Rethymno
- Admission:Free
Many travelers miss out on Rethymno’s lovely Old Town and Venetian port, soaking up the waterfront ambiance in Hania instead. But Rethymno has just as much charm as its larger neighbor, with a Venetian fortress, pretty harbor and Turkish quarter of winding lanes and wooden Ottoman houses. Minoans also settled in this part of Crete, but it owes its grandeur to the Venetian period (1210 to 1645).
Wander around and admire Venetian monuments like the 16th-century loggia, Great Gate and wall remnants. A highlight of the Old Town is the Rimondi Fountain, with water spouting from the heads of lions. Several lovely mosques are a reminder of the town’s Ottoman past. The town also has several notable museums, exhibiting antique relics like statues and coins, folk art weaving and Byzantine artworks. Rethymno has a youthful university population, and its waterfront bars and Venetian harbor clubs get particularly lively at night. Several rural walks lead into the hinterland from Rethymno, and diving is also popular.
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The sea was very rough on our visit, which caused not only the entire boat full of tourist to vomit for 3 hours straight but it also caused us to land late on the island. This caused a strain on time as we only had 1 hour in Oia and about 20 minutes in Fira before we had to get back on the bus and go back to the boat. I can only hope that on a more smoothly run trip that the time on the island lasts longer than that If not, then I would suggest allowing tourist much more time on the island. Leaving earlier from Heraklion would be a good start. I also wish there was a more convenient way for the tour guides to communicate with people on the bus. Listening to the same description 5 different times, first in English, then Dutch, then German, then Italian, then French, etc. etc. gets extremely tiring. You start to ignore all of it after a while. Maybe a recording with headsets would be more reasonable. Continue Reading »
Santorini is stunning. Continue Reading »
Trip wasn't at all what we were told it would be, it says in the write up that you have the day to yourself to explore the island and you can make up your own itinerary, but you cant! you are put on a bus and driven around and have about 45 mins in each place! so even though it says in the write up that you can do a donkey ride you actually cant because they don't give you enough time! you are on a bus with people who speak many different languages and the tour guide repeats herself in every language after everything she says which is extremely tedious. also, she doesn't let you talk to each other on the bus. when people on our bus started pointing things out to each other and generally getting excited about the trip they were told in no uncertain terms to shush and be quiet!! needless to say they were not particularly happy! not what it is advertised to be, and only had a very short time on the island after waiting for the entire group to arrive. would advise that you make your own way there rather than do it as a trip. it is very easy to get a boat there and a coach to the main city. I was very annoyed about the things we missed out on and the money we wasted. complete waste of an entire day. Continue Reading »
Practical Info
Crete’s third-largest town, Rethymno sits on the mid-north coast of Crete. It’s an hour by bus to Hania, and 1.5 hours from Heraklion.
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