Coastal Crete Walk

• Magnificent coastal paths, rocky coves, deserted sandy beaches
• Spectacular White Mountains; stunning Samaria Gorge; incredible sunsets
• Astonishingly colourful wild flowers; rare birds of prey
• Exceptionally friendly hotels, waterfront meals; excellent value for money
• Totally unspoilt corner of Crete; every visitor still a novelty

This independent walking holiday explores the most remote south-west corner of Crete. There are often no roads within miles and most of the local commuting is done by boat! Often there is no one else around. You'll find deep, cool gorges blanketed with flowers and aromatic herbs; ancient mountain tracks used only by shepherds and donkeys; lush vineyards, olive-studded hills and hidden coves for swimming. You explore the lush Samaria gorge, the longest in Europe, home to golden eagles, lammergeiers and buzzards and blanketed with colourful Cretan rock lettuce and aubretia. And you walk past an extraordinary Saracen fortresses in the foothills of the White Mountains.

But we love this region most of all for the people and the hotels. Every visitor is still a novelty and everyone wants to talk to you; it often turns into charades! In Omalos you might well be shown around their cheese farm and get to sample some of their special jellied cheese (delicious served with honey!), and in Agia Roumeli the Pension Farangi is run by two brothers, both jolly Samarians with typical Sfakian beards; one catches the fish and tends to the sheep, the other looks after the guests! All the hotels have excellent private facilities and dinner is often served on a balmy terrace, beneath a spectacular Mediterranean sunset and to the gentle lapping of the shoreline below.