There's loads to see and do in Chania (try the Tourist Office's website for starters), and you can go to the south for peace and quiet and stunning mountain scenery. Or just lie low and enjoy the climate and rest! Lucky you!

As Alsa says Chania is a great place. It has a lovely Venician style harbour with bars and restaurants around it and I think you can take baot trips from there. The streets behind are full of various shops which seem a cut above the normal tourist-tat type you get in lots of resorts. A particular speciality seems to be leather and I think there was an undercover market. (it's a couple of years since I was there).

One of the reasons I posted though is I am not sure how close Elafonisi is to Chania if this is the place with the beautiful 'pink sand' beach. Only we went there for the day and it seemed to take along while to get there as we drove over some mountains. Knowing us we probably took a wrong turn, but it might be worth while checking just so you are prepared.

I'm sure you will have a great holiday in this part of Crete.

Doe

Thanks for the replies, when i booked yesterday i wasnt too sure how far from the airport the villa was but after booking, Thomsons also printed off the directions from the airport directly to the accomodation and its about 90km. Must admit i was a bit surprised at the distance but suppose its one of those things. I'm sure it'll all be worthwhile when we finally get there, also gives us the opportunity to stop and grab something to eat/drink or at a shop to pick up some food for a BBQ once we get there!

Elafonissi is quite remote - it IS stunning but there are no large towns or villages close by - bear in mind that 90km on Crete is NOT like trabelling 50 miles at home it will take you a lot longer - for example Hania to Paleohora (same sort of distance but on better roads) takes about 90 minutes, so I'd guess thta Elafonissi will probably take about 2 hours. Chania province is pretty large - see here http://www.explorecrete.com/images/map-hania.gif and Elafonissi is in the far south west, so you will be doing a lot of driving.

Crete's wonderful though!

To be honest once i'd realise how far it was i expected it to be about a 2 hours drive. We went to Jamaica last feb to get married and that took about the same to get from the airport to Negril (on the minibus) but at least when we go to Crete, we can stop off whenever and where ever we like on the way. To be honest the more i think about it, i'm quite looking forward to the drive and seeing a bit of the island

Actually I'm jealous! I've never made it to the far west of Crete (I've made it to Kastelli Kissamou and Elafonissi but never the stretch in between). I understand that it's one of the more unspoilt areas. We always travel by public bus in Crete - that way we both get to look around. Enjoy!

my wife and i live on crete in the rethymno area,been here 2 years,we drove to elafonisi in the summer last year,took us 2 and half hours each way but well worth the drive,elofonisi is actually a very small island that you can walk to through the sea,altho' nowdays i'm afraid it has got a bit commersialised,with loads of sunbeds for hire etc,but its still a touch of paradise and worth a visit,just a tip,get there early if you want a sunbed as it does get packed with tourists,terry

Bloody tourists!

Ahhh, but staying where you are you'll be able to be there when the coaches and Paleohora boat aren't! Between 10 and 4 is peak time - so you'll be able to have early morning and late evening relatively undisturbed.....grrr!

Just out of interest Terry, how long do you reckon its going to take us to drive from Chania airport, is 2 hours about right? From the directions we've been given by Thomson, its about 90km. Any part of the drive to wary of, anywhere on the way particularly good to stop off and get shopping/groceries? Lastly, other than Elafonisi, wheres close-ish town-wise, is it Paleochora?

Having had a look on the map - Livadi is probably closer to Kastelli in drive time than Paleohora. Try and get hold of the Road Editions map for West Crete - it's as good as you'll get (I'm not saying it's a 100% accurate, but it's as good as you'll get!)