We arrived in Heraklion, the capital of Crete, after spending ten unbelievable days in Athens discovering the Ancient ruins of Greece. We are here in amazing Crete, to discover Heraklion, Chania, and Rethymno in the off-season. Our intention is to enjoy this beautiful island full of history, amazing Cretan flavors, and home to some of Greece’s greatest myths.
Olympic Air sees that we arrive safely in Heraklion, a short one-hour flight from Athens. We left Athens after a ten-day stay that found us in wonder and awe of this magical city. Visiting historical ruins and standing next to incredible monuments that have been in existence for thousands of years is an amazing experience.
Searching the internet and joining several greek groups on Facebook, ALL ABOUT GREECE!! 🇬🇷 along with CRETE…!!! …A GREEK ISLAND…!!! …I WANT TO LIVE THERE…!!! the information is endless. Greeks are proud of their great and beautiful country and are willing to share all that makes it great. So if you are looking for unique adventures or the best place to eat, you can find this here.
So with excellent ideas of what to see and do in Crete, we are off. Did I forget to say that we are here in November, the off-season? The off-season is from November 1st through to March 31st.
Heraklion In The Off-Season
Heraklion in the off-season, yes, the weather is cooler, and swimming at the beach is for the brave and courageous. Even so, there is still plenty to do, but now you do not have the crowds. No line ups and time is a luxury that you do have so take as much time as you want and enjoy yourself here in Crete.
In addition, the off-season prices generally go down for accommodation and other items. Most attractions have reduced their entrance fees by 50% as well. So when you take all of these factors into consideration this is the perfect time to visit. So please join us and read on.
As an added bonus when taking pictures there are no crowds to get in the way of that perfect shot. This can happen all too often in congested locations but not as much in the off-season. I can go on and on but I think you get the picture.
A Guide of What To See And Do In Heraklion
Don’t let Heraklion in the off-season scare you off, there is plenty to do in this historical city. Most activities are within the city limits, and we found Heraklion to be a very walkable city. If you need a break from the walking you will find many eateries, cafes to replenish yourself. Even enjoy a drink while you rest and watch the people go by.
Koules fortress
The Venetian Castle of Heraklion is called Koules, which means fortress in Turkish. This is an impressive fortress that sits on the harbor of Heraklion. Koules Castle is an extensive fortress, two stories tall that used to guard the entry to the port. The Castle was built by the Venetians in the early 13th century after they conquered the town. Its purpose was to protect the harbor and the city of Heraklion from invasion. It was also used as a prison, many lost their lives here in these dungeons.
We visited Koules fortress on a day that was very windy, a point I’ll explain in a little bit. The cost to enter the fortress was 2€, a very good deal to see such a remarkable piece of history. A must-see if you are interested at all in history. I find it amazing to see structures of any kind that were built hundreds or thousands of years ago. Just thinking of the manpower required to accomplish such a feat. The intelligence to design these structures that have survived these many years. Remember no computers.
Koules Fortress is set up to display what it may have looked like so many years ago. There are displays that have information to inform the visitor how the building was used or highlight its history. Highly recommend visiting, easy to get to, in town, and inexpensive.
Continuing past the fortress is a paved road that is part of the sea wall, which extends 2km past the fort itself. On our visit, this water break pathway was being continually assaulted by waves. Water spray would break over the wall covering areas of the pathway with a shower of seawater. It was a challenge to try and stay dry while walking the roadway. Luckily we were successful, we did see a couple walking that were not so lucky. Visit the Fortress a great way to spend several hours and the walk was an added bonus.
Heraklion Archaeological Museum
The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is one of the most important museums in Greece. Among the most famous museums in Europe. Housing artifacts from all periods of Cretan prehistory and history. A chronological span of over 5,500 years from the Neolithic period to Roman times. The Heraklion Archaeological Museum has a unique collection on the Minoan civilization, which includes masterpieces of Minoan art.
