Reviews of Greece

Not the normal four S words you might associate with a holiday to Crete but there again we did have our two children sleeping in the same apartment so that might explain the substitution of serendipity.

This was our first holiday to Greece so we did not know quite what to expect, we took far more clothes than we needed we even took fold up raincoats (you can see we are used to camping holidays in France). All we really needed was lots of different t-shorts and shorts.

We flew from Birmingham to Herakilon using an Airtours flight (although the holiday was booked with a small tour operator, Hillwood Holidays). Birmingham airport is quite convenient for us, only 45 mins. from home however I do reckon that it does have good facilities and the check-in procedure went fine. I was a bit wary about flying with Airtours, having read lots of opinions about them, however I was pleasantly surprised. The seat room was reasonable, the stewardesses very helpful and the in flight entertainment not bad. Two complaints, should we really have to pay for a headset in order to listen to the film and why despite our tour operator informing them well in advance had they not reserved us vegetarian meals.

We arrived after 4 hours at Herakilon airport and immediately were hit by the heat, however when we got into the airport buildings thankfully there was air conditioning. Onto baggage retrieval, what a nightmare, the hall was full there were only two carousels and four flights had just arrived. There was no indication as to which carousel was for which flight so we spent the next 30 mins hopping between one carousel and another looking for our suitcases. Eventually we got our luggage and through to where we were met by the company rep. As we were the only customers arriving on that flight he had arranged a taxi transfer to our resort Bali that was about 45 mins drive from the airport. The journey was an experience that I wont go into detail about, however our plans to hire a car for several days were quickly rethought.

Bali Bay where we were staying is on the north coast about 50 kms west of Herakilon. Although there has been some development it is still very much a small fishing port, ideal for families but not very suitable for those wanting a lively night life. We had the choice of staying in a hotel or going self-catering, we had chosen s/c because our son is nut allergic and we like to have some control over what he eats. Clearly when they use the term self catering they expect people to go out and eat as the cooking facilities were minimal to say the least, however we did manage and the owners of the apartment who ran the supermarket underneath were always incredibly helpful. It was very hot 35+ degrees C in the day and 25+ degrees C at night and there was no air conditioning which made sleeping very difficult. The resort contained a number of taveranas which we sampled, the food was mainly fish based and had often been caught locally, it was also very cheap, a meal for the four of us plus drinks came to less than £20. The harbour had a small sandy beach which was never crowded and from which we could swim or snorkel or just lie around. There was supposed to be a small charge for the sun beds and sunshades but they often didnt bother to collect it. From the harbour you could also book various boat trips or hire pedalos, canoes, sailing boats or jet skis. We also had the opportunity for our children to have a go at parasailing, the same person who was the company rep ran this, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it. There are a number of other small beaches nearby which you can get to, all of which have incredibly clear water with lots of small fish swimming around. There is the opportunity to try scuba diving in the area if you wish.

We did less of these than we thought we would, partially because of the heat and partially because of the driving conditions, but these are the main ones we did.

Firstly we went on a full days cruise on a catamaran, this was really great the captain was very friendly and allowed our children to steer the boat. We sailed up the coast, visited some pirate caves and then had a long lunch in another small village up the coast. We then sailed out to sea looking for dolphins. Unfortunately on this occasion we did not see any but we did have the opportunity to swim off the boat and generally have a wonderfully relaxing time

Our second excursion was completely the opposite; it was to the Samaria Gorge. This gorge is 15 km long and drops from 1500 metres at the start to sea level at the end. It was an exhausting but spectacular walk, which took nearly seven hours to complete, and you certainly need a reasonable level of fitness to do it. I would also not recommend it for children under the age of 9. You take a coach to the start of the gorge and at the end you have to take a boat which takes you up the coast to meet your coach which has had to do a 40km round trip to get there. It is a very long day, we started at 7.00am and didnt get back to 10.00pm but the scenery is spectacular. If you can do it when it is cooler, June or September I would certainly suggest you do.

Our third excursion was to Knosos and a water park. Knosos which is near Herakilon is the site of the ancient Cretan civilisation and is basically a very large set of ruins which have been excavated over time. It is certainly very worthy but when we went there it was very hot and very crowded and I cant say we got a lot out of it but if you are into that sort of thing then I am sure you will enjoy it. The water park we then went to is one of two in the area and was good fun but no different from any other. This was the one excursion we did hire a car for and in the end my fears were unfounded, however signposting is not good and you need a good quality map and a good sense of direction.

There are a large number of other places we could have visited but in the end we just enjoyed relaxing by the sea.

As I said at the start we went with a small company called Hillwood Holidays, they only operate in this one resort in Crete and we chose them because of the childcare they offer. They provide a programme of activities on 5 days a week for 4-6 hours a day. There were two girls running the activities and there were on average only 4-6 children attending. Our kids thoroughly enjoyed it and it gave us time for ourselves.

Would we do the holiday again?, probably yes but we would try to go at a cooler time of the year, May or September. We would certainly take less clothes with us. We felt the people in Crete were nearly all very friendly and helpful and if you can learn the odd Greek phrase they certainly appreciate it. As for the fourth S of my title Serendipity the dictionary definition says the facility of making happy chance finds, well Crete does certainly give you that opportunity!

One final piece of advice. When flying back home, having checked in (an experience in itself) do not go through passport control. This leads into a departure lounge which is very small, overcrowded and has few facilities. Instead go to the restaurant which is on the second floor. This is much more pleasant, you can see when your plane lands and only then go through to departures.