Neighbourhood · Greece

Crete

Crete is the largest Greek island, and the one most travellers should consider for a real island holiday.

Best for week-long trips · families · anyone who wants one base and a hire car

Wrong for a two-night stopover.

From Where to Stay in Greece 2026: An Island-by-Island Base Guide.

Where to stay in Crete

All of Greece

  • Citorah PickHotel · Crete

    Casa Delfino

    Citorah says A boutique hotel of 24 rooms and suites in the heart of the walled old Venetian town.

  • Citorah PickHotel · Crete

    AVLI

    Citorah says Ten suites and a restaurant in a 16th-century Venetian villa in the old town.

  • Citorah PickHotel · Crete

    Domes of Elounda, Autograph Collection

    Citorah says A five-star beachfront resort of suites, residences and villas, each with its own pool or jacuzzi, facing Spinalonga. It includes Chora, an adults-only village within the resort.

  • Citorah PickHotel · Crete

    Phāea Cretan Malia

    Citorah says A five-star family resort at Malia, on a shallow, sandy beach, now a member of Design Hotels, with a kids’ club and a youth area.

Things to do in Crete

All of Greece

  • Citorah PickSight · Crete

    Knossos

    Citorah says Knossos, one of the Minoan palatial centres added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2025.

Other neighbourhoods

All neighbourhoods

  • Neighbourhood · 24 places

    Athens

    Spend a night or two in Athens at the start or end of the trip, or skip it and fly straight to an island. It’s worth a night even if the trip is about the islands: the Acropolis at golden hour justifies the detour.

    Best for first-timers · culture-first trips · anyone flying in and out of Athens

  • Neighbourhood · 22 places

    Mykonos

    Mykonos is the party island, built around its beach clubs: Scorpios on Paraga beach, Nammos on Psarou, Principote at Panormos and Branco on Platys Gialos.

    Best for groups whose trip is the scene: beach clubs, long lunches, late nights.

  • Neighbourhood · 30 places

    Santorini

    Santorini is two or three nights of caldera views, not a week of beach holiday. Its villages sit on the rim of the caldera, and its beaches are volcanic, with black and red sand.

    Best for couples · photographers · a two- or three-night stop on a longer trip

  • Neighbourhood · 14 places

    Paros and Naxos

    Paros lies at the centre of the Cyclades, says GNTO, and Naxos is the largest and most fertile island in the group. Both have the white-and-blue Cycladic look, long sandy beaches, and less hype than Mykonos and Santorini.

    Best for travellers who want the Cycladic look with less hype · couples · families on a multi-island trip

  • Neighbourhood · 7 places

    Rhodes and Corfu

    Rhodes (in the Dodecanese) and Corfu (in the Ionian) feel very different from the Cyclades. Rhodes has its Medieval Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the village of Lindos with its acropolis.

    Best for families · anyone who wants an old town and a resort on the same island

  • Neighbourhood · 3 places

    Hydra, Spetses and Aegina

    The Saronic islands make an easy weekend from Athens, and a good extra-night option if you’d otherwise lose a day flying to a more distant island.

    Best for an extra night or two from Athens · anyone who’d rather not lose a day flying

Plan the trip

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