Crete With Kids
The palace where the Minotaur lived, a Venetian harbor with a lighthouse at the end of the wall, pink sand in a lagoon, a fortress on an island, mountains with a gorge through them and 160 miles of island to do it in. Crete is the Greek island I plan as a whole trip, not a stop.
Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel
Is Crete good for kids?
Yes. Knossos and the Minotaur story, a Venetian harbor with a lighthouse walk, a fortress to climb, one of the biggest aquariums in Europe, shallow warm beaches like Elafonisi and resorts with kids' clubs. It is big, so a car and two bases make it work.
How many days do you need in Crete?
Seven nights split between Heraklion and Chania. Ten if you want the Samaria Gorge, Spinalonga and the east of the island.
Should a family stay in Chania or Heraklion?
Both. Heraklion for Knossos, the museum and the aquarium, Chania for the harbor, the old town and the west coast beaches. They are two hours apart, so three nights east and four west is the split I plan.
How do you get to Crete from Athens?
By plane in about 50 minutes to Heraklion or Chania, with many flights a day. The overnight ferry from Piraeus takes about nine hours and works as an adventure with older kids.
When is the best time to visit Crete?
May, June, late September and October for warm sea and quieter beaches. July and August are hot and the famous beaches fill early. The Samaria Gorge is open from about May to October.
The Island That Is A Country
Crete is the biggest Greek island and runs 160 miles east to west, with snow on the mountains in April, palm trees on the beaches, and a civilization that was building palaces 4,000 years ago long before most of Europe had cities. Heraklion in the middle has Knossos and the museum with the Minoan frescoes. Chania in the west has the Venetian harbor and the pink sand beaches. Between and around them are gorges, monasteries, fishing villages and a fortress on an island. I split the week between the two, and the kids come home with a favorite.
Seven nights splits between Heraklion for Knossos, the museum and the aquarium, and Chania for the harbor, the old town and the west coast beaches. Ten lets you add the Samaria Gorge and the east.
Getting Around
A car, from the airport you fly into. Crete is big and the buses are slow, so the car is the trip. The old towns of Chania and Heraklion are on foot once you park. Taxis are fine for Knossos from Heraklion and for the harbor from a beach hotel.
Neighborhoods worth basing in
Chania old town and harbor
The Venetian lanes between the harbor and the market, with small hotels in old houses, the lighthouse walk at the door and Nea Chora beach 10 minutes on foot. Car free, pretty, and the kids can run to the harbor for ice cream. The base for the western half of the trip.
The beach resorts west of Chania
Agia Marina, Platanias and Kolymbari along the coast road 15 to 25 minutes west, with the family resorts, the long sandy beaches and Chania a short drive away for the evening. Pools and kids’ clubs, with Elafonisi and Balos closer.
Heraklion and the north coast
The city for Knossos and the museum, with the Venetian harbor and fortress and a real Cretan town around it, or the big resorts at Hersonissos and Gouves 20 minutes east with the aquarium next door. Three nights for the eastern half of the trip.
Domes Zeen Chania
A family resort on the beach 10 minutes from Chania old town, with pools, a kids’ club, big rooms and the harbor a short taxi away in the evening. The splurge in the west and the one I book when the budget allows.
Minoa Palace Resort
A big beach resort at Platanias, 15 minutes west of Chania, with pools for every age, a kids’ club, a long sandy beach and the old town a short drive away. The practical family resort for the western half.
Porto Veneziano Hotel
A hotel on the quiet eastern end of Chania’s Venetian harbor, with harbor view rooms, breakfast on the water and the old town at the door. Good value for a family who wants to be in the town itself.
The Three I Build Every Crete Trip Around
Knossos and the Heraklion museum
Knossos is the palace of the Minotaur story, 4,000 years old and 20 minutes from Heraklion, with red columns, a throne room, storerooms full of giant jars and corridors that feel like the labyrinth. Tell the kids the Theseus story in the car on the way. Then go to the Heraklion Archaeological Museum in the center, where the real frescoes from the palace hang, the bull leapers and the dolphins and the snake goddess, and the whole thing makes sense. Book Knossos for 8 in the morning in summer.
Chania harbor and the old town
The Venetian harbor is a half circle of pastel houses, cafes and the old mosque, with a stone breakwater running out to a lighthouse the kids can walk to in 15 minutes. Behind it the old town is a maze of lanes with plants on every step, the covered market hall, and the Nea Chora beach at the west end for a swim before dinner. This is the town families fall for. Eat at the harbor once for the view and in the back lanes every other night.
