Lovers of island holidays often choose to visit the Greek islands, and Crete is the real leader among them. It attracts tourists not only with the opportunity to pamper themselves in the southern sun, on the shores of the most romantic of the seas, while settling in one of the cozy family hotels, for example, Aparthotel Sofia Mythos Beach 3(Greece / Crete / Rethymnon), but also an incredible the number of historical sights that we dream of seeing since school.
Mysterious Minotaur Island
Crete is the largest of the Greek islands. From ancient legends, we know that this piece of land, surrounded on all sides by the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea, is considered the birthplace of the supreme god of the ancient Greeks - Zeus. This heavenly place is also the birthplace of the Minoan civilization. So far onExcavations are underway on the island, and archaeologists find the most valuable exhibits, which, after careful research, are transferred to museums.
Crete is a real paradise for excursion lovers. Despite the fact that holidays in these parts are considered expensive, if you wish, you can find budget options. For example, if you stay in a three-star family hotel on the second beach line, such as Aparthotel Sofia Mythos Beach 3, you can save a lot, and breakfasts and dinners in almost all hotels of this category are included in the cost of living. In addition, in apart-hotels, as a rule, kitchens are equipped in the rooms, and if necessary, you can cook your own food.
By the way, almost all the beaches of the island are municipal, so vacationers can change beaches, and for free, and enjoy the seascapes from different angles. The island is washed by the waters of three seas at once: the Ionian, Aegean and Libyan. Beaches in different areas can be pebbly, sandy or mixed. Sometimes underwater rocks make it difficult to enter the sea, and many beaches have pontoons. But the water is equally clean and transparent everywhere, so you can see the bottom.
Weather in Crete
This island is the southernmost in the Greek archipelago, so here the swimming season lasts longer than in mainland Greece, and on many islands. The climate here is typical subtropical, and the humidity is optimal, about 50 percent. It is a very sunny island with over 300 days of sunshine a year. Surely this is the main advantage of Crete overislands that are located in the tropical and equatorial zones and on which the rainy season rages in the summer months. Moreover, in the summer months there is a real heat here, but May and September are milder and more pleasant. In addition, at the beginning and end of the season, the cost of living in hotels is much lower than at the very height, and if you stay in a modest but very comfortable family hotel, for example, in Sofia Mythos Beach 3(Crete), then the rest can be called economical.
How to get there
If you bought tours to Bali, not to an island in the Indian Ocean, but on the coast of the bay of the same name in Crete, then it is best for you to buy a ticket to the main airport of the island, which is located in Heraklion. Both regular and charter flights depart here from Moscow and other major cities of Russia. In addition, you can go first to the Greek capital, the city of Athens, and then, transferring to the ferry, sail to Crete. Both options are quite real, but the standard tours to Bali, which are offered by most tour operators, include air travel to Nikos Kazantzaki Airport (Heraklion). They, as a rule, include a transfer from the capital to the desired resort, in this case to Bali, where the above-mentioned Sofia Mythos Beach 3 hotel is located.
Crete is the center of tourism in Greece, the tourist infrastructure is well developed here, and yet on the island you can find many beautiful places that civilization has touched only slightly, without violating the originality and natural charm. This is the village of Bali. This is a small fishing village located 45kilometers from Heraklion. There are several cozy hotels here. These are mostly “triples”, like the Aparthotel Sofia Mythos Beach 3. The descent from the hotels to the sea is quite steep. But from the windows of the hotels, truly wonderful seascapes open up, which you can admire all day long.
Sofia Mythos Beach 3(Greece/Bali/Crete): general description and location
This hotel consists of two buildings: "Sofia" and "Mythos". The buildings were last renovated in 2006. The first is located on a hill 100 meters from the coast, but the second is right in the beach area. Near them there is a port and a pier, and guests in the evenings can admire the lights of the ships that have landed in the bay, and in the morning - the snow-white sails of yachts soaring over the azure surface. From the entertainment area, of which there are not so many here, the hotel is also 200 meters away, but about 2 kilometers to the bus stop. That is why the most optimal solution for tourists who come here for a lot of impressions from visiting numerous attractions is to rent a car. To do this, you need to have an international driver's license with you.
