As one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean, there are plenty of things to do in Crete. With some of the best beaches in the Aegean, a wealth of historic sites and plenty of sports and leisure activities, many people choose to go back again and again.

You can either hire a car to go exploring or look at the wide range of excursions available, as you may be able to book some of these from your hotel. You will also find tourist information available in most of the large towns. Crete is the perfect destination for those looking to get away on last minute holidays, as it has pretty much year round sunshine and plenty to see and do.

The island has a fascinating and turbulent history in which many invaders have left their mark. There are Minoan sites to visit across the island, for example at Knossos, Malia and Zakros and there are also Roman remains, such as the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gortys, as well as monasteries and castles.

The huge fortresses at Iraklion, Chania and Rethymno are evidence of the legacy of the Venetian rule over the island for a number of centuries. The Turks also left their mark and you will still find minarets and mosques at some of the large towns, such as Rethymno.

In Plaka, you can visit the islet of Spinalonga. Once a Venetian citadel, it became a leper colony made famous in the novel ‘The Island’. With frequent boat trips taking visitors there, it makes a thought provoking visit and a must for fans of the book.

Three out of the four waterparks on the island are close to Hersonissos, one of the island’s popular tourist resorts and any one of these make a great day out. With plenty of facilities and places to eat and drink in the parks, you can easily stay for the day.

Aquaworld, the first aquarium in Crete, is also located near to Hersonissos. The aquarium mainly features the abundant local marine life, also exhibiting some reptiles from around the world. With knowledgeable staff making it interesting and informative, it is a popular tourist attraction and many visitors make multiple visits to the aquarium during their holidays.

With its pleasant beaches and clear waters, Crete is a good destination for water sports. Many of the beaches are safe for swimming and of course there are plenty of opportunities for boat trips to explore the attractive coastline of the island from the sea.

You can try out wind surfing, water skiing or snorkelling and there are a also a range of sailing experiences, from canoes to speed boats. If you want to try out some of these, then head for the more tourist orientated beaches.

Another different way to see the island is on a horse riding tour, which are available at a number of stables around the island and you can sometimes combine them with a BBQ or picnic. Alternatively, you could try mountain biking or a jeep safari.

There are plenty of other places to visit in Crete. You could try walking along the Samaria Gorge, one of the longest in Europe, driving through the White Mountains, or taking out a pedal boat on Lake Kournas, a scenic and peaceful inland freshwater lake.

For a completely different experience, try visiting the Sasteria, an observatory in south eastern Crete. The observatory will give you a breathtaking tour of the night sky with some knowledgeable and informative guides.

Iraklion is the capital of Crete and there are plenty of things to do in the city, with a number of interesting museums as well as places such as the cathedral, Morosini Fountain or the Tomb of Kazantzakis. There are also an interesting range of shops, cafes and restaurants to wander around.

There are a number of other large towns on Crete to visit, such as Rethymnon, with its Fortezza Castle that was built in 1590. There is also the Archaeological museum, which has a range of ancient objects such as vases, figurines and frescos.

Another town to visit is Chania, a perfect place to browse the shops, indoor food market or visit the pleasant harbour. If you want to see a different side to the island, then take a drive inland and you will be able to visit many pleasant rural villages.

The island of Crete offers a wealth of activities, from sports and leisure, historic sites and museums through to enjoying relaxing in cafes and restaurants. Whatever your reason for visiting, there will be something to interest, amuse or relax you.

This was a guest post written by travelsupermarket.com

Main Photo By Jim Bahn

Rather than looking for a winter sun holiday destination this year, we decided to take a short break nearer to home… much nearer! And rather than worrying about the weather in the UK in October, we decided to embrace it.

For us the Isle of Wight is less than 2 hours away and that includes the short half hour ferry trip to the island from the beautiful town of Lymington.

The prices for Bed and Breakfast accommodation on the Isle of Wight at this time of the year are cheaper and I think we managed to find a real gem in the form of Rosemary Cottage located in the pretty of village of Newchurch in an area known as Langbridge. Whilst not on the beach, it is about 5min drive away, or if you like cycling or walking you can use the disused railway line that now forms part of the National Cycle Network and known as ‘Route 23 and runs right next to Rosemary Cottage.

The Cottage itself is wonderfully presented and has be restored to the highest standard. Our bedroom was everything that you would hope for and more, but the real selling point for us was the lounge that looks over a fantastic garden with it’s large pond. On our last morning a heron landed on the weeping willow and then made it’s way down to the pond, looking for breakfast.