The fortress and the aquarium
The Koules fortress sits at the mouth of Heraklion’s old harbor, a square Venetian fort the kids can walk through and on top of, with cannons, dark halls and the view back over the boats. Fifteen minutes east at Gournes, the CretAquarium is one of the biggest in Europe, with sharks, rays, octopus and the fish of the Mediterranean in 60 tanks, and it fills a hot afternoon or a rainy one. Spinalonga, the fortress island off Elounda an hour east, is the boat trip for older kids.
Family Time, Built In: Crete With Kids
Crete with kids is the Minotaur’s palace, a lighthouse at the end of a harbor wall, pink sand in a lagoon, a fortress on an island, sharks in a tank and cheese pies with honey for breakfast.
Walking the breakwater to the Chania lighthouse
Pink sand at Elafonisi
The sharks at the CretAquarium
The boat to Spinalonga island
PARK & DOWNTIME PICK
The beaches are the parks. Elafonisi in the far west has a shallow lagoon kids can wade across to the island, with pink tinged sand. Falassarna is long, sandy and quieter. Nea Chora is the town beach in Chania. In Heraklion the CretAquarium at Gournes is the big indoor day, and the Koules fortress and the harbor walls are the free run around. The Samaria Gorge, 10 miles down a canyon to the sea, is the adventure for kids 10 and up with good shoes.
Five Things To Eat In Crete
Dakos and Cretan cheese
Kalitsounia and bougatsa
Grilled fish on the harbor
Loukoumades with honey
Greek coffee in the lanesNicole’s Perspective
The island I plan as the whole trip
Most Greek islands are a three night stop. Crete is a week or ten days on its own, and when a family asks me for Greece with kids, this is the island I put on the table first. Knossos gives the kids a story they already know, Chania gives the parents the harbor evenings, and the beaches cover everyone.
I fly families into Heraklion, do Knossos, the museum and the aquarium in three nights, then drive west to Chania for four or five with the harbor, Elafonisi and one gorge or boat day. Fly home from Chania. Kalitsounia, the little cheese pies with honey, are the breakfast the kids ask for again, and a car is the first thing I book here.
The Day Trip: Elafonisi
Ninety minutes southwest of Chania through the mountains and olive groves, Elafonisi is a lagoon of shallow turquoise water with sand that runs pink from crushed shells at the edges. Kids wade across the knee deep lagoon to the island, where the dunes and the quieter coves are, and float in water that is warm and calm all day. There are sunbeds and a snack bar on the main beach and nothing on the island side, so bring water and a shade tent. Leave Chania by 8 in summer, because the parking fills by 11. The drive back passes the monastery at Chrysoskalitissa, worth 20 minutes for the view.
Things I Would Tell A Friend Before They Booked
How Many Days
Seven nights splits Heraklion and Chania. Ten adds the gorge and the east.
Three nights in Heraklion for Knossos, the museum, the fortress and the aquarium, then four in Chania for the harbor, Elafonisi and one slow beach day.
Add the Samaria or Imbros Gorge, the boat to Spinalonga from Elounda, and a night in Rethymno between the two cities for the fortress and the long beach.
Three nights in Athens for the Acropolis, the 50 minute flight to Heraklion, a week across Crete and home from Chania. Twelve days, two airports, and the kids see where the Greek story starts.
Crete With Kids, Answered
Is Crete good for kids?
Yes. Knossos and the Minotaur story, a Venetian harbor with a lighthouse walk, a fortress to climb, one of the biggest aquariums in Europe, shallow warm beaches like Elafonisi and resorts with kids’ clubs. It is big, so a car and two bases make it work.
How many days do you need in Crete?
Seven nights split between Heraklion and Chania. Ten if you want the Samaria Gorge, Spinalonga and the east of the island.
Should a family stay in Chania or Heraklion?
Both. Heraklion for Knossos, the museum and the aquarium, Chania for the harbor, the old town and the west coast beaches. They are two hours apart, so three nights east and four west is the split I plan.
How do you get to Crete from Athens?
By plane in about 50 minutes to Heraklion or Chania, with many flights a day. The overnight ferry from Piraeus takes about nine hours and works as an adventure with older kids.
When is the best time to visit Crete?
May, June, late September and October for warm sea and quieter beaches. July and August are hot and the famous beaches fill early. The Samaria Gorge is open from about May to October.
Ready To Put Crete On The Calendar
Send me your dates and your kids’ ages and I will split Crete between the two cities, book Knossos and the hotels, and set up the car so you fly in one end and out the other.
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