The Heraklion Archeological Museum is a must-visit it has a truly outstanding display of Cretan history. We were astounded by the artifacts from the bronze age that we’ve never seen before, the tools and cookware. The display of pottery is exquisite and some of the prettiest we’ve seen. All of this is produced with unbelievable craftsmanship and an eye for detail. Try and imagine that all these pieces of history used to be everyday items from a time that is very difficult to visualize. I’ve said this before many times, being from Canada we have a history that dates back maybe 600 years. This pales in comparison to other histories in the world, Minoan civilization dates back over 5500 years.
As you can tell, an amazing experience for us and we highly recommend it. Adding to the pleasure of visiting this museum in the off-season was that the entrance price was reduced by 50% to 6€ from 12€. Off-season also translates into fewer visitors so you have all the time you need to read the informational plaques. Time to appreciate each piece, move around at your leisure, and take pictures. A great time to be a tourist.
Palace Of Knossos
After our visit to the Archaeological Museum, we had to go see the Palace Of Knossos, located about twenty minutes south of Heraklion. Not knowing the bus schedule we opted to take a taxi out to the Palace. Then catch a bus back into town after we complete our tour of the ruins. The taxi was 7€ and return back to town by bus was 3€. The bus was empty getting on but filled to overload by the time we reached downtown.
Knossos the capital of Minoan Crete was inhabited for several thousand years, beginning with a neolithic settlement sometime in the seventh millennium BC. The first palace on the low hill beside the Krairatos river was built around 1900 BC. It was destroyed for the first time along with the other Protopalatial palaces around Crete in 1700 BC. Assumed by a large earthquake or foreign invaders. It was immediately rebuilt to an even more elaborate complex. Damaged several times by earthquakes, invasions, and in 1450 BC by the colossal volcanic eruption of Thera. Invaded by the Mycenaeans who used it as their capital they ruled the island of Crete until 1375 BC. Abandoned after its destruction in 1375 BC this marked the end of the Minoan civilization.
The fee was 8€ each this was the off-season rate. The downside to the off-season is part of the grounds were closed off to visitors. Even though it was off-season there were still several tours from a cruise ship. These tours move as in a swarm and make it difficult to take pictures or see some of the exhibits. The best thing to do is pass on by and return after they have left. I guess I’m not much of a crowd person.
The ruins themselves were magical, although at times hard to distinguish what you were looking at. The columns were painted red not sure if they knew this or just came up with the color. The red did bring some of the ruins to life and made for great pictures. Touring the Palace took several hours. This included going back over some of the ruins that we did not get a good look at earlier. If you find yourself on Crete these ruins are not to be missed.
Natural History Museum of Crete
The Natural Historical Museum of Crete presents a comprehensive view of Cretan history. Showcasing the cultural heritage of Crete from early Byzantine times to the modern era. The museum collects and preserves valuable archaeological, ethnographic, and historical material from the medieval and modern periods.
We really enjoyed the exhibits, finding the displays to be well laid out and informative. It took us several hours to walk through the museum and all its exhibits. The cost 5 €, so If you find yourself with time on your hands we would recommend visiting.
Old Town Heraklion
Old Town is located next to the modern center of Heraklion. Tourists can experience the past and the present in a matter of several steps. The narrow, streets of the Old Town will carry you back to the centuries of Venetian and Ottoman rule.
Old town Heraklion has many single-lane streets, several were being upgraded when we visited. There is a real variety of specialty stores, ranging from sidewalk cafes to shoe stores and everything in between. Don’t miss out on the many restaurants that you will find here as well.
The Venetian Walls themselves in old town have been a prominent part of this past that can still be seen today. The Arabs were the first to fortify this city with walls. The Byzantines rebuilt the walls on top of the original walls. The Venetians then improved upon these walls and today they take the name Venetian Walls.
Once you are in the heart of the Old Town the streets become very walkable and pleasant. Hidden amongst the buildings, you will find museums, parks, a fountain, hotels, and old churches that are a must to peek inside and witness their beauty.
Chania In The Off-Season
Visiting Chania in the off-season was a great experience, mostly. After settling into our accommodations in Old Town we ventured out to discover our new surroundings and pick up some essentials for our stay. The first thing that you will notice about Old Town in Chania is the streets. They are very narrow and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the layout. Easy to get turned around, and if the area was larger you might even get lost.
