Makry-Gialos, My Holiday Review

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Makrigialos - Crete
Afordite Apartments - Makri Gialos
Operator and Date: Kosmar - Sep 2006
Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : Steve & Michelle - Richmond, Surrey (42, 40)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
The journey from Gatwick to Makri Gialos was long & arduous, but we found that it was worth it. The two & a half hour transfer from Iraklion airport to Makri Gialos was a bit tedious. We were looking for a relaxing holiday in the sun, & that was what we got mainly.
Flights - The airline was Astreus, which we'd not heard of before. Even though we requested vegetarian meals on the flight, this info had not been passed-on by Kosmar to the airline. The flight time was brought forward by 45 minutes, although we did not find out until we got to Gatwick. Then departure was delayed & we actually left after the original time. Flights were o.k. & veggie food was reasonable.
Transfers - As mentioned, long & tedious, involving change from coach to taxi's on the way out & three coaches on the return!
Afrodite Apartments (Room 8)- Located on a small side street away from the main road on a hill behind the village. First impression was that they were clean & smart. The next morning we drew the curtain to find a fabulous view of the bay & the mountains beyond. The apartments are very attractivey set-up, a bit like small cottages in the Greek style & most rooms have sea views. There is a small pool which is inviting. Unfortunately there was no hot water on our first morning & we put that down to it all being used the previous evening. This was the same at the end of our first day & no water at all on the third day & we had to fill our toilet cisterns with bowls of water from a nearby tap in the courtyard. This affected a lot of the rooms in the block, & non of us were able to get hold of the Kosmar rep, Will, to sort it out. When we asked the cleaner about this in reception she said that there was a problem in the area & that it would be o.k. later. Not very helpful. One of the residents was eventually able to get hold of the owner & a plumber was sent to fix the supply. We finally had our first hot shower at the end of our third day!!!! After that it was fine. Cleaner only came round once, on our third day. We expected a better service than this, especially as we have experienced much more frequent cleaning in other parts of Greece.
Kosmar rep - Will did not really offer any information about the area & he seemed more keen to finish the season & move to another resort. He was late for our welcome meeting because he went to the wrong bar. After this he told us he would be available at the Kosmar office at certain times. We wanted to hire a car from him, but the office was closed contrary to what he had told us. There was a typed note on the door as explanation. We also wanted to contact him about the lack of water, but this was solved without any help from the rep. We decided to sort out our own car hire as well, & went to Motor Plan. This proved to be a good move as the cheapest car from Kosmar was 50 euros, but we paid 35 euros from Motor Plan. The Fiat Panda was almost new, & was perfect for our requirements.
Resort - Makri Gialos has a pretty harbour & there are quite a few nice bars & tavernas in this area. We tried Archipeligo (very helpful waiter), Limani, Botsolos, Gusto & Kavos. All had good food, but staff seemed a bit tired. Best places to eat we found were Gusto & Archipeligo. We also ate twice at Petra Bay which is located further along towards Analipsi. This was always busy & the food was very good. Prices generally were not more than 25 euros for two courses, wine, water & beer. The beach is sandy in the harbour area, but small. Further along it is stoney, & then sandy again, but very narrow. O.k. when the sea is calm. The best bar/cafe was Olympio run by Dimitri & his wife. This is the oldest bar in Makri Gialos, & was opened in 1996. Dimitri is very friendly & as a slight distraction, on Thursday evenings they hold the Snail Olympics!!! Quite entertaining. The road that runs through the village is a bit untidy, & the place could do with some t.l.c. Some parts are distinctly shabby. On the whole though, we found this to be a nice quiet place with good tavernas, o.k. beach, & lovely scenery. We walked around the headland & had a look at the remains of the Roman Villa. This was very interesting with pieces of mozaic in place. You have to use your imagination though, as there is absolutely no information.
