Elounda Area Information
original content © simplycreteholidays ltd 2006
Simply Crete Holidays
Quality Villas, Apartments, Traditional Cottages and Hotels in Crete
Places of interest in Elounda


    Elounda is located some 9km north of Agios Nikolaos and is reached via
    a good new road which has an observation point at its summit followed
    by a winding drop, past the turnings to the large hotels( Elounda Beach,
    Elounda Gulf, Elounda Mare, Porto Elounda), into the town itself. The
    area which is conventionally known as Elounda is, in fact, a smaller
    village called Schisma which houses the harbour and main square. In the
    summer many pleasure boats depart from this area for the island of
    Spinalonga. Sadly, the area is now experiencing large amounts of
    building work for new villas, due to the expanding real estate market,
    and many traditional visitors find this intrusive.

    Although the luxury hotels P.R departments have painted a 5 star
    picture of the resort, the main harbour area is often densely populated
    with package tourists and day visitors from other parts of the island.
    Do not expect to find high quality restaurants or accommodation
    outside the luxuy hotel strip. Basic tavernas and satellite television bars
    are the norm around the harbour area although you can find some gems
    if you know where to look.

    The area has some of the most spectacular scenery in Crete and the
    smaller villages of Kato Elounda and Epano Elounda still exude their
    natural charm due to some sympathetic renovation work. Other villages,
    such as Mavrikiano, are suffering from extensive new building
    developments and have lost their original attractiveness to a great extent.

    Even visitors who have stayed in Elounda many times often neglect to
    discover the wildlife and history of the area, much of which is to be
    found by the salt pans to the south of Schisma. The sunken city of
    Olous is nearby and the canal and old windmills are also worth a visit on
    your way to the preserved mosaic floor of a Byzantine period basillica.
    The peninsular of Spinalonga (the island with the fortress is actually
    called Kalydon) is an excellent place to walk and see wild flowers, birds
    and wildlife

    Elounda remains a wonderful place to stay and there are still some very
    good accommodations available, particularly in the Tsifliki area between
    Schisma and Plaka. Often depicted as a family resort by some tour
    operators, Elounda is probably more suited to couples of all ages.