Lovers of island holidays often choose to visit the Greek islands, and among them, the real leader is Crete. It attracts tourists not only with the opportunity to indulge in the southern sun, on the shores of the most romantic of the seas, while settling in one of the cozy family hotels, for example, in Aparthotel Sofia Mythos Beach 3 * (Greece / Crete / Rethymnon), but also incredible the number of historical attractions that we dream to see from the school bench.
Mysterious Minotaur Island
Crete is the largest of the islands belonging to Greece. From ancient legends, we know that this piece of land, surrounded on all sides by the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea, is considered the birthplace of the supreme god of the ancient Greeks - Zeus. This paradise is also the birthplace of the Minoan civilization. Excavations are still underway on the island, and archaeologists find valuable exhibits that, after careful research, are transferred to museums.
Crete is a real paradise for lovers of excursions. Despite the fact that rest in these parts is considered expensive, you can find budget options if you wish. For example, if you settle in a three-star family hotel on the second beach line, such as Aparthotel Sofia Mythos Beach 3 *, you can save a lot of money, and breakfast and dinner in almost all hotels of this category are included in the price. In addition, in apartment hotels, as a rule, the rooms are equipped with kitchens, and if necessary, you can cook yourself.
By the way, almost all the beaches of the island are municipal, so vacationers can change the beaches, and for free, and enjoy the sea views from different angles. The island is washed by the waters of three seas at once : the Ionian, Aegean and Libyan. Beaches in different areas can be pebble, sand or mixed. Sometimes underwater cliffs make it difficult to enter the sea, and many beaches have pontoons. But the water everywhere is equally clean and transparent, so you can see the bottom.
Weather in Crete
This island is the southernmost in the Greek archipelago, so here the swimming season lasts longer than in mainland Greece, and indeed on many islands. The climate here is typical subtropical, and the humidity is optimal, about 50 percent. It is a very sunny island, on which more than three hundred days a year are sunny. Surely this is the main advantage of Crete over the islands, which are located in the tropical and equatorial zones and on which the rainy season rages in the summer months. And in the summer months there is real heat, but May and September are softer and more pleasant. In addition, at the beginning and end of the season, the cost of staying in hotels is much lower than in the midst, and if you settle in a modest but very cozy family hotel, for example, Sofia Mythos Beach 3 * (Crete), then you can even call it a rest economical.
How to get there
If you bought tours to Bali, not to an island in the Indian Ocean, but to the coast of the bay of the same name in Crete, then you are best to buy a ticket to the main airport of the island, which is located in Heraklion. Both regular and charter flights depart here from Moscow and other large cities of Russia. In addition, you can go first to the Greek capital, the city of Athens, and then, taking a ferry, swim to Crete. Both options are real, but the standard Bali tours that most tour operators offer include air travel to Nikos Kazanzaki Airport (Heraklion). They usually include a transfer from the capital to the desired resort, in this case, to Bali, where the aforementioned hotel Sofia Mythos Beach 3 * is located.
Crete is the center of tourism in Greece, the tourism infrastructure is well developed here, and yet on the island you can find many beautiful places that civilization touched only slightly, without violating the pristine and natural charm. This is the village of Bali. This is a small fishing village, which is located 45 kilometers from Heraklion. There are several comfortable hotels. These are basically “triples”, like Aparthotel Sofia Mythos Beach 3 *. The descent from the hotels to the sea is pretty steep. But from the windows of the hotels truly wonderful seascapes open, which you can enjoy for days on end.
Sofia Mythos Beach 3 * (Greece / Bali / Crete): general description and location
This hotel consists of two buildings: Sofia and Mythos. The last time the buildings were renovated in 2006. The first is located on a hill 100 meters from the coast, but the second is right in the beach area. Next to them is the port and pier, and in the evenings guests can admire the lights of the ships that have moored at the bay, and in the morning, the yachts' white sails soaring along the azure surface. From the entertainment area, of which there are not so many, the hotel is also 200 meters away, but to the bus stop - about 2 kilometers. That is why the best solution for tourists who come here for a lot of impressions from visiting numerous attractions is to rent a car. To do this, you need to have a driver's license with an international standard.