Out & About - We hired a car for two days & drove along the coast to Ierapetra (not very attractive), & then up to Elounda, Plaka & Spinalonga. This is a pretty area & you can get boat trips to the island of Spinalonga. I heard before we left, that Crete was a popular destination with Max Bygraves. Apparently he was fond of the Elounda area & did a season of shows there. They went by the title 'Spinalonga Max'!!!! Anyway, we also drove to Sitea, which has a nice beach, & the coastal road is spectacular. Second day in the car we went to the beach of Vai, which is way up on the north east side. You go through some bleak landscape to get there, but it's well worth the effort. The palm tree forest, coarse sand beach & warm sea make it one of my favourites. It's exactly what we wanted. There are sunbeds, but you can move along the beach & put your towel on the sand. This was the best day of our holiday.
Conclusion - Journey is too long, especially time spent at airports & the transfer. Makri Gialos is a lovely quiet place to unwind (although it's a bit shabby around the edges). There is a lot to get out to see as well, if you are there long enough to hire a car for a few days. Afrodite Apartments are very nice, apart from the water problem, which we hope was an unfortunate blip, & lack of cleaning. Kosmar rep was a bit useless. Having travelled through the hell hole that is Malia, I know which resport I'd pick. It's Makri Gialos every time. We would go back, although the transfer puts me off a bit.
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Golden Star- Makriaglos
Operator and Date: (Kosmar Discounts) Kosmar june 2005
Opinion submitted in June 2005 by : sharon (35) and karen(43)Tees Valley
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
after booking this cheap deal in the winter months of last year,by the time june the 10th came round i was jumping around with excitment. The flight from Newcastle was faultless and 15 minutes early which is always a good sign, after picking up our luggage and finding our way to the Kosmar rep we were told that the accomodation that we had been booked into had experienced some contract problems, therefore we had been upgraded. Laura the Kosmar rep was very appologetic and at four in the morning i would have accepted a shed, after a two and a bit hour transfer (it sounds worse than it actually is) we finally arrived ,bags unloaded and shown up a small hill to our appartment block (directly next to the Afrodite)and more steps to climb in the darkness. The owner of these apparments (Thelka)had kindly left us a large bottle of water and some homemade cake!
The rooms were spacious and cool with all the basic self-catering equiptment you would need during your stay.with a large blacony overlooking the bay and air conditioning units if you needed them.
After a quick unpack and wash it was time for a few hours sleep before exploring.
Our first views of the resort were outstanding from our balcony, blue skys and sea, the appartment block is about three minutes walk to the beach and two minutes to the small harbour, however before we managed to get our sunglasses on, Thelka was knocking on the door with her hands full of big juicy tomatoes, fried eggs and lovely crusty bread!! this continued for most of our stay except for when we managed to sneek off out before she could catch us!
Macrigalos is a very small Cretian town where everyone was friendly,english was spoken by many and they seemd genuinely please to have you in there village, it has not been over exposed to the british largerlouts, there is minimal 'tat' shops and it just has that feel good factor, the beach is long and sandy with pebbles in some areas, most sun loungers are free wich suprised and pleased me, there are plenty of Tavernas to keep you on your toes with regards to what to eat.
After chatting to a few english holiday makers i wasnt at all suprised to hear that most of them had been coming for the last ten -fifteen years some twice a year, and i cant say i blame them..if your over 35 and needing to relax in a safe and friendly enviroment..Makrigalos is the place to go...iwe loved it so much we are going back in late september!..might i just Add that Laura the Kosmar rep was fantastic, not intrusive and very helpful, it was our first time using Kosmar and our 4th time in Crete, it was the best holiday yet...from start to finish!
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Villa Sunrise - Makrigialos
Operator and Date: Kosmar - August 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Claire Alexander - Durham (30, 31)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Makriyalos (Makrigialos) is a fantastic resort that is still relatively untouched by the british tourist market.
A few tourist tat shops, a florist a couple of supermarkets and butchers are all that this resort has in terms of shopping.
There are numerous bars and restaurants that line the main street and the harbour. My favourites were Botsalo traditional trattoria (great for traditional food and with lovely bread and flavoured butter) set right on the edge of the sea and Lithos Bar on the harbour beach (run by a very friendly Jim and Tina!)good for cocktails, amstel and a cold frappe.
Most of the harbour restaurants offered a wide selection of seafood and the shrimp saganaki comes highly recommended.
On the whole the harbour is the most relaxing end on an evinging and the beach is beautiful. The sea is very shallow and great for children.