On both of our nights, we took the short walk up the hill into the village on Newchurch and to The Pointer Inn pub, a cosy place that offers fantastic home cooked food and real ales at what I would call reasonable prices. I am not the only person who thinks this as it has won ‘Island Lifes’ Dining Pub of the Year 2 years in a row.

Overall a fantastic place to stay on the Isle of Wight and one that I cannot recommend enough.

For more details take a look at their website: www.rosemarycottagebreaks.co.uk

On our to do list during the planned road trip in the South of France is to try and watch a mountain stage of this years Tour de France.

Tour de France Route
We had hoped to travel at the end of July, but because the tour starts in Monaco this year and follows an anti-clockwise route around France, it means that the mountain stages in the Pyrenees occur fairly early on, with the big mountain stages on the 7th, 8th and 9th of July. Another option the penultimate stage on the 25th of July which finishes on the famous Mont Ventoux summit, in the Provence region of southern France. Nicknamed the “Giant of Provence” because it is the largest region or “The Bald Mountain” because top of the mountain is bare limestone without vegetation or trees.

Didi, the Tour de France Devil
Dieter “Didi” Senft (born 1952 in Reichenwalde, Germany) is known as the Tour de France devil or El Diablo and since 1993, he has been seen in the Tour’s many stages wearing his red devil costume.

Tour de France Dates 2009

…go to the main Self Drive Holiday in France page.

Picture: REUTERS

Note: This post is part of a series on our Self Drive Family Holiday in France.

Catch a Ferry to Spain to Get to the South of France?

The Portsmouth to Bilbao Ferry Crossing
Another option to get to southern France other than taking the ferry crossing to France is to catch the P&O ferry to Spain, which takes you from Portsmouth to Bilbao in northern Spain and then drive to France. This option could work out as whilst the ferry journey is much longer (2 nights on the way there and 1 night on the way back), it does cut out the long drive through to the South of France.

The Drive from Calais to Tarbes (a town in the Pyrenees mountains in the South of France and just happens to be the finish of the 9th stage of the Tour de France on Sunday 12 July) is about 1,115 km and will take about 10 hours 12 minutes of non stop driving. Where as the drive from Bilbao to Tarbes, is only 294 km taking about 2 hours 55 minutes, along the coastline of northern Spain and the fantastic scenery of the Pyrenees.

This option will probably works out more expensive, but I think if you look at is as part of the holiday, it could also be very enjoyable. With exhilarating sea views, restaurants, live entertainment, two on-board casinos, saunas and a gym and a good night’s sleep in your comfortable en suite cabin, it could almost be called a cruise!

Example Bookings
So how much does a ferry to Spain cost:
Based on 6 people and a car:
The cheapest price of 2 cabins with 3 births is not ideal for 3 couples, but it is the cheapest option

• Portsmouth – Bilbao Sat 04 Jul 2009 21:15 -  £515.00
• Bilbao – Portsmouth Sat 18 Jul 2009 13:15 -  £540.00

Total: 1,055.00 = £176 per person

For 3 cabins with 2 beds inside each (perfect for 3 couples):

• Portsmouth – Bilbao Sat 04 Jul 2009 21:15 – £630.00
• Bilbao – Portsmouth Sat 18 Jul 2009 13:15  – £655.00

Total: 1,285.00 = £215 per person

What about the average family:
2 Adults and 2 Children and a car (1 room x 4 Berth Inside)
Total: £765.00 = £191 per person

Or as a couple:
2 adults and a car (1 room with 2 beds) You can get a double room, but it will cost you more.

• Portsmouth – Bilbao Sat 04 Jul 2009 21:15 : £340.00
• Bilbao – Portsmouth Sat 18 Jul 2009 13:15: £365.00

Total: £705.00 = £352 per person

So whilst this is nowhere near a cheap as taking the ferry to France, this option is definitly worth considering especially if you are traveling in a larger group as it can work out fairly ecconomical especially if you take in account the fuel you save and tolls that you don’t have to pay by driving through France.

Portsmouth to Santander Ferry
Another ferry to Spain is operated by Brittany Ferries and only opened in March 2009, it also leaves from Portsmouth but takes you to Santander.