The harbor area in Old Town is a great area to spend time it is a welcoming location. Easy to walk around with many restaurants that offer many different food options. There are benches set around the harbor area for you to sit and relax or people watch. You may find locals trying their luck fishing from the harbor, not sure what they catch but a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work any day.
Evening time is the best time to visit the harbor area as it gets more lively, plus the reflection of the lights on the water is a beautiful sight. More people visit in the evening and the area just feels more inviting. The Egyptian Lighthouse is lit up and adds to the splendor and atmosphere.
Chania Archaeological Museum
The Archaeological Museum in Chania was closed and is in the process of being relocated to a new facility. I was disappointed by not being able to wander through another Archaeological Museum as I love seeing history up close. For future visitors, I’m sure it will be a beautiful facility with extraordinary displays.
Agia Triada Tzagaroli Monastery
We had been in Chania for 7 days and we’re looking for something new to do. Heard about Agia Truada Tzagaroli Monastery advertised as a tour, so looked it up and thought that it would be a great place to visit. After some searching, we realized that there was no direct way to get to the Monastery. Checking in at the bus terminal we discovered we could catch a bus to the airport, and then walk to the Monastery. We were told that it was just 1.5 km away. The bus to the airport was 3 €. After leaving the airport we googled Agia Triada Tzagaroli Monastery. Found that the distance was in fact 4 km, not the 1.5 km we were told earlier. We don’t mind a good walk and we were not put off by the distance. It was a comfortable walk and we arrived at the Monastery an hour later.
The Agia Triada Tzagaroli Monastery, the name means “Holy Trinity”, was built in the 17th century by two brothers of the Venetian Zangaroli family. The Church itself is a beautiful building, circular with gardens and fruit trees surrounding it. In fact, we were told to help ourselves to some the fruit from one on the trees. This particular tree bore 4 different kinds of fruit, it must have been grafted nearly 400 years ago. The fruits from this amazing tree were limes, sour orange, orange, and mandarin orange. The oranges that we picked were sweet and delicious.
We found this Monastery to be very interesting and the people on the premises very informative. Maybe being the off-season had something to do with that as there were us and another couple. The cost of the Monastery was 3 €. There is a museum and a library here that contain some rare books and a collection of icons plus a collection of the ancient manuscript text. The monks here also produce and sell wine and olive oil on the premises, unfortunately, this was closed, the off-season.
Catacombs Of Agia Triada Tzagaroli
A gentleman told us to make sure that we visited the last room at the end of the walkway. He tried to describe what was in the room, I understood it to be clay masks of some kind but really had no idea. Language barrier. As we enter the room we saw skulls placed in cases along with pelvic bones and shoulder blades. We were taken aback as we have never seen anything like this before in our travels. It was quite a display, the gentleman taking the tickets explained to us about these catacombs. I must confess that I can’t remember exactly what he said so I don’t want to pass on information that may be incorrect, sorry.
Firka Venetian Fortress And The Maritime Museum of Crete
At the entrance of the port of Chania, you will find the Fortress “FIRKA”, which was constructed by the Venetians (1204-1669). Today, at the entrance of this Fortress is located the Maritime Museum of Crete, admission 3 €. The Maritime Museum was founded in order to house and recognize the Greek maritime traditions and those of Crete. Its collection includes models of ships, nautical instruments, paintings, historical photographs, and war relics. The material is classified chronologically, starting from the Bronze Age up to present times.
We found the museum to have very good informative displays of the maritime history of Crete and would recommend visiting the museum and walking around the fortress. It took us about 1.5 hours to visit.
Walk Around Looking For Beaches and Enjoying Seaside Views
With so much time on our hands, we decided to go for a walk along the coast looking for beaches and whatever else caught our attention. Heading west we found Nea Chora beach and took a break, sat, and watched several elderly locals swimming in the water, and thought to ourselves must be cold but they looked like they were enjoying the swim. Continuing on we cut across town heading east to Koum Kapi Beach and continued all the way up to Kouloura Chalepa swimming hole.
