Journey to Southernmost Crete: A Driving Tour from Agios Nikolaos to Ierapetra

Are you ready for an adventure? Drive through one of Crete’s last truly forested areas, known as the Prina forest, to the island’s southernmost city. This driving tour winds through forests and coastal roads to Ierapetra, where you can follow in the footsteps of Napoleon, who once stayed here on his way to Egypt.

The tour starts in the town of Agios Nikolaos. Shortly after, you will learn about Kritsotopoula, the resistance heroine who disguised herself as a man, and helped make Kritsa one of the most beautiful villages in Crete.

You’ll pass deserted villages, with views of the Bramiana reservoir and the many greenhouses there, introduced to the island by Dutchman Paul Kuipers to significantly increase harvests. I’ll give you the option to stop just before the mountain village of Kalamafka, where you can photograph both the Cretan and Libyan seas from a single viewpoint.

Along the way, you’ll have the chance to:

• Find out about one of Ancient Crete’s most important city-states and best-preserved cities from the classical Hellenistic period, the Ancient City of Lato
• Pass the very special Byzantine church of Panagia i Kera, with its colorful frescoes
• Take in the view over Kritsa and, with a bit of imagination, you might even see the shape of a scorpion as you drive past towering eucalyptus trees
• Enjoy a breathtaking view of Voulisma Beach and Mirabello Bay, the largest natural bay in Crete and the fifth largest in the entire Mediterranean
• Hear local stories about the struggle against the Ottoman Turks, and how memories of that resistance are symbolized in the Greek flag
• Visit the region’s largest olive factory in the village of Malles, where farmers from the surrounding area have their olives pressed to obtain the liquid gold
• Explore Mirtos, a charming seaside town with a pebble beach and lovely promenade, with the highest average temperature in the region

This 180-minute driving tour ends in Ierapetra, Crete’s southernmost city, where you can linger to enjoy its harbor and promenade. On your return journey to Agios Nikolaos via the narrowest part of the island, you could visit the village of Istro with its azure waters, and unwind on the beach at Voulisma Bay.