Santander is about 100km west of Bilbao and whilst fantastic if you are wishing to explore Spain or Portugal, it does add an hour to the journey if you are wishing to travel east to the South of France. Having said that this new ferry, the very impressive mv Pont-Aven is said to offer the fastest journey to Spain and takes only 24 hours. The Pont-Aven is also probably the most luxurious ferry to Spain with some great features including a swimming pool and leisure area, 2 cinemas, video games room and slot machines, wrap around promenade perfect for a stroll on the deck, a dramatic five deck high atrium with panoramic views from the lifts. To eat there is the main restaurant, a self service restaurant, a coffee shop and 3 bars including the pool bar.

Price
I checked the prices and it works out pretty similar to the Portsmouth to Bilbao Ferry Crossing run by P&O ferries, and will cost £1218.00 for six people (3 double rooms) and a car travelling on Sunday 5 July 2009 at 4pm, returning on Monday 13 July 2009 at 3pm.

For more information on the UK to Spain ferry crossing check out the Beach holiday guide on Ferries to Spain.

…go back to the main Self Drive Family Holiday in France page.

Note: This post is part of a series on our Self Drive Family Holiday in France.

Ferry crossings to France

There are two reasons why we decided on the ferry crossing to France rather than flying, the first is the cost, if we were to fly, there would be 6 air tickets to purchase and then we would still have to hire a car in France. The other is just to try something different, I haven’t been on a car ferry to France before and so it sounds like it could be a fun part of the journey rather than something you just want to get over with. With the cost of cheap flights becoming more expensive, and increased competition amongst Ferry companies mean that cheap ferries to France are a real alternative to the no-frills airlines especially as they offer you the added advantage of door-to-door access, greater independence and flexibility giving you the freedom to explore France as well as the rest of Europe.

Dover to Calais

There are plenty of ferry crossing to France from the UK, the most used route is the 90 minute journey from Dover to Calais with a large choice of companies and crossings throughout the day. Probably the best known France ferry companis is P&O ferries, below is an example of what you can expect to pay:

Example Booking

• The prices range between £25 and £55 depending on time of travel in either direction.
• The cost is also the same for any amount of passengers up to 9 passengers.

Depart 6am: £25 (up to 9 people and a car)
Depart 8:30am: £55 (up to 9 people and a car)

So on average you are looking at about £80 to £100 for the return journey = approx £20 per person (based on 6 people)

Dover to Dunkirk

Another common route is from Dover to Dunkirk. Dunkirk is just north of Calais and is more convenient than Calais for many destinations in France as well as Belgium and Holland as well as providing shorter drive times to Germany, Switzerland. It also has the benefit of being a much quieter port meaning that you are on your way from the ferry port more quickly and the roads are a lot quieter although I think the crossing time is a little longer at about 2 hours.

Norfolkline is the only ferry company sailing to Dunkerque, France and an example of what you can expect to pay is below:

Example Booking
Outward journey - The Dover to Dunkirk Ferry

Friday 3 July 2009
6am depart: £24
8am: £45
6pm: £29
11:59pm: £17.99

Saturday 4 July 2009
6am depart: £39
8am: £45
6pm: £37

Return Journey – The Dunkirk to Dover Ferry

Sunday 19 July 2009
6am: £32
8am: £42
10am: £35
2pm: £47
8pm: £47
10pm: £39

Monday 20 July 2009
6am: £25
8am: £29
10am: £32
2pm: £42
8pm: £37
10pm: £25

Prices above are for up to 4 passengers and a vehicle any extra passengers are £15 each for return tickets (add £30 to the total for 6 people)

So it will cost around £80 to £100 for the return journey (about £20 per person based on 6 people)

What if you live in the North?
From the North of Britain you don’t have to drive all the way down south to get on a ferry at Dover. Ferries from Newcastle to Holland, may be a better option even if you are travelling to France as it can not only save you many miles of driving put a few pounds as well. From Newcastle to Dover is 347 miles, take the ferry from Newcastle to Holland and it is only 175 miles before you reach the French border.
Ferries from Newcastle to Holland cost from £129 (one-way) based on 2 people and a car. For more details take a look at the DFDS Seaways Website

Ferry to Spain

Another option worth looking at if you are travelling to Southern France, is to catch the Ferry to Spain (Portsmouth to Bilbao) and then drive into France.

Go back to the main Self Drive Family Holiday in France page.

South of France Holiday – Beaches, Bicycles & Canoes

For something a little different to our traditional summer holiday (relaxing on one of the beaches in Europe) a group of us thought it might be fun to explore the south of France by driving there from the UK using a ferry crossing to get to mainland Europe.

