The Area

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Morpheas Apartments as starting point for excursions

Plakias is known as an ideal starting point for excursions to explore the surrounding area with its natural beauty.

is of course high on the list of destinations. It is “The City” of the area, situated at the northern coast of Crete, only 30 km away. On your way to Rethymnon you will pass beautiful narrow gorges, picturesque villages and maybe experience the Cretan way of motoring. Just let them pass and admire them for their courage. They live here and usually know what they’re doing.
Rethymnon itself offers endless shopping possibilities, lots of nice taverns and coffee houses, a lively night life and the air of Cretan – Venetian and Cretan – Turkish history. The Old Town, Venetian Harbour, the impressive town castle Fortezza is a must. Don’t miss the festivals there.

Kryoneritis (1312 m.), Kouroupas (984 m.), Holy Cross (1133 m.), Dry Mountain (904 m.) are waiting to be explored especially in spring when nature is full of colors, flavors and temperatures are suitable for walking.
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The Monastery of Preveli from the 18th century is a harmonious architectural complex, with rare paintings and icons, and a wonderful Holy Cross. Preveli was famous for the continuous and tireless efforts on educating the enslaved people.
In the region you will meet unique natural beauty, stunning beaches, crystal clear waters, some deserted and others crowded, one following the other between steep mountains sinking into the sea like “The Lake of Preveli”, The beaches of Damnoni, Souda, Shinaria, Ammoudi and a bit away: Agios Pavlos, Triopetra, Ligres, Agia Fotia, Korakas, and Frangokastello.

Apart from the endless hikes in neighboring canyons and villages, you can have other activities. Horse riding and riding lessons, diving, climbing the imposing vertical cliff of Paligremnos. Cycling and adjacent beach Damnoni many kinds of water sports. With the boat you can visit the nearby beaches starting from Plakias. There are some routes even to Gavdos, the southernmost island of Europe.

The Aquarium “Thalassocosmos” in Gournes near Heraklion is a very interesting place to visit. It is one of the most modern and largest aquariums in Europe with more than 1500 marine organisms.

Knossos is the most important archeological site in Crete. The pioneering Minoan civilization, still fascinates the world.

Apart from nearby canyons many visitors explore the well known majestic Samaria Gorge going down from Omalos to Agia Roumeli.

The famous Arkadi Monastery and the beautiful Monastery of Agia Triada on the Akrotiri peninsula near Chania are also very worthwhile destinations for day trips.