Greek Island Travel Adventure: Crete

This summer, my boyfriend and I were able to each save up enough points to go on a two week vacation. We decided to head to Europe and go see the Greek Islands. Our first stop on our tour was Crete!

Crete is the largest Greek Island, and has a lot to offer. One minute you're driving through the mountains, the next you're right next to a white sand beach.

To plan our trip, we used Georgia from Vamos Travels. Vamos Travels creates itineraries for your vacation all over the world. Georgia sent us a survey of what kind of trip we wanted to experience (relax, explore, mix of both), to help plan the perfect itinerary for us. All her suggestions were perfect for the type of trip we were looking for in Crete, and I highly suggest you to use Georgia from Vamos Travel to plan all the activities for your next trip.

Check out below our top 3 favorite places to visit in Crete, and our hotel experience at the Blue Palace Resort & Spa.

Top 3 Favorite Places to Visit on Crete

1. Elafonissi Beach

This beach is known for it’s pink sand! When we arrived at the beach, much of the pink sand was gone from tourists collecting it over the years. There are still traces, and what was left was beautiful!

The lagoon had the most beautiful clear, blue-turquoise water I’ve ever seen. Up on the rocks, you could look straight down and see fish swimming by. If you ever have the chance to go and visit, you can rent a car (we rented a car the whole trip and it was more affordable than hiring taxi’s). If you aren’t able to get a rental car, you can go with a tour group. To get to the beach, you will go up and down the mountains, passing through villages and sharp turns to a beautiful destination.

2. Fortress Spinalonga

For 35 Euros, we got a private boat from the Blue Palace Resort & Spa to take us to Fortress Spinalonga. During the Venetian occupation, the island was built as a fort for defense purposes. Also, salt pans were placed around the island to harvest salt. It was so fun walking all over the island and exploring all the old buildings, walkways and views.

3. Chania

We loved walking through this area up and down the small streets towards Chania's old Venetian Harbor. Would highly suggest this city for a lunch or dinner at one of the many restaurants along the water.

Hotel: Blue Palace Resort & Spa

We stayed on the island for three nights, and loved our stay at the Blue Palace Resort & Spa. We used SPG points for our stay, and when we checked in, the front desk not only upgraded our room (because of my SPG loyalty status), but let us pick which room we wanted. We ended up picking the room that was smaller, but had it’s own pool:

This resort had it’s own private beach, 4 restaurants on property and too many pools to count. I would recommend for a romantic vacation, honeymoon, or even just spending time with family. Since we are vacationing during the European Holiday, we encountered many families vacationing. It was a perfect blend of both. Also, Crete was very affordable compared to other vacation spots I've visited.

One of my favorite parts of the resort (besides our amazing room), was their cocktail area over the Aegean Sea. Each night we were there, we would get drinks and split the Salmon Skewers with avocado, chili and soy sauce (as our appetizer). The view was beautiful in the evening and the seating was cozy!

Up next, we are off to Mykonos for two nights! Would love any suggestions in the comments below.

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