A great place to chill out and relax and enjoy some traditional greek food and wine (both of which are really cheap - a 2 course meal with wine and water cost approx £17 for 2 people!)
Not for those who fancy a crazy night out!
Villa Sunrise is set a short walk from the harbour (though it is uphill) and offers fantastic views of the resort and the mountains. Run by a greek couple that live in the ground floor appartment, spoke little english but didn't cause a problem. Air con was available at a cost of 80 euros for a week but worth every cent!! Our first day brought a gift of creme caramel, later in the week feta pies, followed by cake in the second week!
Overall a really friendly resort with little crime and no hassles to enter bars or restaurants.
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Villea Village - Makris Gialos
Operator and Date: May 2005 , Oct 2003 , Aug 2001, July 2001
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Mrs Crawford 37, 15, 14, 9
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Beautiful beautiful Makris Gialos is a bit of a jaunt from Heraklion Airport (about 1.5 - 2 hrs) but, in our estimation, well worth the time. The village is lovely, a little dusty but generally well looked after. There are so many places to eat with choices ranging from gyro's to traditional Cretan dishes, fresh fish caught by the local fishermen and sold in the restaurants surrounding the little harbour - the list is endless, with three hungry kids to feed I found prices did vary but were generally very reasonable.
The locals are very friendly, a bit of a mix, we met Swedish, Norwegian (from the Scandinavian Hotel just out of the village), British and Irish people living and working full time in the village alongside the Cretans. The beach is long (hence the name Makris Gialos - Long Beach), sandy in most places but narrow. Pretty harbour at one end with bars on the beach and shallow water safe for kiddies, the other end is less populated and fantastic for snorkelling. The scenery is gorgeous, in spring the flowers are spectacular, butterflies and birds everywhere - the gorge walk is not to be missed! A jouney up into the villages is also fun - Pefki and Stavrohori are lovely (bit cooler than the coast - refreshing). You can drink in the local atmosphere (with the locally distilled Raki - non drivers only!!)
The Villea Village Hotel is the most wonderful place to stay (as long as you're not expecting the Ritz). Set around it's own mini olive grove and very large pool, it is two a two story typically Greek hotel with blue shutters and gazebos covered in beautiful borganvillea pink flowers. The olive trees have hammocks strung between them in the shade - comfy for afternoon snoozing. The pool has it's own very well stocked bar with plenty of chairs and tables to sit and eat the simple but beautifully prepared food. There are more than enough sun loungers around the pool and shady bits under more olive trees. Clean rooms, several different sizes avail some studio, some suites. Yes, they are a bit basic for self catering (but not impossible if you're inventive with food), clean linnen and towels every other day (or more often if you ask). The staff are the friendliest I have ever met, helpful and speak very very good English (even the English ones!!)
All in all I would go back again and again (which I have been doing for the last 4 years). I think you do need to "think Greek" during your time there and for those people who have not enjoyed their time in Makris Gialos I would say "when in Rome (and all that)".
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Villea Village - Makrigialos
Operator and Date: Excel Airways (Flight Only) - September 2004
Opinion submitted in Nov 2004 by : Paul & Liz - Richmond, Surrey (52, 48)
Resort Rating: Poor
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
We spent a long time researching our holiday in Crete - it was our wedding anniversary and we wanted somewhere as special as possible within our reasonable budget.Villea Village has a website which waxes lyrical about the resort and the complex and it seemed ideal for us - our only requirements are comfortable, clean accommodation, a quiet resort with good restaurants, nice beach and places nearby to explore. Not an over ambitious wish list.
Excel Airways were excellent - flight on time, hot food and lovely staff.
We spent the first 4 days in the fabulous Nymphes Apartments in Agia Pelagia (about 30 mins from Heraklion)and were looking forward to the next seven days.
Driving towards the south east coast for our main weeks' holiday,we became worried when we reached Ierapetra...the scenery and beaches were uninspiring /non - existent and sadly things did not improve.
The Accommodation
Villea Village is truly awful - a dump in the middle of a dump - Makrigialos.
There is very limited parking on the road in front of Villea Village and there are no lifts and no one to help with luggage so be warned if you need assistance or have young children. You can park on some waste land further up across the road but this also fills up quite quickly as most guests have hire cars.
