Cretan Dream Resort & Spa — Chania at a slower pace

A family-run resort in the Cretan hills, a boat trip to Balos, and the feeling that June on Crete is exactly the right time of year.

Chania greets you with a harbour that looks more Italian than Greek — a leftover of the Venetian years, all narrow alleys and waterfront restaurants strung with lights. We stayed just outside the centre at Cretan Dream Resort & Spa, a low-rise family-run place set among olive groves and gardens. The pool is large and somehow never noisy, the rooms are simple and clean, and the breakfast buffet is generous with local honey, yoghurt and pastries.

The resort's grounds are its secret weapon. There's a proper garden feel, with jasmine and bougainvillea trained up the walls, and enough shaded spots that you can find a quiet corner even at the peak of the day. A small path leads through the olive trees down to a rocky swimming area on the coast — not a beach in the classic sense, but the water is clear and cool, and there's a little jetty for jumping off. The spa is small but genuinely good; a €30 massage after a day of walking Chania old town felt very civilised.

The highlight of the week was a small-boat trip from Kissamos to Balos Lagoon. We left early, before the big ferries arrived, and for a couple of hours the pink-and-white sand and the turquoise water felt almost private. The captain dropped anchor near Gramvousa so the stronger swimmers could go ashore, and we ate a packed lunch of tomatoes, cheese and bread on the boat. By mid-afternoon the day-trippers were pouring in, but by then we were already on our way back.

We split the rest of the week between beach days and slow exploring. Falasarna in the west has some of the best sunsets in Europe — we drove out one evening with a bottle of local wine and watched the sky turn pink over the Ionian. Elafonissi, further south, is worth the twisting drive for the pink sand alone. And the Samaria Gorge is a full-day expedition, but we took a shorter walk into the White Mountains from Omalos and it gave us a taste of the wild interior without the 16 kilometre commitment.

Chania itself is best in the evenings. We walked the old town most nights, stopping for dakos and raki, then ice cream by the harbour. The Venetian lighthouse is lit up after dark, the tavernas along the waterfront put out candles, and the crowds are just about the right side of busy. Our best meal was at a tiny place a couple of streets back from the water where the owner cooked and his mother did the desserts — no menu, just whatever was good that day.

The resort is a short bus or taxi ride from the centre, which we liked — it keeps the nights calm and the days easy. June is the right month: warm enough for the sea, not yet blistering, and the crowds are manageable. The pool didn't need a dawn towel raid, restaurants had tables, and the boat trip wasn't sold out. A car makes life easier if you want to see the far ends of the island, but you can absolutely do a good week here on buses and short taxi hops.