BEACHES & AMUSEMENT

(All locations mentioned below are marked on your custom CRETE Map)

BEACHES of KARTEROS, AMNISSOS & TOBRUK

The Bay of Karteros is located at the exit of the homonym Gorge Karteros, 7km east of Heraklion and extends to the east for 3.5km. It is named after the Byzantine General, Krateros, who in 824AC landed on the beach with his ships in order to liberate Crete from the Saracens, but was defeated. On the long bay, there are two settlements, Karteros and Amnissos.

The area has developed so much that the two villages are now merged. The main reason for the rapid development of the area is the small distance from Heraklion and the beautiful beachfront with the fine golden sand.

There are many hotels, restaurants and beach bars nearby. Karteros Bay is open to north winds and the water is usually wavy. The water is shallow and there are no rocks, apart from a very few places. The lest crowded part of the beach is located adjacent to the airport “Nikos Kazantzakis”, 7km west of Heraklion. This part is called Florida, after an old tavern called like this (not existing anymore) and is the calmest of all beaches. There are a few umbrellas and not too many facilities around, compared to the easternmost beaches.

In Florida empties the river that runs in the Gorge of Karteros, which is definitely worth visiting especially in spring. On the beach a small wetland is formed, which dries up in summer. In Florida you should visit the old Church of St. John and St. Nikon Metanoite, which is built inside a large cave. Lastly, do not get surprised if you see horses on the beach, because there is the Riding Club of Heraklion.

1km to the east, in the middle of the bay, there is the main beach of Karteros, which is well developed and has many beach bars and the Municipal Beach of Heraklion. Here you can swim and enjoy a drink with all the necessary amenities near you. A few meters further east is the beach of Xenia. It is named after an old hotel, which has been abandoned. In Xenia there are some beach bars and an organized beach, which gathers a lot of people.

East of Xenia you will see a large hill, the hill of Paleohora, where archaeologists have identified the ruins of the ancient town Amnisos. The excavations have revealed a Minoan harbor, several buildings and an outdoor ancient temple, where Zeus Thenatas was worshipped. To the east, a Minoan villa of 1600BC was found with excellent frescoes representing the famous Lilies of Knossos. It seems that the Minoan fleet officer lived here or maybe king Minos. South of Amnissos you can visit the mysterious cave of Eileithyia.

East of the Paleohora Hill, you should visit the wonderful beach of Amnisos. It is well organized, but less crowded than the rest beaches. Just 300m north of the beach there is the small island Monocharako where you can swim. However, when you get there you have to be very careful, because there are many urchins and stepping on the rocks will be tricky. The best way to reach the islet is by renting a sea pedaller in Amnisos. According to local legend the islet was once the tip of a small peninsula that once housed the most powerful city of Crete, ruled by the King Kourkoumelis. One day, the king exclaimed "No God can demolish such a Great Kourkoumelis!" and suddenly the city sank with the only remnant being that islet!

Even further east, you will find the last part of the bay of Karteros which is called Tobruk, after the famous African resort in Libya. In Tobruk you will find many fish taverns and hotels. The beach is very well organized, but if you want to stay remote you can walk to the east, where the beach gets rockier and there are no facilities around.

WATER CITY - ANOPOLIS

WATERCITY is an aquatic park in the area of Anopolis, between Hersonissos and Heraklion on Crete, Greece. It has 34 water games in 80,000 square meters.

Please, visit the parks website for more information on prices and services.

CRETAQUARIUM

CRETAQUARIUM FIRST OPENED ITS DOORS TO THE PUBLIC IN DECEMBER 2005.

It has recently undergone extensive renovation, involving the addition of new tanks, species, educational programmes and innovative services. As one of Europe’s largest aquariums, Cretaquarium offers visitors a unique opportunity to explore the magnificent Mediterranean Sea world.

From large predator sharks to microscopic sea horses and spectacular jellyfish, the diversity of marine life is showcased against a backdrop of Cretan underwater seascapes, such as the rocks at Matala (South Crete) and the seabed at Vai (Southeast Crete).