The young man who checked us in at Reception was polite and helpful - however when we saw our room we were upset. Dark, grubby and sparsely equipped with no kitchen to speak of (it is billed as self catering) it was also facing the dusty, busy main road.
There was very little storage (or even furniture)in the room - 4 coat hangers in the wardrobe and the 'kitchen' consisted of a 2 ring electric hob, sink and fridge between the entrance door and bathroom. There was no preparation area, no where to store any food apart from the fridge items,no oven and no microwave (which we have always had in other self catering properties in Crete). We spoke to people during our stay with families or who were relying on self catering to help manage their budget and they had all ended up having to go out to eat every day.
There was a welcome party on the first evening - however this was a misnomer as you were not made to feel welcome. No drinks of any kind were offered and the meeting was run by a bad tempered Greek gentleman who scolded (and embarassed) the people who arrived late (it was check in day so people had no control over the time they arrived and it was the only welcome meeting of the week). We were then given an overview of all the local Minoan and historic sites - no information on Villea Vllage or the resort. I recommend that you buy a guide book and save yourself a boring and uninformative 45 minutes.
There were a couple of unseasonal bad storms while we were there. Whilst the hotel has no control over the weather and the storms took everyone by surprise - unfortunately our room was completely flooded with water up to ankle height and some of our possessions were sodden (due to the lack of storage some items had to be placed on the floor eg suitcases, bags plus some food etc).
We asked Reception and the Management 4 times between 9 am and 1pm for our room to be mopped up as we were unable to do anything in there - however the maids stuck rigidly to their cleaning rota and we eventually gave up at 2pm and went out for the rest of the day in the clothes we stood up in.None of the other rooms on our floor had been affected by the rain but all their rooms were cleaned before ours - as that was the cleaners' routine. We just wanted to able to get in, have a hot drink and change to go out which is not unreasonable.The room did not dry out for the rest of the holiday and the counterpane on the bed which was very wet was not changed during the time we were there. When I stripped the bed on our last morning - a large bug crawled out of the bed........
Nice start to our wedding anniversary day!
2 days later there was more heavy rain and our room partially flooded but this time we just used the bathroom towels to mop it up as it was clearly not worth asking for assistance. We had learned that asking for anything from Reception or the Manager was pretty much a waste of time.
On the plus side - the pool is a good size and very clean. There are plenty of sunbeds and these are comfortable and clean.
The Greek lady who works in the pool bar is lovely and helpful - the food offered around the pool was basic but well cooked with lots of little extras like being offered fruit after your meal. The house wine is also good quality.
There was also plenty of hot water - we never had a cold shower or bath which is a real plus in Crete.
The Resort
Makrigialos is basically a road running through a small resort. The place is dusty and the beach is extremely poor.
There are plenty of restaurants but the food is basic and expensive for what you get. I am afraid that we have to disagree about the Anessi - the service and food were bad and we were also ripped off over the bill.
The views from the restaurants by the water are very pleasant and it is worth eating in one or two of these just for the ambience. The service is good and friendly at these restaurants even though the food is average.
The only decent restaurant we found was called Salvatore run by an Austrian - located at the top of the hill going out of the resort and opposite the Sunwing resort. The food was excellent, reasonably priced and the service was excellent.
The locals were mainly off hand and not especially friendly unlike people we had met in other parts of Crete - but it was the end of the season so maybe they just wanted all the tourists to go home and stop asking about the weather all the time.
The Area
Once you get in your car and head out of the resort - there is some wonderful scenery and great drives. The beach at Vai is worth a visit and the beaches / resorts of Agios Nikolaous and Elounda are less than an hour away.
If you like spectacular mountain passes - the drive to Xerokambos is breathtaking and the beach well worth the drive. There is one taverna on the beach where the food and the welcome are wonderful.
Unfortunately, due to the unseasonably bad weather it was not possible to do any gorge walks.
The best thing about Makrigialos was the road out - we checked out at 9am on the last day and we will most definitely not be planning a return visit.
