Where is the best place in Greece or the Greek Islands to go on holiday?
I am looking for a holiday in Greece for 5 adults and a 5 month old baby. I want to be in a good hotel near a sandy beach so that we can relax and also take little cruises (if possible) . I would also like some nice shops around so that we don’t stay on the beach all the time.Somewhere very pretty but not hilly, Any ideas please? Strange thing is I worked in the Greek Tourist Office in Regent Street when I was young but have forgotten all about Greece and its islands. Shame on me! 
There’s not going to be any one “best”, although if you want somewhere that’s not hilly then perhaps Greece/Greek Islands are a poor choice.
Having said that, Crete has many coastal resorts which are less hilly than most other Greek Islands. Kalyves is a small charming resort, has an excellent beach, and isn’t noisy. It’s not a long drive from the airport (near Chania) either. Chania (city) is on the route from the airport to Kalyves and is a wonderful ancient city with loads of excellent shops, boat trips of all kinds and is about ten minutes from the airport (no aircraft noise though) and has some good beaches too. Thirty minutes driving from Chania will get you to Kalyves which has shops but mainly to cater for tourist needs and self caterers; it also has a small harbour where you can negotiate individual boat trips. There are restaurants to suit all pockets, and the place is very relaxed. If you’re not driving, then the coach transfer to Kalyves takes forty to fifty minutes depending on how many stops are made and Chania is about twenty to twenty five minutes by coach.
Kalami is very similar but larger and busier and has a greater range of shops and a larger harbour. It’s not far from Kalyves, but if you want to avoid walking over hills to get there you’ll either need to drive, or get a lift from a boat owner. Kalami is also a bit closer to Chania.
Georgioupoli (aka Georgopolis) another alternative, and a bit further from Chania than Kalyves. Far more shops than the first two, another good beach, and generally rather busier than my first two suggestions. There’s also a river which enters the sea there and hourly pedal-boat hire is popular on the river.
If you do choose Crete, avoid Malia and nearby Stalida (aka.Stalis). They have good beaches and shopping, but are very noisy and only perfect if you’re after non-stop drinking, dancing, and like dodging puke in the streets…
If Crete doesn’t appeal, then consider Lixouri, Sami, or Fiskardo, all on the island of Kefalonia. The latter is very upmarket and can be a bit pricey though as it’s one of those places popular with yacht owners and those gigantic billionaire-owned floating gin-palaces which you see in the harbour at Monaco.
My final bit of advice to to buy/borrow a current guide book to the Greek Islands or even one specific to Crete. Make sure it’s not more than a couple of years out of date though. Rough Guides and Lonely planet are both good, and I tend to buy one of each to get a fuller picture.
Hope this helps.
Greek Islands Cruise – Part 2
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