Crete, west to east
A slow crossing of Crete following the island's food rather than its beaches: cheese-makers in Apokoronas, hill villages above Rethymno, and the vineyards of Peza.
- Length
- 8 days · 8 nights
- Months
- April – November
- Stops
- 5
The route on a map
1 · 2 nights
Chania
The Venetian harbour town, and the best base for the cheese villages of Apokoronas.
2 · 1 night
Vamos, Apokoronas
A farming region east of Chania known for graviera and olive groves.
3 · 2 nights
Margarites
A pottery and wine village in the hills above Rethymno.
4 · 1 night
Heraklion
Crete's capital, with a market street, Venetian harbour and the Archaeological Museum.
5 · 2 nights
Peza
The main wine region south of Heraklion, growing Vidiano and Kotsifali.
Day by day
Day 1
Arrive in Chania
Sleep · Chania
Settle into the old harbour and eat in the Splantzia quarter.
Day 2
Chania market
Sleep · Chania
The covered market and old town shops selling Cretan oil and honey.
Day 3
Cheese country
Sleep · Vamos
A graviera maker in Apokoronas and a village olive press.
Day 4
Into the Rethymno hills
Sleep · Margarites
The pottery village, tasting at a hillside winery en route.
Day 5
Rethymno vineyards
Sleep · Margarites
Small wineries growing Vidiano and Romeiko.
Day 6
On to Heraklion
Sleep · Heraklion
The 1866 market street and the Venetian harbour in the evening.
Day 7
Peza wine country
Sleep · Peza
Two or three producers, tasting indigenous grapes rarely found off the island.
Day 8
Departure
Departure
A final morning among the vineyards before returning to Heraklion.