Rooms
Aparthotel Sofia Mythos Beach 3 offers tourists 70 comfortable and furnished rooms of different categories: single and family apartments. All rooms are equipped with small kitchens with refrigerators, balconies or terraces, a bathroom with a shower, a hairdryer, etc. For an additional fee, guestsTV and air conditioning are provided. For a fee, there is also a personal safe for storing valuables and money, as well as a mini-bar. The rooms also have a telephone, radio, satellite TV, etc. Rooms are cleaned once a week, but linen and towels are changed every other day.
Food
Various delicious vegetable and meat dishes, a huge assortment of cheeses and sausages - all this is rich in sunny Greece. Sofia Mythos Beach 3 operates on a half board basis. This means that guests are provided with breakfast and dinner. According to the reviews of vacationers, the food here is very tasty. In the morning there is always porridge for children, which is very convenient for families with kids. On the buffet you can find a lot of snacks, especially cheeses and dairy products, fruits and vegetables. The menu consists of Mediterranean and traditional European dishes. There is always fresh baked goods for breakfast. Lunch can be ordered for an additional fee at the a la carte restaurant, which is located on the veranda overlooking the sea. However, most tourists prefer to dine in the village or on excursion sites.
Infrastructure
Aparthotel Sofia Mythos Beach 3 has an outdoor swimming pool. For fans of sports entertainment there is also billiards and ping-pong. For children there is a playground. There is no animation program at the hotel, but there is live music in the evenings. Dance lovers can attend themed evenings that are held in the village. For those who wish to rent a car,there is a car rental point, as well as parking. The hotel offers a first-aid post, laundry and dry cleaning, a currency exchange office, a tour desk, etc.
Beach
There are four sandy beaches in Bali Bay, which are located in small coves. The very first from the track is the most spacious and open to the winds, there are quite strong waves here, and surfers visit this particular beach. The second bay is the calmest, but the third, the beach of which is located in the immediate vicinity of the Sofia Mythos Beach hotel, or rather, on which the Mythos building is located, is the busiest. That is why hotel guests sometimes prefer to relax in the second or fourth bay, near the Evita hotel.
However, in the morning it is more convenient for tourists to go to the nearest beach. Here for the services of vacationers - sun loungers and umbrellas (for a fee), beach volleyball (for free), diving lessons, motorized and non-motorized sports (for a fee), etc.
Tours
No matter what part of the island their hotel is located in, many tourists try to visit as many attractions as possible. After all, Crete is a real open-air museum. Experienced tourists believe that everyone who ends up on this island needs to do 6 mandatory things:
- Visit Balos Bay and admire the “kiss of the three seas”. It is in this place that the three seas that wash the shores of the Minotaur Island are connected.
- Go to the beach "Vai" and be among the real hippies.
- Visit the town of Santorini.
- Try to solve the mystery of the labyrinth of the Minotaur.
- Get to a themed Greek evening and dance sirtaki on the seashore.
- Learn to scuba dive and explore the seabed.
Some excursions can be booked at the hotel's tour desk, but the same can be done in the village, and for a smaller fee. Most tourists do just that. But those of the guests who rent a car during their stay on the island go to attractions without a guide, but they can always join one group or another.
Sofia Mythos Beach Hotel 3(Crete): vacationer reviews
If you look at the comments on the information resources where this hotel is presented, you will notice a very strange thing: many reviews are completely opposite. Someone expresses gratitude for the excellent service and friendliness of the owners and hotel staff, while others, on the contrary, give examples of various unpleasant incidents between them and the employees of the Sofia Mythos Beach 3hotel. The reviews of some tourists about the cuisine and the restaurant are laudatory, while others complain about the stale food and poor sanitary conditions. What is it connected with? The answer seems to be quite simple. Some of the Russian tourists, wanting to save on accommodation, choose not a four- or five-star hotel, but the most ordinary budget three, and then, once they get into it, they forget about their motives and begin to demand deluxe service. However, this is simply not possible. Foreigners, for example,they will never demand conditions from a three-star hotel that are only found in luxury hotels. This must be taken into account when choosing a tour. If comfort is very important to you, then you should fork out and buy a ticket to a luxury hotel.
In their reviews, some tourists write that the rooms were cleaned once a week. However, this is quite normal, for that it is a three-star hotel. The same goes for the issue of nutrition. The kitchen of a 3-star hotel can't provide a wide variety of dining options, although this hotel is never short of goodies, and positive reviews speak for it.
