based on 11 experiences from female travelers
Finya
Germany
I would recommend to plan your activities beforehand, I definitely spend to much time on trying to decide what to do! Every local i met was pretty friendly so no need for worries if you don’t know where you are or if you need to some inspiration on what to do, just ask around :) The food where nearly everywhere amazing BUT if you wanna get ice cream search for a local place, all those „pretty“ tourist spots aren’t that good.
Posted: April 2, 2025Alfreda
Canada
I always felt safe. There were no instances where I felt my safety was in jeopardy, and the people were kind. There was good food and interesting activities, and it was not as expensive as I expected for Europe.
Posted: September 27, 2024Experienced: April, 2023In my opinion, this is the most Greek of the islands. However, it is not particularly green, it is rather rough and full of rocks. Here you can experience the most Greek hospitality. If someone loves to try local cuisine, this is the ideal island. In many taverns, you feel as if you are eating dinner with family. Before the meal you get bread with olive oil, and after the meal dessert/fruit and a small bottle of raki. Usually this is complimentary or for an additional 1 euro per table. The island has long sandy beaches, small little isolated ones, and the famous Balos Lagoon. You can also find historical sites and trails through gorges and mountains. Beautiful historic towns like Chania or Rethymno with charming streets. Although it is popular, the island has a quiet atmosphere and you can encounter goats everywhere.
Posted: December 24, 2023I went to Crete last July and it was incredible. I stayed near Chania for 5 days and rented a car. Balos Lagoon was amazing. I also went through Samaria Gorge, which was outstanding. I visited Elafonisi beach as well, but honestly, it didn't impress as much as Balos did.
Posted: May 22, 2023Crete was my first truly big solo trip. It's amazing in many ways! Great food, people-watching, beaches, Elafonisi, cooking lessons, kind people, etc. I noticed that in Chania there were more facilities for tourists, which had offices that you could drop by and book tours.
Posted: May 19, 2023I recently undertook a 19-day trip to Crete, spending 7 days in Ammoudara, Heraklion and 12 days in Rethymno. I would recommend skipping Heraklion and instead choosing to go to Chania and Rethymno. Ammoudara is close to the beach and has good connections with the airport and city center, but as a solo traveling woman, I felt very unsafe. Even in broad daylight, men would stop and stare, shout ambiguous comments, honk, go up on the sidewalk to look me straight in the face. I never experienced a physical assault, but it was very uncomfortable and I wasn't able to go out after 10 pm. Other solo traveling women I spoke to had similar experiences. I have previously visited 6 Cycladic islands, Athens, Chania and Rethymno alone and never felt unsafe, so I believe that such behavior is limited to Heraklion and Ammoudara.
Posted: May 19, 2023