cream. The Greeks also have a good tradition - they always bring some kind of compliment - rakia (they drink with you in company, with a loud “Yasos! ”), Fruit, ice cream, yogurt with rose jam. In general, you will be able to try a full-fledged dessert. Tipping is optional, the amount varies in the range of 5-15% of the check amount.
Souvenirs. Who is not lucky from Crete with honey (7 euros), wine (from 3 euros to infinity), olive oil (from 3 euros). Naturally, everything is expensive on the stalls, so we took everything in the SPAR supermarket, which was located to the left of our hotel, a 10-minute walk. Magnets from 1 euro, soap - from 80 euro cents, prices for creams are very different.
Little advice: take a panama hat with you. 40% of outlets include the sale of hats. And not in vain - the sun, despite the mild climate, is quite active, so tourists, young and old, buy hats en masse. And one more thing: be sure to take mosquito repellent with you, they are some kind of especially angry in Crete. Do not be fooled by the signs of bars on the waterfront: 2 for the price of one, this may not be entirely true. And, of course, have a wonderful rest, because the Greeks - the most wonderful ones - help, advise, give gifts and, most importantly, treat tourists with genuine love and friendliness, like Greek nature, which will surprise you with the unforgettable spirit of ancient Hellas.
