Messages

1

Where to stay / Re: Off season?

« on: October 26, 2017, 06:09:38 PM »

Thanks for that, I'll look into it.

2

Plakias / Re: Far end beach

« on: October 22, 2017, 10:13:20 AM »

In my day the far end was a clothes-optional hangout, is that still the case?

3

Where to stay / Off season?

« on: October 22, 2017, 10:10:23 AM »

So I've heard of people visiting Plak during the winter - what are the options (if any) for accommodation, eating, getting there, in say December?

4

Plakias / Worrying Development

« on: July 28, 2008, 08:19:03 PM »

I don't want to sound complacent but isn't this just another verse of the same old song?  Plakias and the surrounding areas have been undergoing relentless "development" for over 25 years - in fact the first edition of the Rough Guide to Greece (1982) calls it a "boom town" where buildings under construction seemed to outnumber completed buildings.  It's not obvious to me that this project is any more objectionable than many of the other concrete sprawls that have sprung up over the years, or that it constitutes the tipping point that will turn Plak into Benidorm.  My pet hate is the Hapimag "village" which ruined the western half of Damnoni beach, for example.

There have been many changes since my first visits, when Plak was still a haven for backpackers and independent travellers, but there's still enough left of "my Plakias" to draw me back every few years.  I can still find a pleasant room within 5 minutes of getting off the bus, enjoy a leisurely breakfast at Livicon and chill out in the shade of the tree at the far end, pretty much as I would have done 20 years ago.

Ahh yes i remember it well,a small footpath to the beach the turtles still came then.Those were the days,locals still not too jaded to think only of the money.Happy days indeed,Damnoni was beutifull then,how things change.Get used to it!Before you and yours arrived these people had nothing,poverty was very real.Only a generation ago they had nothing but hard work and damm all to show for it.Even now only a handfull of people make the real money and very few of the ordinary locals get rich.The wages are shit the hours long and the season short.You guys fly in and blow more money in a week than most of them make in a month or two.I lived and worked for tradesmans wages when i was there,i earn a lot more here than i could dream of on Crete.Good luck to them they only want what we have,its not an adventure park for tourists its someone else"s home.They dont see what you see,if you were born and live there the tourists are like a shoal of salmon,to be used every year to keep the wolf from the door.
Dont stay in a hotel,rent room is better and cheaper,go to the mountain villages and spend money,help the people who need it.
Dont buy an over priced villa.
Do buy a red pick up truck
Do grow a big moustache
Do wear a black leather jacket

Dimitri-
Fantastic- could not have said it better- I have been to Sellia since the early 70's visiting relatives- There is no romance in talking a donkey to the fields in the morning , slaving all day to scratch a living out of the soil- which they first had to clean by hand of all the stones- or getting up at 2 am because it is your turn to change the direction of the water for your fields- Please get real-It may have charm to the tourists, but it is damn hard work and I am glad that they have the opportunity to make their life a little better. All this talk about "ruining " some vision of a plakias is nonsense- And if in the end some don't like it well, as some have suggested, there are other places to go-
Santa

Dear oh dear, this is all getting rather silly.

Nobody's saying the Cretans should return to back-breaking subsistence farming.  That doesn't mean we have to be enamoured of massive foreign-owned tourist complexes that probably do little enough to support the local economy.  And I'm not having you telling me "there are other places to go", thanks all the same.

5

Holiday Companies / Escape the airport and live a little

« on: July 28, 2008, 02:20:16 PM »

Today's Guardian travel section had a feature "5 best hotels near ferry ports".

Oddly enough, none of them were in Piraeus.

No Rodger the idea is you fly into town in the morning then catch the boat,you sleep on the boat arrive on said island next morning.
As a Guardian reader you would surely know Greece is not known for hotels of any sort,let alone top ones.It"s a cheap and cheerfull destination,they dont do quality.Even the Brittania in Athens is a bit of a dive,i have stayed in many hotels there and find them just not worth the money.Better to source a good room with a decent family and have a lot more fun,than get ripped off and poisan"d by the Elecktra type hotels.
What im suggesting is that instead of flying in as normal,try something different and increase your enjoyment and experiance.

yes yes I know all that.  It was just meant as a humorous/ironic observation.  it's that dry British humour that doesn't always come across in the internet context.

I'm still not quite sure how you expect people to get to Athens without flying.  I once got there by train from Munich, with a stopover in Belgrade, but it's not something I'd want to do every year (particularly as the Belgrade-Athens leg was spent in the  corridor).

6

Plakias / Worrying Development

« on: July 28, 2008, 01:55:01 PM »

I don't want to sound complacent but isn't this just another verse of the same old song?  Plakias and the surrounding areas have been undergoing relentless "development" for over 25 years - in fact the first edition of the Rough Guide to Greece (1982) calls it a "boom town" where buildings under construction seemed to outnumber completed buildings.  It's not obvious to me that this project is any more objectionable than many of the other concrete sprawls that have sprung up over the years, or that it constitutes the tipping point that will turn Plak into Benidorm.  My pet hate is the Hapimag "village" which ruined the western half of Damnoni beach, for example.

There have been many changes since my first visits, when Plak was still a haven for backpackers and independent travellers, but there's still enough left of "my Plakias" to draw me back every few years.  I can still find a pleasant room within 5 minutes of getting off the bus, enjoy a leisurely breakfast at Livicon and chill out in the shade of the tree at the far end, pretty much as I would have done 20 years ago.