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The White Houses - Makrigialos
Operator and Date: Indipendent September 2004
Opinion submitted in Feb 2005 by : Kris Kalinski - Joan 53,48
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We were so glad to find this place.
All we have to add is that we have never ever had better accomondation on Crete and the village is charming with very good tavernas and bars as well as perfect beaches. We have booked for September 2005.
You can visit the place on the web at www makrigialos com
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Makriyalos - Crete
Afrodite studios - Makriyalos
Operator and Date: (Kosmar Discounts) Kosmar June 2004
Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Kevin Croft 43, Wendy Cottington 45
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Perfect place for 40 somethings to go and unwind,hill back up to accom a bit of a drag after a hot day on beach or a few too many raki in evening, but tolerable. Restaurants all serve basic tourist grub, as a chef was a little disappointed with quality but just about passable,Anesis probably gives best value for money and warmest welcome,Ti Kanis as you pass or enter and a few other helpful words from patriarch on the door.Would recomend resort to anyone who just wants to relax.Our rep Laura was brilliant always around but never in the way,sadly we heard on departure she was being reassigned due to not selling enough trips,hope this not true for future visitors
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Coralia Apartments - Makriyalos
Operator and Date: (Kosmar Discounts) Kosmar - July 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : S A Jones - Bolton (45,43)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
RESORT
This resort is also known as Makrigialos.It is a lovely lovely place to come and unwind. the beach is wonderful (we tended to get beds near 'The Rock bar') as it was all sand going into the sea. If you wanted to use a pool, there was a lovely big one at the 'Villea Village' it also had a pool bar called Fisherman Jacks. Out of Coralia, turn left walk down past motor plan car hire and Bar Notos then you will see it. The food was reasonably priced we thought, we found it not very busy as a lot of people seemed to be using their (somewhat limited) self catering facilities. We met some brilliant people (A BIG HI to Catherine & Rob from Leeds) & to the great staff in the Rock Bar. Also to the Guy who did Karaoke on Mon & Thurs in Status Bar (bless him the Karaoke book was only 4 pages)
OUT & ABOUT
We hired a car for 3 days (from Motor Plan 80E - Kosmar Rep. 120E) We drove over to Ag. Nic & Elounda - gorgeous, we went to Sitia which is a lovely town, to VAI, Zakros, Kato Zakros and back over the mountains. One day we went to Myrtos which is nice to go & see (we nearly booked there)
APPARTMENTS
They were superbly positioned (across road from beach) we were on the first floor room 5 facing the main street, so great position to people watch! The only thing really we found was that the maid only came twice during the fortnight, once to clean & once to change linen & towel (you don't get a bath towel only 1 hand towel each. Saying that though the holiday was so good it really didn't bother us, I bought a cheap towel from the shop over the Rd & left it.
EATING OUT
We were a bit disappointed with some of the places, a lot of frozen meat on the menu's there was quite Ltd choice and we have had better food in other resorts, but having said that it is not as commercialised as other places. Moon River was nice, as was Xi Tion (I think) it is near Moon River, also the Irish bar (across the road from bar Notos) does wonderful curries, if you go there say hi to Michael he is from the West of Ireland. We tried Anesis, it was Ok.
OVERALL
It is a lovely place & both my husband & I said we would visit again, hopefully before it changes too much.
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Coralia Apartments - Makriyalos
Operator and Date: (Kosmar Discounts) Kosmar - June 2005
Opinion submitted in June 2005 by : Tony & Jane 59 & 56
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Good bits: We very much enjoyed our holiday in this resort. Relatively quiet, pleasant beach, countryside & very friendly inhabitants. All the restaurants we tried were OK, the best being the Faros who are taking over the closed Limani next door. The cooling Meleme breeze kept the temperature bearable & it was cool enough at night not to need air-conditioning. The Kosmar rep Clive was knowledable & helpful. We can recommend the East Crete tour as good value & interesting. The local buses are cheap & very comfortable & we went to Ierapetra on one. Local car hire is easy & informal & I can endorse a previous comment on the mountain drive as well worthwhile.
Bad Bits: The location of the Coralia makes it inherently noisy from passing traffic which can disturb you at night & the close proximity of the balconies means conversations can be overheard. The cleaners only came in once during the week to change the two hand towels.
