Greece - Crete

Well I will make Crete my first review as it is the freshest trip in my memory.
TOTALLY KID FRIENDLY
We spent 1 week in the small village of Sissi, a quaint fishing village about 40kms east of Heraklion. The perfect village to take a kid to, lots of families and not too many partying teenagers.

Crete felt really safe, the people are very family orientated and love kids. So we felt right at home lugging her around. We took our buggy and a ring sling. The buggy was usable round the big cities but we definitely needed our sling as some of the smaller towns had pretty rough streets.

We stayed at Hotel Maria as part of a last minute cheap package. I probably wouldn't recommend the place for it cleanliness but the hosts were very friendly and their children were around a lot. They did provide us with a portacot but again it wasn't the cleanest. The pool was good fun and they did have a blow up thing G could sit in which allowed us the parents to swim. So some brownie points there.

We spent many hours down at the "beach". We mainly swam at the harbour. We at first found this a little disappointing in terms of what we were expecting, but in the end it proved to be the safest beach for G. Sorry I don't know the name of this beach but it is the only sand beach in Sissi itself. I promise from now on I will make sure I get the names and proper directions for these places.
We decided to head down to Bufos Beach, a good ten minute walk away from where we were staying. This was good fun for G first thing in the morning but as the tide came in the beach became a little unsafe for her. But they did have some kids swings, a trampoline and a pool so that kept her occupied for a while. We decided to rent 2 loungers and an umbrella as we wanted to make a day of it if possible. It cost 8 euro so not too bad for some comfort and shade.
We went to another couple of beaches but I cant remember the names. Be prepared for lots of rocky beaches and waves in Crete. I think I kind of imagined long white beaches that G could spend hours playing on but in reality we had to keep a very close eye on her.

I will mention a few places that we ate at that were extra kid friendly, but everywhere else was great too. Most places had highchairs
The Pink Flamingo had a great outside kids playground. G spent many hours there playing while we had a beer or two, or a meal. They have a kids menu with most items about 5 euros. The host were very friendly. They are English so the menu was in Greek, English, German and French also possibly.
We ate breakfast at a very local cafe. we spoke no Greek and she spoke no English but we managed to survive. She makes the best local doughnuts with honey and cinnamon. They had some great tables outside to watch local village life go by. I have no idea of the name of the establishment but it is on the main road just down the road from Hotel Maria and opposite a small supermarket.

I think I'll add to this as time goes on and I remember more. For now I have just spotted some blisters on G's hands and feet, what does foot and mouth look like?????

Why I succume to having a blog

Well 6 months ago I hated blogs and never read one. Now I read a couple regularly and find them interesting. I made the decision in Greece to start a travelling with kids blog. I thought it would be pretty cool to make a list of all the kid friendly(or not friendly) places we found in each city. Who knows if anyone will read this? Who cares?