Walking in Makrigialos .: Makrigialos Villas :. at Grapevines Villas Complex

Local watersports on village beach Agios Nikolaos Pervolakia gorge entrance Snorkelling off Long Beach

Activities and Exploring

Many activities are available locally. These include tennis, mini-golf, a range of beach sports, banana boats, water skiing, sailboat hire, quad bikes, mountain bikes, motor boats, horse-riding (Ierapetra), aqua park (Heraklion). Wine-tasting at the Kaspa monastery is a popular outing. Many of our guests have enjoyed the day boat trip from Makrigialos harbour to nearby Koufonissi island.

For younger children there is a mini-quad bike track and soft play area.

There are many beautiful walks in the area. It's a good habit to take a small bottle of water with you. One of our favourite walks is simply to stroll along the promenade past the harbour and up to the headland for views over the bay.

Spinalonga

Excursion boats leave every hour from the harbour in Agios Nikolaos. Some include an all day excursion with BBQ. You can also go from Elounda. There is a small entrance fee to Spinalonga and guides are available for hire. If you’ve read ‘The Island’ this is definitely worthwhile.

Ierapetra

Ierapetra is about a half hour drive west from Makrigialos, is the fourth largest town in Crete, and is the only major town on the south coast. Its ancient harbour which goes back to Roman times is still a working port. It has a traffic free promenade with seafront cafes, plenty of shops and a covered market. The local Summer festival, Kirvia, has many events focused on music, dance, theatre and art. There are boat trips to Chrissi island (or ‘Gaidouronissi’ – ‘Donkey Island’, from the old tradition of retiring donkeys on uninhabited islands), a tiny picturesque uninhabited island of cedar forest, with an old chapel of St. Nicholas and white sandy beaches, just 8 miles off the port of Ierapetra.

Sitia

We like Sitia! It is a very pleasant drive up to the north coastal town, a typical small Mediterranean port, built around a semicircular bay with a sandy town beach. Everyone seems to head there about 5 o’clock after the day’s work is done. In the evening the harbour area bustles with tourists and the locals out for a stroll or heading for the many cafes and tavernas which provide mainly Greek cuisine.

Vai

From Sitia take a drive to the thick palm tree-lined beach at Vai. This is the beach in the 'Bounty' commercial.

Gorge walks

Butterfly Gorge A walk of about 3 miles or 5km either starting at the Koutsouras Community Park or a gate off the main road to Orino (about 6 miles or 10 km from Koutsouras. Some scrambling involved but otherwise reasonably well signposted. It is not a circular walk.

Pervolakia Gorge

The Kapsa or Pervolakia Gorge is about 9kms from Makrigialos. Access the Gorge either by the Moni Kapsa Monestary or from the coast road. There is a small beach on the other side of the road allowing you to cool off after the heat of the gorge.