The worst part of the holiday though was the inconvenient travel/flight times meaning that the first & last days were partly wasted but more particularly the very uncomfortable seats on the Excel Airways 767-200 which after several hours of sitting waiting to board (on the return) were like hard benches with no knee room. To cap it all when we arrived back at Manchester they couldn't get the door open for 20mins after docking to relieve us from the torture! This airline was voted best charter airline in 2004! We put up with it because of the cheap prices but I think the charter airlines need to think about whether they are putting people like us off travelling with them.
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Palmira Apartments and Studios - Makriyalos (Makrigialos)
Operator and Date: (Kosmar Discounts) Kosmar - August 2005
Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Derrick and Lesley (56, 56)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
This is only our third trip to Greece and was our first to Crete. When it comes to holidays our needs are simple - basic good quality accommodation with basic catering facilities, a reasonable uncrowded beach and/or pool, plus good food at reasonable prices. Got the lot and had a very relaxing holiday. This is not the place for those who like lively bars and discos, though there were some very nice bars along the seafront. Laura, the Kosmar rep, was very good - friendly and helpful without being intrusive.
Accommodation
The Palmira apartments are excellent value offering very roomy and excellent quality accommodation - there were people staying there who had returned year upon year - and I can see why. We loved it and would definitely go back save for the fact the Studios are right on the road and ours suffered a lot of traffic noise - only OK if you close the shutters and doors. Equipment in the apartment was basic but adequate for making tea, coffee and a fridge for keeping the beer and white wine cold - I can't understand people who complain about only getting a two ring cooker when you can go out and have a substantial Greek salad for two and a half euros.
Resort
I have to admit I wasn't impressed by Makriyalos. The bit around the harbour is quite pretty and its OK as long as you walk along the beachfront but the main road through is scruffy and very dusty and is served by the usual mini market and beach shops, lovely views of the mountains and hills behind the resort though. One word of warning here - check the sell by dates on any food/milk/cheese etc. in the shop fridges. My wife found that an awful lot of this was well out of date (I mean by six weeks!). The beach itself is very narrow though not overly crowded. From our accommodation we walked to the lovely (if coarser, and darker sand) beach to the west past the Headland and the Roman Villa where there were a handful of very nice tavernas with good food (Stratos and Oasis are well recommended - the Oasis is run by some of the friendliest people on the planet, but the menu is a work of fiction).
We used the swimming pool at Villea Village a lot and it is excellent- large and clean with good quality sunbeds and rarely too busy. Good service at the pool bar as well.
Eating out was always a pleasure and we liked the Anesis and Golden Beach in Makryialos but we have to make a very special mention of the Petra Bay Taverna. The food was absolutely fantastic and very large portions as well. We only discovered it at the end of our holiday and it was by far the best. We got hugs and kisses from Alexandra the Austrian owner as well as half a bottle of Raki (which she sat and shared with us at the end of our meal). If you are close to the Villea Village end then definitely go to Petra Bay on the beachfront. Prices everywhere were very reasonable and we rarely spent more than 30 euros between us on two large courses including a litre of house wine plus a nice cold Mythos!
The Cretans themselves were very friendly and helpful, for example we bought a few postcards and stamps and the shop keeper gave us both a glass of Raki to celebrate the purchase (can't say that happens in my local post office).
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Villa Petrakis - Makriyalos
Operator and Date: Kosmar - Sept 2006
Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : A & K - Rugeley (49, 42)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
The holiday was booked at the last minute so there wasn't a huge choice in where to stay. Details on the accommodation did warn us that there was a bar at either end of the block (one attached - Status, the other separate - Rock Bar) but as the blurb mentioned 'quiet resort, shuts down at about midnight' it didn't worry us. The bar attached to the same building had karaoke one night a week that started at midnight and ended around 4am. As we were in the room next to the bar very little sleep was had that night - the rep managed to move us to another room so we didn't have our ears assaulted the second week. The rooms were basic but clean, as were the self-catering facilities - all you really need is a fridge for chilling the beer.
