The Rough Guide to Crete (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

For cultural and historical information, this guide is pretty comprehensive; the descriptions of the archaeological sites such as Knossos and Gortys are really useful. But some of the practical information is not completely accurate.

The guide suggests that there is "a practicable walk" of around 5km from Eleftherna to the monastery at Arkadhi; we walked for about about 10km through really rough country and past many dead goats, and were still nowhere close to the monastery. In a similar vein, the "pleasant 45min walk" from Kato Gouves to the cave at Skotino took us about three hours, and if a friendly local hadn't given us a lift back to the village, we would have been in big trouble.

OK, maybe we should have picked up a proper hiking guide, but the book gave the impression that these were light walks, which they certainly weren't, particularly in the summer heat. It is a good guide book, but beware of some inaccuracies.

I trust Rough Guides and this didn't let me down! (4/4 people found this helpful)

I always aim to buy a Rough Guide over other guide books because I like their down to earth style and no nonsense reviews. I was pleased to see that the Rough Guide to Crete is no different. It splits the island up into sections which is handy when you're working out what you could feasibly see in a week. Its section on the history and mythology of Crete was great (a particular interest for me). It really came into its own on our final day when we found ourselves with several hours to kill before our evening flight - the RG said that we could leave our bags at Chania bus station and gave great recommendations on what to do and where to eat - we followed its advice and had a brilliant last day. The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is because it doesn't have many colour pictures and the very dense text can be hard to follow sometimes.

Rough guide 2007 review (2/2 people found this helpful)

Informative practical guide. We went to Xania, Crete 25.8.09 and found it helpful and more detailed than some other guides to Crete. Some of the restaurants recommended weren't there anymore, probably due to it being 2 years old (e.g. To Haniotiko wasn't in Platia 1821). History section gave good overview. Website and email links for accommodation were helpful prior to travelling to assist in planning. Language section, though short, gave enough basics, especially in relation to food ordering.

good book (2/2 people found this helpful)

Was shocked when I received this book as it is much bigger and heavier than I expected - a bit like an encyclopaedia! But very thorough and we found it very useful on out holiday, restaurant recommendations were good

Ideal for those who want to explore. (11/11 people found this helpful)

We travelled to Western Crete twice last year ('08) and bought a few guide books before the first trip, however, this one was the only one to make the second trip (and will be with us again this year when we visit Central Crete). This edition was published in 2007 and we did find a few inaccuracies such as a recommended taverna that was no longer in business. I suspect that these were recent changes, but generally the guidance is accurate. We certainly visited places that we would never have found without this guide.

As with all Rough Guides, there are relatively few colour photographs, but it is the detailed and descriptive "local knowledge" that really stands out. Recommended for those who want to explore Crete. If you are happy to sit by the hotel pool, walk to the nearest beach and go on guided tours you probably wont get much use from this guide.

Geoff Garvey, John Fisher, Rough Guides

Reader Reviews:

Good for culture, but not perfect (1/1 people found this helpful)

I trust Rough Guides and this didn't let me down! (4/4 people found this helpful)

Rough guide 2007 review (2/2 people found this helpful)

good book (2/2 people found this helpful)

Ideal for those who want to explore. (11/11 people found this helpful)

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