Greece: Crete

Traveling alone has its perks. You can make decisions within hours that basically decide your entire trip. This is how I decided to do Crete. After some deep research I was ready to be spontaneous. Hey, I am still type A.

The night before I found a room on booking.com in Chania for two nights.

I was flying into Heraklion because it was cheap but then all the research said Chania and the west side was better to explore. Below was my hit list – and if you have 72 hours in Crete I’d recommend following my lead.

• Seitan limania beach
• Samarian Gorge
• Palace of Knosos

When leaving Athens, I purchased the wrong train ticket then got off at the wrong stop. Eventually I made it on the plane and into Crete. Bags in tow I marched to the bus station to head towards the City for the next bus across the island. A taxi driver stopped me – and actually persuaded me to jump in the cab so I could try and make the 630 bus. The fare was 12 euros, I had 10 and a $2 Australian coin which luckily he took. I purchased the ticket and boarded the bus to Chania.

3 hours later we arrive and I Google map my way towards my hotel. Unknown to me, my hotel was in the exact center of where I should be. Sometimes things just work out. It is 11pm when I drop off my bag and go looking for dinner.

In Australia dinner is an affair that starts at 4pm and ends at 8pm. If you are trying to eat at 9pm the whole restaurant hates you. I walked around and literally could not pick a restaurant based on how many options greeted me. Downtown Chania is situated right on the water which leads for a perfect summer night.

I knew Chania was the right city for me to be in. There is so much to explore; alleys are lined with stores and restaurants, an old fish market, and a light house on a thin strip of land surrounding a marina.

That next morning I connect with Dimitris, my hotel owner, to ask about some tours. I had a wish list but none of the trips on TripAdvisor appealed to me and were expensive. After talking through all the options, consulting maps and reviewing bus schedule I had a plan.