Walking the Aquarium Visitors’ Route

The Mediterranean seascape comes to life in 60 different tanks, varying in size from 125 to 900,000 litres of sea water, totalling 1.7 million litres in all. There are one hundred observation points for visitors to admire approximately 2,500 Mediterranean and tropical organisms. A full tour taking in all exhibits and species lasts about 2 hours. On the aquarium visitors’ route, state of the art AV systems and innovative interactive devices such as touch screen info points, video projectors, a periscope, microscopes and stereoscopes for observing microscopic creatures add to the experience, providing supplementary information and helping to create a comprehensive view of how the Mediterranean marine ecosystem functions and is structured.

Guided Tours

Cretaquarium offers an individual and group audioguide system in 9 languages. Small hand-held devices that operate as simply as a mobile phone add to and enrich your visit with explanations, comments and popularized information you can listen to at your own place and as you prefer, simply by dialling the tank number. It is also possible to book individually guided tours in Greek, English or French. Tours in further languages can also be arranged if advance notification is given.

Education – Promoting Awareness

As part of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Cretaquarium popularizes and disseminates scientific knowledge about the marine world, with special emphasis on the Mediterranean and the seas around Greece.

To this end, four educational programmes have been designed and implemented, focusing on Ocean Plankton; Diversity and Adaptability; Oceans in Constant Motion; and Evolution and Comparison of Marine Species.

The programmes are adapted according to level and curriculum. In groups of around 20, primary and secondary school pupils learn about the key phenomena in marine physics and biology via hands-on, innovative teaching methods. In making use of its facilities to preserve living marine species, the aquarium offers pupils the opportunity to study them in live laboratory conditions, using stereoscopes and microscopes, as well as to carry out focused observation in larger tanks on the visitors’ route, with assistance from Aquarium staff. If an entire school wishes to make an ordinary group visit, the specialist staff on the visitors’ route is there to answer any questions in detail.

Cretaquarium also offers schools in remote areas the chance to make a distance visit via webcam. Once arrangements regarding technical details have been made with Cretaquarium staff, the virtual tour is held live, using interactive communication. Visitors can act as they would at the aquarium, asking questions and focusing on what interests them most.

Further information on the above is available at www.cretaquarium.gr or on +30 2810 337888.

DINOSAURIA PARK

Dinosauria Park is the Dinosaur Park which is located in Gournes, in the Municipality of Chersonissos and it is housed in the former American Base. It has been operating since 2013 in a huge area of 2500 m2 and hosts over 30 different kinds of dinosaurs from Mesozoic Era, known also as the Age of Reptiles (252 to 66 million years ago) and other prehistoric animals.

Dinosauria Park is an interactive theme park, where everyone, either young or old, can learn everything about dinosaurs by seeing dinosaurs’ simulacrums in their natural size and exploring prehistoric life in unbelievable jungle scenery. Everyone can see a rare and hard-to-find collection of bones and fossils in the Dinosauria Park museum.

Made up of dozens of dinosaurs, Dinosauria Park offers a time travel into the past. The dinosaurs exhibited in the museum, are from three different periods during the Mesozoic Era – the Triassic period (251 -199.6 million years ago), the Jurassic period (199.6 – 145.5 million years ago) and the Cretaceous period (145.5 – 65.5 million years ago). There are identical replicas of huge dinosaurs that move and scream with realistic sounds offering a lot of action to the whole family.

The visitors can also watch the hatching of a dinosaur’s egg under artificial conditions, the specialized care of a newborn baby dinosaur and the care of the injured and sick dinosaurs in the state-of-the-art facilities of the General Hospital of Dinosaurs. Moreover, in a specially designed area, children, as young explorers can come into contact with fossil excavations and participate in educative activities and all these under the supervision of trained people. Children can also play various educational games and are engaged in constructions.

Through interactive screens, visitors have the opportunity to learn about the dinosaurs’ life, their diet and their everyday habits. Also, visitors can learn how dinosaurs disappeared and the possible reasons for it. There are also 5D and 7D cinemas that offer an unforgettable experience through three-dimensional film projections.

Lastly, there is a snack bar, a restaurant, a playground and a gift shop, where games and souvenirs concerning the dinosaurs are sold, in the park. Dinosauria Park is a magical destination in order to be explored in depth the Dinosaur World and dinosaurs in their prehistoric existence.

For further details, visit Dinosauria Park’s website.

Giorgos Petredes

Mobile: +30 69 406 15 904
email: giorgospetredes@gmail.com

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