A beautiful day for a walk with many different and amazing views, natural and otherwise. I think that we made close to 25000 steps that day. It was nice to see areas that most tourists don’t think to go to. If you find that you have time, go for a walk you never know what sights you might see.
Off To The Beach
Off to the Nea Chora Beach for a swim, not sure how smart this plan is. But visiting a gorgeous island that is known for its beaches and crystal clear water and not going for a swim is just not right. We had walked by this beach several days earlier and had noticed several people out in the water so it couldn’t be that bad, could it? Well let me say that yes the water was cool, we stayed in for about 1/2 hour, we can now say we swam in the Aegean Sea.
Rethymno In The Off-Season
Rethymno in the off-season is a beautiful seaside city located halfway between Heraklion and Chania. We stayed in Old Town not far from the Fortezza fortress, having two full days to explore. Our first evening we walked the streets in Old Town just looking to see what was around, finding many restaurants, bakeries along with many other shops. We had decided earlier that we would go out for dinner the first night and found this very nice restaurant that was reasonably priced. I ordered Oxtail with Orzo pasta while Cindy ordered Rabbit in a lemon sauce. We enjoyed a glass of house wine, a great start to our stay in Rethymno.
The next morning we were up early to get to the local farmers market, we wanted to pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables for the next couple of days of dinners. We find that you can experience the flavors of different locals through the markets as well as the restaurants. We enjoy cooking and we are good cooks so with fresh local ingredients it’s amazing what we can come up with. Besides being on the road for six months we just can’t afford to eat out every night, who wants to go out every night anyway. At the fish stall, we picked up some fresh prawns that we had that night with a greek salad that we made with the vegetables that we picked up earlier at the market. Additionally, by purchasing at the market we are supporting the local farmers.
The Fortezza Fortress
After finishing up at the local market we were off to discover the fortress of Fortezza. Just up the road from us, admission was the reduced rate of 2 € if I remember correctly. The fortress of Fortezza is massive and towers over the city of Rethymno. Constructed in the 16th century by the Venetians to protect the city from the Ottomans, took a decade to complete. The walls are 1.3 km in total length, just imagine being part of that construction crew.
The Fortezza Fortress is probably the largest fortress we have seen. There is a lot of ground to cover. We decided to go along the walls first and then do the middle with the buildings. The views from the walls are incredible either looking out to sea or over the city. The craftsmanship displayed in the construction of walls is unbelievable. The walls curve here and there with angles that follow the hill that this fortress sits upon. Truly a feat of engineering of the time I’m sure. Walking along the wall took us about 1.5 hours. We stopped frequently to take pictures and admire the craftsmanship.
Inside these walls, there are probably a dozen different structures from gun powder warehouses, a Mosque, a church, and residences. Some buildings are in good repair and worth the time to look at and enjoy while others are in disrepair. If you have a flashlight bring it as it would make viewing inside some of the buildings a lot more interesting. We enjoyed our visit here and would recommend that you take the time to explore this interesting fortress.
Rethymno’s Archaeological Museum
Cindy and I visited the small Archaeological Museum of Rethymno and very much enjoyed the displays that they presented. The museum has pieces from the late Neolithic, Minoan, Arabic, Roman, and Greek. The displays are pottery, tools, jewelry to marble statues.
Walk Around Rethymno
We spent a lot of time just walking around town just enjoying the sites. The beaches are impressive and looked very inviting but they were practically empty. The downside to the Off-Season, water is a little too cool to enjoy. The city has started decorating for Christmas so we decided to enjoy the lights.
Foods Discovered And Enjoyed On The Island Of Crete
Experience Cretan food where you taste and experience the phrase “farm to fork”. Let me say that the food is fresh and delicious with ingredients that are as unique as Crete is. There is a food experience that fits every traveler’s budget. We like to dive into the authentic flavors of the countries that we visit. This can be from outrageous dishes like sampling bugs to a simple salad made from farm-fresh ingredients. If you are interested check out Authentic Food Quest, they did a blog on Chania food seen. Which we found useful, we even tracked down a couple of these restaurants. One, in particular, the Oasis a whole in the wall type location, but serves simple, cost-effective, and great tasting gyro’s.