7

Holiday Companies / Escape the airport and live a little

« on: July 26, 2008, 08:30:41 PM »

Today's Guardian travel section had a feature "5 best hotels near ferry ports".

Oddly enough, none of them were in Piraeus.

8

Where to go / Walks in the Plakias Area

« on: July 25, 2008, 10:40:10 AM »

Lance has now combined the two books into one, Walks in Plakias Southern Crete, which the Village Store sells for 7.50 I think.

It doesn't include the map but Hapimag's "Damnoni Area" map available in most shops locally looks suspiciously similar to his original map, right down to the colour scheme and lettering, despite claiming copyright under a couple of Greek names.

Seems Lance's last visit was in autumn 2007 but he doesn't mention the landslide at Sellia as far as I can see.  Perhaps it's all been cleared in the meantime?

9

Where to eat...or not! / Vegetarian food

« on: July 24, 2008, 12:35:37 AM »

On my recent trip, I found that Minoiko (near Ali and Dave's shop) offers more imaginative vegetarian fare than the standard array of Briam, Imam and Gemista.    Of course they still have a plentiful choice of carnivorous meals.  Also Niko's Souvlaki place apparently does veggie curry.

10

Where to stay / On the cheap

« on: July 23, 2008, 11:13:28 AM »

What I'm asking is how much is the cheapest room in Plak and where would I find it? I'm planning on turning up with nothing booked and just looking round. I'll be on my own so on past experience I'll have to pay about three-quarters of the price of a double room to have it to myself. Where should I look? Last time I stayed in Despina's place just beyond the harbour and it was about 30-odd euros a night but that was right on the sea front with a fantastic view. I'm guessing there are probably cheaper places in the back streets with no kitchen and a view overlooking a cess pit. That would be fine by me, so long as it's cheap.

If you just turn up, I would have thought you'll find something for 25 euro, if not less than that. I stayed at Pension Kyriakos last June for that price and had a balcony with a (partial) view of the sea.

Greecemad

I just stayed at Kyriakos, which has become my regular stand-by in Plak, and it was 30 euro a night in mid-July.  No doubt you would get a better price in September.  I really don't know if there still are basic, dirt-cheap rooms in Plakias, they all now seem to come with at least a fridge and ensuite shower/WC as standard.  Gone are the days when little old ladies would line up at the bus-stop to drag you off to a domatio in their family home for 200 drachmas a night.

11

Gossip / What books will you be reading when you go to Plakias this year?

« on: July 23, 2008, 11:02:40 AM »

This year I was reading The Broken Kings by Robert Holdstock, a somewhat bizarre fantasy novel that contrives to take the wizard Merlin back to ancient Crete where he encounters Daedalos (sp?).  Also, whenever I'm in Greece I like to read some Homer, this year it was the Odyssey in Robert Fagles' translation (Penguin Classics).

12

Plakias / FIRE

« on: July 23, 2008, 10:57:31 AM »

Seems there have also been a spate of fires around Galini - I went on a tour to Phaestos and Gortyn last Sat and the guide was telling us it had been going on for a week or so.  You may also notice some patches of scorched earth on the road to Rethymno, including quite an extensive one just outside Koxale.

Lance Chilton's new book also mentions a fire towards Sellia in autumn 2005, or has he got the dates mixed up?

13

Holiday Companies / Escape the airport and live a little

« on: July 23, 2008, 10:50:36 AM »

I always used to take the ferry - deck class of course - in my backpacking days.  I once took the boat from Athens all the way to Cyprus.  Yes it was a fun experience, I felt like Odysseus exploring the wine-dark sea (well not quite, perhaps).  I would certainly consider it again if I was going for a longer trip.  And yes, Athens is a great city.

BTW dimitri, where in E Sussex are you based? Are we neighbours?

14

Holiday Companies / More Monarch misery

« on: July 23, 2008, 10:41:19 AM »

My flight out from LGW to Chania on Tues 15th had to be split across two planes as the regular plane was out of service - got put on the second plane which took off about an hour late.  I noticed the same thing was happening to their Manchester flight from Chania yesterday (22nd) and the second plane wasn't even due into the airport until well after the scheduled departure time.  So I felt not inconsiderable relief when the Gatwick flight took off more or less on time, around 6pm, and was looking forward to getting back to Brighton in time for supper.

Too soon.  Within minutes the captain announced that we had to return to Chania following "indications" of a fault on one of the engines.  By 6.45 we were back inside the airport building.   After sporadic uninformative announcements we were eventually told at 9pm  that the fault had been fixed and we would shortly be boarding.  Boarding duly commenced a whole hour later and we were airborne around the time we should have landed at LGW.    By the time I got through baggage reclaim etc it was nearly 1am and the last trains and buses had gone.  Luckily I managed to hook up with a couple of girls from Saltdean and we shared a taxi back to Brighton, otherwise I was having visions of staying at the airport until 5 am - I think I've spent enough nights at airports in my life.

15

Plakias / FIRE

« on: July 14, 2008, 11:11:23 PM »

Apparently there was also a fire on Skyros this weekend which laid waste to 1500 acres of forest (source: http://www.skyros.com/news.htm). It took 250 firefighters supported by hundreds of volunteers and army units from the mainland to put it out.   Odd that there's been little if anything about all this in UK media.  I'm flying to Crete tomorrow with some trepidation ...