Topics

1

Where to stay / Kids learning English

« on: February 09, 2008, 01:28:26 PM »

It looks like my next trip to Plakias will be my first not staying at the Youth Hostel. I have a 2 year old son who lives in Germany, and if I can't bring him to America to see my relatives this year, my 2nd choice is to Plakias during May (when I all the youth hostel regulars I know will be there).

Can anyone recommend a hotel to stay at which has plenty of English speaking children (and preferrably little or no German speaking ones). The last point is because he needs to be in a place where he won't have any luck trying out German words. I also prefer a place with a pool for him, while still being in town, so it would seem Allanthios is the only place. But if the German issue is a problem there, then we'll skip the pool.

Sorry if this seems anti-German, but I just don't see the point of finally getting a vacation with my son away from his home if all I'm going to do is speak German with Germans. I can do that at home.

2

Plakias / Underwater photography

« on: April 28, 2005, 11:17:58 AM »

What's the sealife like near the beaches? I got a camera that has an underwater enclosure that I thought I'd bring to take some pictures while wading around the beaches/rocks. Assuming there's anything interesting to see underwater near the beach. Is there?

Thanks.

3

Plakias / Recent weather cool?

« on: April 28, 2005, 11:09:47 AM »

I've been watching the Chania and Rethymnon weather pages on http://wunderground.com and I've noticed the past 2 weeks they are running cooler than average for this time of year. I'm going to be arriving early next week and I'm hoping it will be warmer than a high of 62 F about every day (though I see occasionally it gets into the low 70's).

Is anyone currently in Plakias and if so is it 5-10 degrees F warmer than what it's been on those northern Crete cities? Or has it been unseasonably cooler than typical Plakias temperatures these past few weeks?

Thanks.

Jeff

4

Plakias / Currency Exchange

« on: March 15, 2005, 06:51:01 AM »

I was thinking of buying Euros before I left the US, but checking with my local currency exchange, they're giving me about .64 Euros per US Dollar, when the official exchange rate is more like .74 Euros per US Dollar. That's absurd.

I hear that people like to use ATMs in Crete to get local currency.

However, in the US, we're kind of annoyed at ATMs because we're always getting charged a fee by the operator of the ATM, plus another fee by our bank for not using one of their ATMs.

So how much does it typically cost (vs. the official exchange rate) to get Euros via an ATM in Plakias?

Checking with my bank, Washington Mutual, they charge 3 US Dollars every time I use an ATM. They also, strangely quoted an exchange rate of 1 Euro costing 1.2638 US Dollars while Yahoo.com (and other official exchange rate websites) say a Euro costs about 1.336 US Dollars). And just to confuse things, my bank thinks it has a different rate for using my ATM as a Visa... but they don't know what that rate is.

Also, my bank says my ATM card will only work in machines that are part of the Plus, Interlink or Star networks. Which (if any) of the Plakias ATMs are part of one or more of those networks?

5

Where to eat...or not! / Buying/Cooking Food in Plakias

« on: March 10, 2005, 08:38:22 AM »

Since I'm going to be staying in Plakias for a whole month, I'd don't think I'd like to budget for eating at a restaurant every day and night.

Besides, I enjoy making my own food sometimes, particularly cooking for friends.

But I wonder... I'm fortunate to live in a city (Seattle) that LOVES its food (and local beers and wines). So the variety of food I can purchase in Seattle at grocery stores, the docks where the Pacific Northwest fishing fleet comes in, and local growers food stands at places like Pike Place Market is astounding.... so I wonder what it will be like to buy my own food in Plakias? I'm not expecting it to have the same options as a city of a million people... I'm just trying to get some sense of the foods I can buy in town.

Thanks

6

Plakias / Cell Phone Coverage

« on: February 26, 2005, 10:18:08 PM »

I was checking with my carrier (T-Mobile USA/Deutsche Telekom) and it seems that I might be able to get coverage on my T-Mobile phone (for emergency use). But it's unclear from their tiny coverage maps of their affiliated partners in Crete.

Does anyone know if any of these carriers have good cell coverage in and around Plakias (and ideally in Chania/Heraklion/Rethymno depending on how I get between Crete and Athens airport)?

The companies are

Vodafone Greece(Panafon)
COSMOTE/C-Ote
TIM Greece (TeleStet. STET Hellas)

Thank you.

Jeff