The aim is to not only to enjoy some of the best beaches on the French Riviera, but also to time it so that we can take in a mountain stage of the world’s most famous bicycle race, the Tour de France and perhaps do a little canoeing and camping in the Ardeche region of France.

As there will be 6 of us travelling together, I thought that I would write about the planning of the trip as well as a report after we get back in the hope that some of the information may be of use to others as I feel this could also make for a fantastic family holiday in France.

So the basic plan is (click on the links for more details):

• Hire a Car to Carry 6 People
• Get to France by Ferry or Ferry to Spain and then Drive into France
• Travel to the south of France by car
• Watch a mountain Stage of the Tour de France
• Enjoy some Canoeing in the Ardeche
• Enjoy a day or two on one of the best French beaches

Our accommodation in France will consist of:

• Camping
• Bed & Breakfasts

Believe it or not, but now the beach Holiday guides favourite airline to hate, Ryanair is now considering how to charge extra for “Very Large Passengers” This comes after more than 30,000 passengers voted in favour of charging excess weight fees for very large passengers.

“Over 100,000 passengers logged on to ryanair.com to take part in our competition and almost one in three (over 30,000) think that very large passengers should be asked to pay a fat tax.” this is according to Stephen McNamara of Ryanair.

Other charges voted for on the on-line poll include:

• 29% – Excess fees for very overweight passengers
• 25% – €1 for toilet paper – with O’Leary’s face on it
• 24% – €3 to smoke in a converted toilet cubicle
• 14% – Annual subscription to access Ryanair.com
• 8% – €2 “corkage” fee for passengers who bring their own food onboard.

Ryanair is now considering how to implement such a charge and is now asking it’s passengers to vote, on which format the charge should take:

• Charge per kg over 130kg/20 stone (male) and 100kg/15 stone (females)
• Charge per inch for every waist inch over 45 inch (male) and 40 inch (female)
• Charge for every point in excess of 40 points on the Body Mass Index (+30 points is obese)
• Charge for a second seat if passengers’ waist touches both armrests simultaneously.

Again according to Stephen McNamara of Ryanair:

“The above four points seem to us to be the simplest, fairest and administratively easiest to apply.

“In all cases we have set limits at very high levels so that a ‘fat tax’ will only apply to those really large passengers who invade’ the space of the passengers sitting beside them.

“These charges, if introduced, might also act as an incentive to some of our very large passengers to lose a little weight and hopefully feel a little lighter and healthier.

“The revenues from any such fat tax will be used to lower the airfares for all Ryanair passengers yet further. Passengers can vote for their preference on www.ryanair.com until April 27.”

So, do you think Ryanair is seriously considering charging extra for larger customers, or is this is all another publicity stunt?

Now I know that Prague is nowhere near the beach, but this is a follow on from a post that I made a few weeks back about a company selling rooms at hotels in Prague for £1 per night. This deal was way too good to miss and I decided to snap up a 2 night Prague city beak for myself. So now as a follow up I have decided to review not only the hotel, but also include my short guide to cheap Prague holidays based on my experience.

Prague Flights
To find the cheapest holidays, especially to European destinations, I usually recommend booking a package holiday deal with the hotel and flights included. Because I had already got an incredible deal and booked the hotel separately, I would also have to find the best deals on flights to Prague. I went through all the airports nearest to us, looking to find the ones that offered Prague flights, we eventually booked our tickets with the ever popular easyJet, they flew on the days that we needed and were the cheapest.

Airlines that fly to Prague that you can look at include:

• EasyJet who fly from London Gatwick, Stanstead, East Midlands and Bristol
• British Airways
• Swiss Airways
• Ryanair, who fly from the East Midlands, Birmingham and Dublin to Prague
• SkyEurope (http://www.skyeurope.com) Who fly from London Luton to Prague

Hotels in Prague
As you would expect with any of the worlds favourite city break destinations, Prague has plenty of hotels as well as other types of accommodation to suite all types of budgets. Unless you know specifically which hotel you want to stay at, I would recommend booking through a site like lastminute.com, or like I did, HotelConnect.co.uk. Now I can’t promise you that you are going to get a stay at a hotel for £1 per night like I did, but these sites do often have promotions on and even if they don’t have one when you wish to travel, the fact that you can quickly compare hotels makes choosing the right one for your needs that much easier.