The beach by the habour is lovely and sandy and you can walk out along way into the sea - so its great if your a non-swimmer or not particularly confident, sunbeds are 5 euros and there spread out so your space isn't invaded. The bus service is good you can get to Sitia and Ierapetra - and from Ierapetra you can get to the rest of the island.
Makriyalos is the ideal resort for lazy days and nights. The restaurants are varied and like most places what one couple likes another doesn't so I'd recommend trying out different ones. The Petrakis is in the middle of the resort so when we headed out to eat each evening we alternated between heading towards the harbour or the 'Sunwing' end of the resort, The one place I wouldn't advise eating was Moonriver. The food was luke warm at best, and tasteless at worst - I ordered the spicy chicken and was warned that it was very hot - I've had hotter Korma's. There are some really nice bars to sit and while away the evening:- the Olympio, which is by the harbour - it does a lovely Greek Salad for lunch and Notos which is the other end of the village.
Theres a lovely shop for buying glass, ceramics and jewellery for gifts but be warned its not cheap but its great if you want something different - I can't remember its name but its away from the other shops and close to the Irish bar/restaurant and Notos.
We would go back again but only for a week.
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Villa Sunrise - Makriyalos
Operator and Date: (Kosmar Discounts) Kosmar
Opinion submitted in Oct 2004 by : Geoff Needle - Wells (57, 47)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
After a night flight to Heraklion and a 2.5 hour coach journey to Makriyalos, we arrived there one hour after dawn. In that tired state our first impressions of the areas as we made our way across the island from Aghios Nikolaos and along the southern coast road from Ierapetra to Makriyalos, were very disappointing. As we stared out through bleary eyes we seemed to be driving through villages with derelict boarded-up houses, large greenhouses, concrete skeletons of half finished houses and hotels (not in itself unusual for Greece but there seemed to be so many), and a few dusty quarry sites.
The bland scenery and rocky shoreline between Ierapetra to Makriyalos, only metres from the road, did not inspire confidence of a good beach holiday to come. It was looking as if our 19th holiday in Greece was going to be one we would bitterly regret, but we quickly realised our first impressions were totally wrong. Don't be downhearted by the uninspiring journey to Makriyalos because once there everything changes. The countryside to the east and north of Makriyalos, and the local beaches from Makriyalos harbour eastwards, and Makriyalos itself, are superb and well worth visiting.
The Villa Sunrise was one of the best places we have stayed in. It is up a quiet lane, well away from any road, it is not overlooked by nearby buildings and is close to the useful amenities like supermarkets, tavernas, bakery, etc. Our room (No. 2) on the first floor rear was huge by Greek standards, with two balconies giving lovely views to the sea and hills. T
here were two cockerels close by which let us know of their presence each morning and hopefully they will have gone in the pot by the time this report appears on the Internet. The room was cleaned and provided with fresh linen every few days by the owner's wife. There were lots of new cooking utensils, cups, glasses, etc. with plenty of storage spaces for groceries, clothes, suitcases ,etc. The shower worked well and there was plenty of hot water all of the time. The cold tap water was delicious and very drinkable. The owner knocked on our door soon after we arrived and gave each of us a small cake and welcomed us to Makriyalos. He was always there for us but never bothered us. One day we came back to find two brand new taps had been fitted in the shower unit and we didn't know there was anything wrong with the old ones. Such was the owner's attention to detail and he obviously takes great pride in ensuring the comfort of his quests.
Makriyalos village blends seamlessly into the next village Analipsis, together lining the main road for about 1.5 km before it turns back inland towards Sitia. Makriyalos has the ruins of a Minoan palace and a Roman palace, both are worth seeking out albeit that only the bottoms of the walls survive and you have to view them through/over wire fences.
The harbour front has a number of tavernas, some disappointingly offering frozen fish but others offering good value locally caught fresh fish, but at least their menus are honest and tell you this. All the tavernas we tried had nice meals with good service, these being the Golden Beach, Limani and Knossos, but special comment must go to the Faros taverna. Here the fresh fish was caught locally by Andreas, while the taverva was run by his wife Marianna, her brother-in-law Michaelis and the young and efficient waiter Manos. The portions were generous, well cooked, and nearly every meal was accompanied by a complimentary glass of metaxa, raki or some other Greek firewater. Their service was genuinely warm and friendly, with Michaelis joining us for a welcoming drink on our first night and for our leaving drink on the last night. Another place worthy of special mention for their genuinely warm and friendly service is the Olympio bar on the harbour front. In the whole two weeks we did not see or hear any mosquitos or wasps, nor did we see any red marks on the walls from other people's encounters with them.
