We left Crete today, ending our four weeks in Greece trip. Some thoughts off the top of my head.
Weather
I think we timed our visit pretty well, arriving in Corfu at the end of September and leaving Crete at the end of October. We had warm sunny days, but not hot, sticky days. We only saw rain in Corfu, which is known for being the greenest part of the country. In fact, flying from Corfu to Athens, and later from Athens to Paros, and today flying over Greece after leaving Crete, I could see riverbeds, all of them completely dried up. The riverbeds on Crete were also completely dry. The lack of rain is real and ongoing. Our host in Rethymno said that their olive trees on Crete haven't produced any olives the last three years, due to extreme lack of rain.
Internet access
We bought a 5G 30-day Greece-only eSIM card from Saily for my phone and a 3G 30-day Greece-only eSIM from Saily for Nick's phone. Both plans were data only. No texts or phone calls. Mine cost about $14 for the 30 days; well worth it for navigation and web lookups on sights and such. I used 2.8G on this 4-week trip.
Nick's eSIM was free because of a promotion from our VPN company. He also had access to 12 Travel Day passes from Verizon but used only one of the day passes, in Albania where our eSIMs weren't valid. In the past we've bought eSIMs from Airalo, also a good company.
WiFi is available at every restaurant and taverna. With WiFi or with an eSIM, you can use the app, WhatsApp, to text and make phone calls. That is what we did. And that's what we will do on future trips.
Crete is amazing, just as our stops have been on the rest of this trip, each in their own way. All had really good food, mountains (except Athens), beaches, and ancient ruins. All are worth traveling to, IMHO.
Let me reflect on each of our stops.
Corfu
We loved the Old Town of Corfu, and the northern town of Kassiopi. If I could have a do-over, I would rent a car to see more of the rest of the island.
Our day trip to Albania opened my eyes to its touristic potential.
Athens
The sights here are what you study initially in fourth or fifth grade, right? So how can you not be impressed? And there is more to Athens than the ruins of Ancient Greece. It is a vibrant modern city that is worth exploring.
Paros
Somewhat of a ferry hub to other islands, Paros has a variety of towns, all with fantastic views. Where we stayed, Naousa, seems to be more of a young, chic enclave complete with night clubs and near views of Naxos and distant views of Mykonos--which I think Naousa tries to emulate. The towns of Drios and Aliki on the southern part of the island are smaller and quieter. If I were to do it over again, I'd choose one of those two towns to stay in, I think. I'm super glad we rented a car because I feel we really got to see all of the island. Paros has some really nice beaches and great restaurants.
For my do-over, I would spend three nights here and four on Antiparos.
Antiparos
Antiparos is tiny, quiet, and full of little places you can explore. Nice beaches. Good restaurants. Three or four nights here would be about right, though longer, if you have the time, would be great.
Naxos
Known for having the best cheese, lamb, and potatoes, Naxos is beautiful and very mountainous. Im not sure their beaches are as nice as those on Paros. Our short stay doesn't qualify us to comment further but our impressions of Naxos were positive.
Santorini
Our 24-hour sojourn on Santorini was very positive. When planning our trip back in July, I wanted to avoid both Mykonos and Santorini because I feared they'd be overrun with tourists. But because of the ferry schedules in October being reduced, we couldn't go directly from Paros to Crete. So we had to spend a night in Santorini. I am glad we did. It was gorgeous. And yes, it had a lot of tourists but our time there was so short that our chosen itinerary skirted them, mostly. A second night would be my do-over plan
Crete
Crete is large, has great beaches and amazing food, of which the Cretans are immensely proud, rightfully.
Crete, especially heading south or east from Rethymno strikes me as a cross between the American Southwest and the Italian Amalfi Coast. It has the arid rugged mountains of the Southwest and the curvy mountainous roads that skirt gorgeous turquoise waters of the Amalfi Coast.
My do-over plan for Crete does not change. A week is perfect, though longer would be better. We met a few snowbirds from northern Europe (mostly Brits) who spend at least part of their winter on Crete.
We are now at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, waiting to board our flight home to Boston. Potable water is free and readily available and their sewage pipes must be big enough to handle TP. 😁 Life is good.
I am beyond grateful to have this opportunity to travel like this, especially with Nick. We travel nearly seamlessly with each other and have similar interests. We both enjoy meeting new people from around the world, sone of whom we continue to stay in touch with, and even reconnect with on subsequent trips. Personal interaction is key to understanding other cultures, I think. And that makes our world better.
Carol
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