Cindy and I like to visit local markets and purchase fresh produce and meats to cook at home. Cooking at our accommodations helps to keep the costs down but still experience the quality and freshness. When not doing our own cooking we are enjoying restaurants that serve authentic local dishes. After your meal, the restaurant serves you a sample of a delicious dessert and a shot of Raki. A very nice treat.
Covid-19 Protocols
Here are some of the Covid-19 protocols that we have run across in our stay in Crete and for that matter in the rest of Greece as well. You need to prove that you have been double vaccinated and the last shot needs to be 14 days or longer from the current date. This proof will be requested when flying, entering some stores, restaurants, and Museums.
The requirement to wear masks when entering any building, purchasing tickets at a wicket, entering restaurants, and in crowded locations.
Our Final Thoughts On Amazing Crete, Discovering It’s Cities In The Off-Season
- We loved visiting Crete, we spent three weeks here between Heraklio, Chania and Rethymno. Visited the Minoan ruins of Knossos, wondered around amazing Archaeological Museums in Heraklion and Rethymno. Unfortunitly the museum in Chania was relocating to a newer location and had not yet reopent. I’m sure it would have been fasinating. We experienced many authentic foods and of Crete that were very flavorful and unique. We would definity recommend a visit to this lovely Island of Crete, you will not regret it.
Our Positives
- Heraklion we loved, stayed busy the whole time with lots to see and do espicaly the ancient history associated with the area
- Friendly, safe city, and very walkable, we walked everywhere downtown putting on 15,000 – 20,000 steps on a daily basis
- The weather for us in November was great, mid teens to low 20s and mostly sunning
- there are many musueums to visit, all of them were fasinating with increible pieces on display
- off-season from November 1 – March 31, some rates to attractions are reduced by half price, less crowds
- the food was wonferful including the markets
Our Negatives
- Probaly the biggest negative and this is on us is that this area would be a wonderful location to visit in the warmer months where you could enjoy the beaches and beautiful water.
Would have, Could have, Should have
- We spent 3 weeks here on Crete, maybe rent a car and see some of the other parts of the island. Possibily visted some caves, even though we did look into this and found that some were closed. Would have been nice to be here in the warmer months, but you can not have everything.
Next Stop
We head to Mykonos next for one week, catching the ferry from Athens. Looking forward to the ferry and the scenery that I hope it will provide. Cindy is looking forward to Mykonos as her vision of Greece is beautiful white buildings with blue rooftops looking over the vast coast onto the Agean sea.
Support Our Blog And It’s Unique Travel Content
You can support our site by using the links through our travel Essential. If you purchase items using our links, we will receive a small commission. There are no extra or hidden costs to you. These commissions assist us in our travel, so we can provide unique content to you through each blog post. If you enjoy our blog and find it interesting and informative please share it with friends. Subscriber, so you never miss a new post. Thank you.
Recommended Travel Essential
Cindy and I call ourselves nomadic so with this lifestyle, we use certain essentials to make this way of life easier and more comfortable. With this in mind, we have composed a list of what we feel are essentials and some tips you might use to plan or take your next travel adventure.
- Travel Packing Essentials to help organize and make this task less stressful
- Travel Safety Essentials to make your life on the road a little safer, giving you peace of mind
- Living essentials to make life a little more comfortable, be this resting, working, or playing.
Accommodation Options While Traveling The World
- Booking.com is one of our go to’s when we are looking for a place to stay for a couple of days or longer
- Agoda.com we find is best to use when in Southeast Asia, but hey you never know what you might find
- Airbnb.com used to be our go-to but some of their cancelation policies are reasonable, give them a try as well
Travel Insurance
We always travel with some sort of travel Insurance be it just medical or complete trip coverage. We use Heymondo as we find their costs reasonable. Remember don’t travel and without coverage, the savings are not worth the possible costs.
Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning if you buy a product using our link, we may earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Disclaimer.