The people we met in the whole area of eastern Crete were very friendly, probably due to this area not being swamped with lots of tourists which seems to spoil things. Being Crete in late summer, the Meltemi wind blew most days and nights, and quite strong at times, but you are able to get away from it and not let is spoil your holiday. We did not see any rain during the two weeks and the sun shone every day.
There is a nice walk through a deep gorge up to the mountain village of Pefki, some 7km inland. A sheet of directions are available from the Kosmar office (the staff were very helpful and friendly, were always there for you but didn't bother you. They also have a good selection of free books) but allow yourself twice the time they say it will take. It is a challenging walk but very satisfying. There is a small friendly taverna in Pefki village and a fountain to refill your water bottles in the village square. We walked up through the gorge to Pefki and back down along the top which made a nice round trip. There is a small white church on top of the hill overlooking Pefki which is accessible only by a road and footpath to be found on the opposite side of the hill (walk or drive out of the village for one kilometre to a crossroads and take the left turn). Although the door was locked when I got there it is well worth the effort for the views alone.
There are no beaches to the west of Makriyalos, but good ones to the east from the harbour. For the first kilometre the beach is a thin strip of sand with a row of tavernas, villas and apartments running alongside. Probably ideal for young families who want a safe beach with everything close by. Then we come to the SUNWING complex, a large hotel area taken over by the Scandanavians. To pass this complex you have to go up onto the road and walk up the gentle hill outside it until you get passed it. The hill then continues gently for another 0.25 km until at the very top of the hill you follow the lane down to the two much better beaches called Diaskari. After a short walk down this lane you pass by the beach taverna at the beginning of the half kilometre stretch of sand forming the first Diaskari beach. This beach is much quieter than the Makriyalos village beach, it is about 15-20 metre wide and can be reached by car all along its whole length, but it is not quiet enough to go naturist. The second Diaskari beach is reached by the short walk up and over the small headland at the end of the first Diaskari beach. It is a nice quiet beach and almost exclusively naturist. This is again about 10-15 metres wide, 1 km long and ends at a rocky headland passed which is a greenhouse with an ostrich (I kid you not) roaming in a fenced area overlooking the sea. Walking time from the Villa Sunrise to the second Diaskari beach is 45 minutes.
For one day we hired a car and went off to visit the following furthermost parts of eastern Crete:
SITIA: A small harbour town with its stretch of sandy beach and Venetain fort, although nice in itself we took a few photos and quickly moved on.
TOPLOU MONASTERY: Well worth a visit to see its large collection of old Greek religious icons, engraved prints, gold chalices, capes and robes. ITANOS: Three nice beaches and some classical ruins.
VIA (or PALM) BEACH: An unusual area covered with palm trees going right down to its lovely beach which has been rather spoiled with sunbeds and umbrellas. However, it could make a good family day out with its car park (3 euros), shops and rather expensive tavernas all together near the beach, and its barren but dramatic surrounding countryside.
PALEOKASTRO: The ruins of a large Minoan village set amongst the olive groves and only 100m from the sea. Here you can walk quite freely around the haunting remains of its small rooms and narrow streets. An very interesting and educational experience.
ZAKROS: A village with a nice taverna and garage for petrol.
KATO ZAKROS: Very interesting ruins of a large Minoan palace, a big cave (which we did not go to) and tavernas and shops.
MOUNTAIN DRIVE: An awesome a drive up across the mountains back to Makriyalos. I can thoroughly recommend the following route for its excellent roads, remote hillside villages and unforgetable scenery of deep gorges and open landscapes: Zakros - Klisidi - Andravasti - Karidi - Sitano - Presos - Chandras - Armeni - Etia - Makriyalos. I am sure that any of the other mountain roads at the far eastern end of Crete would have revealed the same great scenery.
Our overall conclusion on Makriyalos is to visit it before it gets too popular.