Number of rooms
Aparthotel Sofia Mythos Beach 3 * offers tourists 70 comfortable and furnished rooms of various categories: single and family apartments. All rooms are equipped with small kitchens with refrigerators, balconies or terraces, a bathroom with shower, hairdryer, etc. For an additional fee, guests are provided with a TV and air conditioning. Paid are also a personal safe for storing valuables and money, as well as a minibar. The rooms also have a telephone, radio, satellite TV, etc. Housekeeping is carried out once a week, but linen and towels are changed every other day.
Nutrition
Various delicious vegetable and meat dishes, a huge assortment of cheeses and sausages - all of this is rich in sunny Greece. Sofia Mythos Beach 3 * operates on a half-board basis. This means that guests are provided with breakfast and dinner. According to the reviews of vacationers, it is very tasty food. In the morning there is always porridge for children, which is very convenient for families with toddlers. At the buffet you can find many snacks, especially cheeses and dairy products, fruits and vegetables. The menu consists of Mediterranean and traditionally European cuisines. There is always fresh baked goods for breakfast. Lunch can be ordered at an additional cost in the à la carte restaurant, which is located on the veranda overlooking the sea. Nevertheless, most tourists prefer to dine in the village or on the site of excursions.
Infrastructure
Aparthotel Sofia Mythos Beach 3 * has an outdoor swimming pool. For lovers of sports entertainment there is also a pool table and ping pong. For children there is a playground. There is no animation program at the hotel, but live music is played in the evenings. Dance lovers can attend themed evenings that take place in the village. For those who want to rent a car, there is a car rental point, as well as parking. It offers a first-aid post, laundry and dry cleaning services, a currency exchange office, a tour desk, etc.
Beach
There are four sandy beaches in Bali Bay, which are located in small bays. The very first one from the track is the most spacious and open to the winds, there are quite strong waves here, and surf lovers visit this particular beach. The second bay is the calmest, but the third, the beach of which is located in close proximity to the Sofia Mythos Beach Hotel, or rather, on which the Mythos building is located, is the busiest. That's why hotel guests sometimes prefer to relax in the second or fourth bay, near the Evita hotel.
Nevertheless, in the morning, it is more convenient for tourists to go to the nearest beach. Here, vacationers are offered services - sunbeds and umbrellas (for a fee), beach volleyball (for free), diving lessons, motor and non-motorized sports (for a fee), etc.
Excursions
No matter what part of the island their hotel is located in, many tourists try to visit as many attractions as possible. After all, Crete is a real open-air museum. Experienced tourists believe that everyone who ends up on this island needs to do 6 required things:
- Visit Balos Bay and admire the “kiss of the three seas”. It is in this place that the three seas connecting the shores of the island of the Minotaur are interconnected.
- Go to the beach “Wai” and be among the real hippies.
- Visit the town of Santorini.
- Try to solve the mystery of the labyrinth of the Minotaur.
- Get on a themed Greek evening and dance sirtaki on the seashore.
- Learn to dive and explore the seabed.
Some excursions can be booked at the hotel’s tour desk, but the same thing can be done in the village, at a lower cost. Most tourists do this. But those of the guests who rent a car during their stay on the island go to attractions without a guide, but they can always join a particular group.
Hotel Sofia Mythos Beach 3 * (Crete): hotel reviews
If you look at the comments on the information resources where this hotel is presented, you will notice a very strange thing: many reviews are fundamentally opposite. Someone thanks for the excellent service and friendliness of the owners and staff of the hotel, while others, on the contrary, give examples of various unpleasant incidents between them and employees of the Sofia Mythos Beach 3 * hotel. Reviews of some tourists about the kitchen and restaurant are laudatory, in other estimates they complain about the freshness of the products and poor sanitary conditions. What is the reason for this? The answer, I think, is quite simple. Some of the Russian tourists, wanting to save on housing, choose not a four- or five-star hotel, but the most ordinary budget three, and then, having got into it, forget about their motives and begin to demand a deluxe service. However, this is simply not possible. Foreigners, for example, will never demand from a three-star hotel conditions that are found only in luxury hotels. This must be taken into account when choosing a tour. If comfort is very important to you, then you should fork out and buy a ticket to a top-class hotel.
In their reviews, some tourists write that the rooms were cleaned once a week. However, this is quite normal, for that he is a three-star hotel. The same goes for the issue of nutrition. The cuisine of a 3-star hotel cannot provide visitors with a large assortment of tables, although there is never a lack of goodies in this hotel, and positive reviews speak of this.