Cannot help you with prices but get the locally brewed beers and not the international ones will be a lot cheaper. Try the Mythos beer in a glass straight from the freezer!!

I was in Stalis last September and was paying between 2.5 and 4 euros for a large Mythos depending on where we were going. Obviously much cheaper from the shops. Think i was getting a six pack for about 6 euros.

You will be looking at between 3euros and 5 euros for beers, the lower end of the scale will be the likes of Mythos, Amstel and Heineken (which is the very drinkable export version, which I believe we get in the UK now). Higher end will be your standard beers like Stella, Fosters (why?) and Bud.

On the cocktail front you will see a lot more offers available. We were told prior to leaving there were good beer and cocktail offers but only really found cocktail deals in Malia and Stalis. It can get silly, like buy one cocktail get 3 or 4 free but they are completely watered down with juice. I found avoiding the offers was the best bet funnily enough. If you went into a decent bar with cocktails available on their own, you would pay 4 or 5 euros each, but they were strong.

Avoid the big fishbowls as well. A friend of mine who worked in Greece told me the secrets of those gigantic fishbowls you get in some places and the juice/water content to alcohol is frightening. Of course if you fancy paying 25+ euros for a huge bowl of orange and pineapple juice then go for it, but it's not my idea of fun!!

Stalis is a lovely resort, but try and get along to Malia for at least one night. You will either love it or hate it.

Thanks everyone for replying, can't wait now. will def have a night in malia to see what its like!

I've visited all parts of Crete many times and had all but given up on finding any decent local beer. However last year i discovered Rethymnian blonde from the Rethymnian brewery. It's a hazy yellow coloured lager with a small white head. Aroma of malts, citrus, lemon and vanilla. Hoppy, grassy and fruity flavours. Nice one. Of course you can find some good German brews like Krombacher but otherwise it's mainly the tasteless fizzade like Heineken that you find in England. I've not even found real Budweiser from the Czech Republic. Tasteless liquids like Fosters and US style Bud are thankfully rarely seen. If in doubt stick with Mythos if only because it's not too fizzy and it's cheaper. Otherwise for price you can't beat Retsina!
You won't find much quality in anything in Malia. Head west to Chania and beyond. More style, more cool!

Got back from Stalis on Thursday saw at 1 or 2 places a large mythos for 1.5 euro and drinks prices sunbeds eating out virtually the same as last year if it hadn't been for the poor euro I would have thought it was better value than when I was there last year.Just a quick note as well, sorry if anybody else has mentioned it but Malia and Stalis have banned quad bikes on the beach roads between 8 in the evening and till 8 the next morning and the police are enforcing it, it was great this year walking down the beach road without all those things whizzing about,visited Malia on 4 occassions and the place seemed a bit like a ghost town to me.
Rick.

Hi Rick. Good to know about the curfew on quad bikes. Although we like to hire them for a few hours during the day to take us in to nearby resorts, the thought of loads of youngsters whizzing about the resort in the evenings wasn't very appealing.

yeah that sounds good about the quads

Juggernaut,

Good news on the Quads. What a pain they were/are!!!

Interesting to note your comments about Malia being a ghost town. When I was getting down with the kids last year there was a number of comments from people who said they thought 2007 might be the last BIG year in Malia and they were looking for alternatives. Your comments seem to back that up. I don't think that is such a bad thing though. There are some corking bars in Malia and if there are fewer big groups of 10-15 guys and girls taking up resident there it will make for a more enjoyable holiday for most people.

Richard1,

No doubt your experience of Crete will lend itself to agreeing that with the Island being so big there are a number of vastly different type of holidays you can have there (one of the best reasons to visit). Whilst some people find megaresorts such as Malia a nightmare, there are an awful lot of holiday makers looking for just that and judging from the amount of couples and families in Malia last year (as well as the obvious younger element) it was clear that everybody was having a great time.

to be honest reports from a lot of resorts all over europe are saying they are quiet, we went to pefkos in rhodes it was quiet as was lindos when we went, tsilivi in zante is quiet, skiathos town according to my friend was the quietest he had known in 10 years of visiting.

Just returned Thursday. beer costs between 1.5 and 4 euros depending which bar you go to. shop prices start from 80c/1euro per bottle or 4/5 euro's per 5/6 pack.

If going to stallis I recommend the Africa bar as you get great service with lots of freebe's

To J. Whiting
Oh sure you can see people falling over themselves and having a great time in Malia. I'm just not sure what it has to do with Crete and its vibrant character and culture. Kavos on Corfu was purpose built to cater for the same people. It's Blackpool with sun but if that's what some people want then it's best to ensure they are herded into specific areas. The most beautiful part of Crete is to the west and south of Chania. This used to be a Brit dominated area but gradually the Brits have been pushed out and now it is actually very hard to find accommodation there if booking via a British tour operator. The integrity of the region has been restored without compromising the fun potential......but thank goodness it is a large island!