Botel Racek
We ended up staying on a floating hotel and whilst it is probably true to say that the boat hotel is more unique than it is luxurious, it was perfectly comfortable. I think that it’s usual price of around £62 per night for a double bedroom works out as good value. The hotel was less than 15 minutes away to the old city centre by tram, which runs right behind the hotel. You can even take a very pleasant walk into the main part of Prague along the Vltava river, something that I did twice over the weekend. If you are on a real budget, you may wish to stay at the Fortuna Rhea Hotel in Prague that offers basic accommodation at a very affordable price, around £30 for a double room per night. Both this and the Botel Racek are available to book from HotelConnect.co.uk.

Holidays To Prague
As mentioned earlier, unless you get a really good deal on either your Prague flights or your hotel, you will probably find the cheapest holidays to Prague by booking an all inclusive package holiday. My favourite website for this is www.lastminute.com who not only offer Holidays, but also flights and hotels and so make it really simple for you to compare what will work best for you.

Prague Weather
Our trip to Prague was in mid April and the weather was fantastic, what I would call perfect spring weather. Cloudless blue skies without being to hot. Generally Prague has a continental climate meaning that they have hot summers and cold winters. Probably the best time to visit Prague is late April and May and then again in September when the weather is not too hot or too cold and the city is not too crowded. In the middle of summer, it is not unusual for daytime temperatures to reach 35C and in winter it can be as cold as -15C. The average high temperature from May to September is 22C and the average low is 12C, with an average of 7 hours of sunshine. Spring and summer are usually the sunniest months while the period between May and August is the wettest.

Prague Top Tips

Use the Trams: The trams around the city are fantastic and cheap as well. You can buy 24 hour, 3 day or even week long passes that will save you even more if you use it often.

Something to Eat: Take a walk around the district known as the Mala Strana side (lesser side) – located just across the Charles Bridge from Old Town, at the bottom of the hill that leads up to Prague Castle Compared to the other side of the river, the area is quiet and very up-scale, it is the most exclusive neighbourhood in Prague and is home to many of the worlds embassies. Many of Prague’s finest restaurants can be found here, as well as elegant cafes and tourist shops. Situated alongside the river.

Get away from the crowds: Prague has many excellent parks and none better than the Vojan Park, the oldest partly preserved garden in Prague. It is a part of the former fruit garden, founded after 1248 after a bishop´s court was demolished it became a garden of the Carmelite convent in Prague in the 17th century. Kampa Park not far away is also a nice place to enjoy the beautiful views of Prague.

I don’t think So!

A few weeks ago I wrote about a £1 a night Cheap Hotel Deal being offered by HotelConnect and I decided that if the hotel location was right for me, I would take a look and see If I could purchase a few nights at a hotel myself, thinking that this offer may be just too good to be true. I set myself a reminder on my calendar to take a look at the website a few hours before the deal was set to go live.

In due course, I found out that the £1 a night deals were to be for hotels in Prague. Now I know that it is not a beach holiday location, but I have never been to Prague and I thought that a weekend city break would make a nice change and heck the hotels were only going to cost me £1 a night right?

The time for the deal to begin was at 10am, as that time arrived I went to the page and immediatly you could tell that there must be something up as the whole of the HotelConnect website had really slowed down, infact in some cases it had stopped. An offer like this must generate a huge amount of interest and I guess that their servers were just not able to handle the huge increase in traffic.

Anyway, with patience I could see that there were indeed hotels available and through trying a few times (their booking system crashed twice) I can confirm that I have now booked 2 nights at the Botel Racek Hotel Prague and it cost me exactly £2 fantastic! (see booking confirmation below)

According to HotelConnect I will be staying at “cosy comfortable boat hotel, close to the castle and within easy access to the old town of Prague. Rooms at the Botel Racek Hotel Prague are simple and functional cabins and are all en suite with a shower. You can enjoy Czech food in the restaurant or have a drink on the deck with great views over the river. ”

I have to admit that the Botel Racek Hotel was not my first choice, but as the £1 a night sign up page on their website says, all their 400+ £1 hotel rooms in Prague were sold out in 2 hours and so they were going fast and for the dates that were suitable for me, this was my only choice, but staying in a boat hotel could be fun.

I have to say that even though their site was really slow on the morning of the deal, it is usually great and I was even before booking this hotel deal, a big fan. A few days after booking the hotel, I got the conformation in the post, with a nice little map of the city of Prague… I can’t wait!

I hope that the promotion was a success for HotelConnect.co.uk and that they have another ones soon, but even if you missed it, they have many other offers on fantastic hotels, including 50% off in over 200 destinations, so go and check them out.