When you imagine your ideal honeymoon do you picture beautiful sandy beaches and azure water, the opportunity to explore ancient ruins or spend some time shopping and browsing art galleries in a magnificent city? While there are a number of destinations that might fit this bill, here is why you should consider Crete for your ultimate European honeymoon.
Affordable
Crete is far more affordable than other more popular destinations like Rome, Venice or Paris. For example, you can find accommodations at one of Crete’s top-ranked hotels, the Renieris, starting at just $32 a night. You’ll get five-star treatment with luxurious rooms and spectacular Kato Stalos beach only a few steps from your door.
Dining bargains are also readily available. The many tavernas located throughout Crete offer delectable traditional Greek favorites for a fraction of the cost of more upscale establishments.
Dining
If amazing cuisine is on the top of your list, Crete is sure to satisfy. Some travelers come to the island just to experience restaurants like Dounias offering incredible and unforgettable meals. Here you can experience entrees that consist of only ingredients that are raised or cultivated by the owner, including fresh milk and cheese from their cow, honey from the family’s beehives, vegetables from the garden and bread right out of the oven.
Much of the fare on Crete is composed of fresh meat or fish with locally grown produce as well as wine, and, of course, their famed feta cheese and olive oil – a staple ingredient in most dishes
Scenery and attractions
Crete is certainly not lacking when it comes to breathtaking scenery and attractions. With a diverse landscape of golden beaches and inviting water as well as towering mountains and ancient ruins, here you can relax and take it all in or enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city.
Streets here are lined with magnificent architecture mirroring the style of the Minoans, the Ottomans, the Venetians as well as contemporary Greeks. Shopping opportunities are plentiful with the many upscale fashion boutiques of Agios Nikolaos or the smaller villages of Chania and Heraklion with local craftsmen selling handcrafted leather goods and jewelry from street stands.
Explore the Palace of Knossos, a reproduction of the original built in 2,000 B.C. on same grounds on which hundreds of artifacts were recovered in the 1930s. You can find these treasures housed at the Herkalion Archaeological Museum.
In Crete you can hike through the White Mountains of Samaria National Park or spend your time relaxing on the soft, pinkish-hued sand while dipping your toes in translucent water of the Balos Lagoon.
If you hadn’t thought about spending your honeymoon in Crete, it’s time to start planning.
K.C. Dermody is a freelance writer and a Featured Contributor for Travel. She has traveled to nearly all 50 states and many countries worldwide and has a passion for imparting what she has learned from her experiences to others.
More From This Contributor:
Travel Guide to St. Andrew’s Scotland: A Golfer’s Dream
Experience Croatia: From Castles and Vineyards to Spectacular Mountain Wilderness
Ireland in the Off-Season: Five Reasons to Experience the Emerald Isle in the Winter
