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Crete Travel Guide

Crete Food and Wine

Crete Overview

Crete Resorts

Accommodation on Crete

Beaches on Crete

Interesting Places to Visit

History of Crete

Walking on Crete

Nature on Crete

Frequestly Asked Questions

Banks & Cash Machines Tavernas And Bars Shopping Telephones Water Petrol Stations Public Holidays & Festivals Weather Taxis Doctors and Pharmacies Bus Service Police Post office Sports and watersports

Getting to Crete

Crete Real Estate

Getting around in Crete

Agni Travel Guides:

Corfu

Paxos

Lefkada

Kefalonia

Symi

Halki

Crete

Kalymnos

Tuscany

Frequestly Asked Questions

Banks & Cash Machines The Banks on Crete are open from 8:00 until 14:00 from Monday until Friday. As usual, they are closed at weekend. Credit Cards: All major Credit Cards as well as Euro-cheques are recognized and accepted almost anywhere on the island.	Tavernas & Bars The Cretan cuisine has, in the past been very strongly influenced by Turkish and Middle East. The quality and freshness of food is unique due to their year-round fresh fruit and vegetables and daily fishing. Crete has something to offer to everybody, even in the remotest parts of the island, you are sure to find a simple taverna serving home-cooked food. There is also a large selection of other eating places all around the island, from restaurants to 'burger bars'. Tavernas & Bars	Shopping If you need to buy cigarettes, a chocolate bar, a bottle of water, or a magazine, these are all available from the many kiosks in any of the resorts or towns. In cities there will be several of them open 24 hours a day, usually around the city's centre. Shops in tourist areas are open from 8:00 until 22:00 or even later. Supermarkets in the cities are open from 08:00 until 20:00 from Monday until Friday. On Saturday they close at 18:00.
Telephones There are many public card phone booths and kiosks around the island of Crete. These are operated by telecards which can be purchased from many tourist shops and kiosks. Alternatively, many of the kiosks have public phones, which are metered. There are plenty of Internet Cafes on the island of Crete, even in the small towns.	Water As is usual in Greece, the drinking of tap water is not always recommended on the island of Crete and should also be used sparingly. Some areas are much better than others but usually buying bottled water is preferable.	Petrol Stations Petrol stations station are open for most of the day and usually close at either 21:00 or 22:00 on weekdays. In most places on Crete (apart from the smaller villages) there will be at least one petrol station open during the night and on Sundays.
Public Holidays & Festivals Saint Yakinthos is the Saint Valentine of Crete and there is a big celebration for the Cretan Saint of Love in July, each year. There are many other local feast days, especially during the summer months, some of which are particularly interesting, as they can involve taking small boats to a church or monastery in an isolated location.	Weather The weather in Crete is probably the mildest in Europe, characterized by mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. Early summer provides wonderful, warm sunny days, ideal for walking or any outdoor activity. However the peak summer months are very, very hot although the strong north westerly wind, moderates even the hottest months of July and August. Rainfall is rare during the summer months. Autumn is Crete's mildest season, when temperatures are often higher than in spring.	Taxis Taxis are reasonably cheap in Greece and are regulated by the Greek State, so should all be the same price, as they are all metered. However, it is best to negotiate the fare before your journey begins to avoid any embarrassment. Tipping is optional.
Doctors and Pharmacies There are plenty of good doctors in Crete, Many who have trained abroad and will speak one or more foreign languages fluently. Most of the doctors are specialists, the concept of a general practitioner being quite new here. There are also plenty of good dentists, with excellent qualifications and service and usually much cheaper than most of the rest of Europe.	Bus Service Greece has a national bus service called KTEL and this service operates on Crete. It is cheap, safe and reasonably punctual. Although some are fairly old, the buses are in good mechanical condition but only a few are air conditioned.	Police The majority of problems on the island are dealt with by the tourist police. Troubles with restaurants, hotels, taxis, forces the need to get in touch with the tourist police which are placed in each resort.
Post office The post offices are found in most of the larger towns and cities. However, you can also purchase stamps, when you buy post cards, at kiosks dotted around all the resorts, therefore avoiding the long queues often found in the main post offices.	Sports and watersports The island of Crete offers a wide variety of sport and water sports. Schools for water-skiing and wind surfing are available together with a diving school. Other sports on offer around the island are scuba diving, climbing, horse riding and cycling.