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Crete is the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean, its culture and civilisation offer a unique atmosphere with mountains and picturesque fishing villages, the two Venetian ports at Hania (the capital of Hania province) and Rethimno (the capital of Rethimno province). A beautiful and unpolluted island, it is unspoiled for the main part from mass tourism. The island is lush and green in the North West, wild and rugged in the South which has superb unspoiled beaches and the climate is warm and dry. 12c in winter at the lowest and up to 30c in the summer, with more than 330 days of sunshine every year. North and South are divided by two spectacular mountain ranges, the Lefka Ori and Oros Idi, and they are snow capped from early December to late May.

Many people think that the East of Crete, the province of Lassithi is touristic and spoilt because they might only pass through the main road from the airport and see villages like Hersonissos and Malia, however only 1 km inland or seawards from the main road there are many unspoiled Cretan villages where property prices are still exceedingly low. The coastline soon after passing Agios Nikolaos is majestic and rocky slopes go down to a sparkling blue sea interspersed with little sandy coves. Tourists rarely go there. Sitia in the far East of the island has lots of gorgeous sandy beaches, some of them completely deserted and nearby are very charming traditional villages with interesting village houses for sale in a wide ranging price level. The airport has recently been extended making it more accessible but as flight paths cannot cross the land in Crete there is no flight path problem. The South East of Crete is also comparatively quiet, with many splendid beaches. The roads in some of the more deserted spots can be a bit rough and this saves the areas from being spoilt, but even the small seaside villages have good roads leading a couple of kilometres inland to completely untouched Cretan villages where a house can be bought for the price a UK resident would pay for a car. The South West of Crete is also very unspoiled but it is necessary to reach there by winding roads through the mountains so that a journey of only 35 kms can take one hour, but it is worth it for the breathtaking views of the beautifully clean sea.

On the North West coast of Crete there are the two major towns of Hania and Rethimno both having quaint, historic "old towns" where there is plenty of night life and activity and both have sandy beaches walking distance away. However just a few kilometres from both towns it is possible to step back in time very quickly and the whole of Crete is dotted about with little villages) some of which seem untouched by this or the last century.

The capital of Crete, Heraklion, should not be forgotten.  It was not a very pretty city, now with a vigorous and younger mayor all that is changing. It does have interesting museums and of course it is the jumping off point for Knossos - not to be missed by any visitor to Crete. We find the people there also very friendly, helpful and efficient.

Crete is very fertile, producing its own very excellent wines, olives, olive oil, honey, gorgeous organic vegetables, fruits, yoghurts etc. Extremely hospitable, the Cretans have a very soft spot for the English as their wartime memories are still alive. Most Cretans live to a very old age because of the healthy lifestyle and diet. The sea is unpolluted as there is no industry there, it is mainly an agricultural island.

The island is large and would take about 5 hours to drive right across, more if you were going down to the South. People who have not been there before have difficulty in envisaging the size and variety of the island. But whether your choice is, sea, fun, walking, wildflowers, history, bird-watching, archaeology, caves, gorges, water sports, good food or anything else you can think of it is all widely available in Crete.

Although the season officially finishes at the end of October, the actual winter is very short, and many people still swim into the middle of December. Night falls about 5.30 p.m. in the middle of winter so there is still a lot more daylight than in Northern Europe, and when the sun is out the weather can be glorious in winter. Also the island is quite lively, friendly and laid back out of season.