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Greece - Crete - Loutro

On the south side of the island of Crete is a most unique place for a vacation spot. In our modern rapid-paced world, it might even be a little hard to imagine a village in which there are no cars, or motorcyles, trucks, or even buses - just an unhurried place to take your time - welcome to Loutro. Other things that you might expect to find anywhere else - are not here - not even television, radios, or phones!

This little town, shaped around a horseshoe-shaped bay, has every place right near the water. In fact, every house, villa, or tavernas is only one or two houses away from the water front. One hotel, in fact, boasts that it is only five steps above the water - so getting to the beach is very easy - and no traffic to wait for. The reason for no traffic - the only way to get there is either by boat, or on foot. Though a ferry comes to the place, few people actually go there, because they are often going to ride the ferry on their way to somewhere else, and so, it seems that many people never even know it is really there.

The village itself is very small, only taking about five minutes to walk from one end of the horseshoe to the other. Most of the boats coming to Loutro are delivering food and supplies to the restaurants (tavernas) and stores. In the summer months, just about everyone there is a visitor (about 95%). The people are very friendly, and you would find a welcome there like in very few other places.

Right there in Loutro, the thing you want to do is just to relax, and catch in some swimming. Plenty of beautiful water - and close at hand. There are another two beaches not far away, at Sweetwater and Marmara, if you are up to a little hike - between 30 minutes to an hour. The town is at the foot of a large hill, and if you like to hike, there is an excellent archeological site on top - with ruins - and a great view of the Mediterranean. Other ruins are nearby, Frangokastello, and a little walk will bring you to them, too. Other places nearby, make Loutro a hiker’s paradise. This includes the wonderful places of Anopolis (which is a vertical climb that will take about 75 minutes); Aradena, and the Gorge near it – with walk times that depend on the paths you travel (about 1 – 3 hours); or Livaniana, the literal ghost town about 60 – 90 minutes away.

One of the most common places that people go to from Loutro is the Samarian Gorge, which is the only state park in Crete. Agia Roumeli is the port that you will need to ride the ferry to, and the Gorge is next to it. The Gorge offers a rather strenuous hike, being quite steep at times, but well worth the visit.

Plenty of accommodations, with the utmost conveniences, can be found at the well-

equipped hotels and villas in this seaside village. At various points along the shore there are a number of tavernas (restaurants) that offer the best in Cretan dishes – just waiting for you to leave the hustle and bustle of the world behind.