Crete for 2025?
Greece's biggest island looks set to be one of its biggest destinations next year
It looks like Crete is heading for a busy year in 2025. The first half of 2024 saw an almost 11% increase in the number of visitors compared to 2023, and the same thing is now happening for next year. Bookings already made for 2025 indicate another 11% increase over 2024.
At this rate, it won’t be long before Crete receives one million visitors a year from the UK alone, which is its third-biggest market after Germany and France. In total, Crete sees about five million tourists every year.
So if you’re thinking of going to Crete next year, don’t wait too long, especially if you need to travel during school holidays.
Anogeia
One place to consider is the village of Anogeia, which is in the mountains about an hour’s drive west from Heraklion. Last week it was designated one of the world’s Best Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Villages are chosen for their efforts to promote rural tourism, preserve natural landscapes, safeguard cultural diversity and uphold local traditions.
Anogeia is now one of 254 such villages worldwide, and only the second in Greece. The other is Soufli in the Evros region of Thrace in Eastern Greece. Anogeia is on the slopes of Mt Psiloritis and its very name means ‘Highlands’ in Greek. Among the activities offered are nature walks, learning music and dance, and learning to cook local dishes.
You can learn more about what you can do in Anogeia and how you can visit it here and here.
Till next time
Mike and Donna