Why East Crete?

East Crete is the undiscovered gem of the most interesting and beautiful island in the Meditarranean. If you want Club 18-30 culture this is NOT the place for you. If you want a beautiful, clean, if somewhat dusty, place with spectacular mountains and azure blue sea, completely unspoiled by so called "progress" then this is the place for you.

East Crete is broadly defined as being Lassithi Prefecture. It has three main towns, Agios Nikolaos and Sitia on the North Coast and the largest town, Ierapetra on the South Coast. Agios Nikolaos as a major tourist destination as well as being the seat of local government. Ierapetra, famous for being the most southerly town in Europe, is a thriving, bustling combination of modern and old Crete relying on agriculture, particularly winter greenhouse agriculture, rather than tourism for it's wealth. Sitia, the smallest of the three towns produces some of the best olive oil in the world and excellent wine.

To experience the fullness of Cretan life and the excellence of local cuisine stay away from the big towns and visit the myriad of villages that cover the East end of the island. Village life means slow pace, fresh, mainly organic produce and a cafe society, where everyone talks about everyone and everything in the kafenion over a few glasses of raki. Each village has it's own unique identity and blend of characters, all believing intrinsically that their village is the best.

East Crete has more than it's fair share of beautiful beaches and the water is warm enough to swim in year round, with the water temperature never falling below the English Channel summer high temperature. So you can relax on the beach and dream your days away. Out of the main tourist season it is easy to find your own kilometre of deserted paradise.

Wildlife abounds with golden eagles, falcons, hawks and owls. Badgers, pinemartins, hedgehogs live alongside lizards, frogs and snakes (none of which are poisonous). The sea is full of fish, lobsters and octopus.

The climate is superb with over 300 days sunshine every year, hot dry summers and warm but sometimes wet winters. Rainfall tends to be monsoon like when the weather sytems come in from the South in winter. The North Coast is kept cool (35°C) by the Meltemi, a wind which comes down from Turkey, in the summer. The South Coast can reach 45°C in summer and stays much warmer than the North Coast in winter.

For golf lovers there are a number of golf courses planned for the future. Swimming, hill walking, mountain biking, tennis are all already available.