Pearl of Crete, Chania
In the west lies Chania, or Xania, and is known as the pearl of Crete. With beautiful architecture and amazing day trips nearby, Chania is a perfect base to explore Crete while experiencing the city life!
Logistics:
There are plenty of hotels or AirBnBs and many different ways to explore the city! In Crete, I relied on an excellent travel blog, Tiny Book, to help plan everything in addition to many google searches for various activities.
By Public Transportation
From either the airport or port, there are cheap public transportation options to reach city center.
From the airport, there is a cheap bus option for €2.3 and it takes less than 30 minutes to reach city center at the bus station. From Heraklion or other Cretan cities, the bus options are really good. We looked up the timetables at KTEL and found them really easily!
By Private Hire
While we did not hire a car, we saw plenty of people who hired ATVs, scooters, or cars. Renting a car enables you to explore western Crete or nearby villages. There is a part of us that wonders if we should have rented a car for our time as it would have enabled us to see more things!
Lodging
Because we visited for 2-3 days, we wanted a close, central hotel and found a perfect place at My Rooms. Originally priced at €190/night, we bought our two night stay for €83 total! The room was really spacious with a great bathroom. Our bed was comfy! Our breakfast was decent as well. On our last day, it rained all day and they allowed us to stay on the rooftop and provided free snacks and coffee!
Travel Tip: For the Greek islands, I relied on booking.com because Santorini Dave said most hotels are listed on this site.
Food & Drinks
As the second largest city in Crete, Chania has loads of great restaurants and cafes. There are so many to choose from and many are great that I have not listed!
Kousina: For traditional Cretan food, head to EPE! While they have ready-to-eat meals, they also serve home made Cretan dishes. Because we arrived in Chania in the early afternoon and really hungry, we went with their ready-made meals. I chose chicken and potatoes in a lemon sauce that was super yummy! MF wanted the moussaka, but they were sold out and had to settle for the chicken and eggplant lasanga. We also ordered tzakiki and fried feta and definitely had more food than we could eat! All the food was very tasty and tasted homemade compared to a restaurant.
Tamam: For our final Cretan (and Greek) meal, our lunch spot was Tamam, located away from the harbor but had wonderful meal! Because it was a late lunch after a filling breakfast, we split a moussaka. While it may not be as good as Chrisos’, I thought it was quite tasty!
Chrisostomos: Recommended by our wine tour guide, Chrisos is located away from the beaten path and the restaurant was very busy! I would definitely make a reservation here during peak times! MF went for the classic moussaka which she said was one of the best she has had while I went for pork stuffed with carrots and veggies. Boy, this meal was fantastic! Similar to other Cretan restaurants, the food is fantastic.
Neighbor’s Chania: Next to our hotel, this shop has wonderful pastries and desserts! I had a fantastic croissant stuffed with Nutella and banana!
Activities
Originally, I wanted to stay 5+ days in or around Chania because there are so many things to see and do! Sadly, we had to cut our time short, plus the infamous “Med-icane” hit Crete and left us with two rainy days - an uncommon sight in Greece!
Cretan Wine Tour. Click here for our olive oil and wine tour!
Balos Beach
Elafonisi beach
Samaria Gorge
Rethymno
Trust me, this list is not exhaustive nor includes everything that I found! In our original itinerary, we would have done all of activities hence why they are here.
Fixed Costs:
Bus from Heraklion: €27.6
Olive Oil and Wine Tour: £160
My Rooms hotel: €83E
Fresh food and wine: priceless...
Exploring Chania
On our first day in Chania, we explored the beautiful harbor while avoiding the insane heat!
Look for the Shade
After a tasty lunch at Kousina, we played our favorite game, look for shade and walk there! However, in Chania, we were struggling to find shade! However, that did not prevent us from walking around this gorgeous city. Compared to Heraklion, Chania is more Greek or Italian and exudes charm. Even the worst alleys are pretty!
If one wants to shop, this is the place! We found a farmer’s market, knife shops, traditional Cretan goods shops, souvenir stores, and normal boutique shops! Near our hotel, there is a really cool Cretan knife shop where all knives are hand made in the shop next door! We watched for a little bit and then were convinced to buy a few for Christmas presents.
Harborside
The main attraction in Chania is definitely the Venetian harbor! With calm waters, beautiful architecture, and lovely views, the harbor is perfect for an evening stroll. I would not recommend walking it in the heat of day as there is no escape from the heat!
Chania at Night
Similar to other Greek cities, Chania comes alive at night once the heat disappears and the air is finally cool. The restaurants are bustling and everyone wants to be seen! Because we had a late lunch, we decided to have a light “snack” of a banana and Nutella crepe. As we ate our meal, we strolled through the city at night. Although we liked certain parts of Heraklion, we are really enjoying small town Chania!
Photo Mission
On our first Chania morning, I woke up early to hit the town and take pictures! While sunrise is occurring later here, I still had 30 minutes before the sun rose to grab perfect pictures.
I walked around the old town and ended up at the lighthouse. From there, I have to say my favorite pictures were 10-15 minutes after the sun rays aluminates the colorful buildings.
Click here to read about our amazing time in the vineyards and olive tree fields on a classic Cretan Olive Oil and Wine tour!
The UnChartered Summary
Sadly, the rest of our time in Chania was “ruined” by poor weather caused by the Med-icane. While we wished we had time for more beaches, we knew we would likely return to this beautiful island!
As Chania is our last Greek stop on our island tour, we have to say Chania (and rest of Crete) is probably our favorite Greek Island! This is a statement we do not take lightly! The food is mostly sourced locally and freshly made.
Stay longer! Explore the region with day trips or overnight trips!
Our hotel, My Rooms, was situated in the perfect location in the Old Town.
All of our food places are terrific! If I had to pick one, I would say Chriso was our favorite restaurant! But the banana and nutella croissants were terrific…