Crete tourist guide

On June 11, the Greek parliament adopted a new Road Traffic Code by majority vote. The new, very strict regulations are intended to help combat the most common road traffic offences, such as speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and using a mobile phone while driving.
If you have plans to travel to Greece by car or motorbike on your own this year, it is worth getting to know the new rules. They will apply not only to Greek citizens but to anyone driving on the roads there, and the Greek police will certainly be scrupulous in using the new law and the much higher tariffs.

One of the Cretan portals has recently described unfair practices used by the owners of parking lots located on the famous Elafonissi beach.

Unfair practices were used by one of the parking lots located at the top of the Google Maps screenshot
[screenshot source https://www.google.pl/maps/ ]

More than 2 years ago, the Kissamos municipal council decided to implement regulations to protect the Elafonissi beach area. Specifically, it was about closing the former wild parking lot located right next to the beach, because this area actually belonged to a protected ecological zone. In a well-understood concern for the natural environment, the municipal authorities banned parking cars in this place, and from then on, tourists had to leave their cars along the asphalt road leading to Elafonissi. The situation was quickly exploited by enterprising businessmen, and private parking lots began to be built along the access road.

In 2025, Greece took second place in the world in terms of the number of beaches awarded the Blue Flag, thus reinforcing its very high position, second only to Spain. This year, the characteristic blue flags will fly on 623 Greek beaches, 17 marinas and 17 tourist ships. This prestigious distinction testifies to the highest standards of water purity, safety and availability of beach infrastructure. Crete, as a region of Greece, received a total of 153 awards: 145 for beaches and 2 for marinas.

The end of May brought heavy rainfall to southern and central Crete, which caused major problems in several areas of the island. Particularly affected were the famous tourist spots: the Samaria and Kourtaliotiko gorges, where landslides occurred. Unfortunately, this forced the temporary closure of these places to visitors.

It is hard to imagine a bigger surprise for lovers of ancient excavations than our current news. After more than 40 years of archaeological work and recent infrastructure preparations, the former Minoan palace in Zominthos on Crete has finally been opened to visitors. What makes this palace unique is its location , because it is located at an altitude of 1,200 meters above sea level in the Psiloritis massif. It is the first and so far the only place of this type found so high.

Excavations in Zominthos - photo source https://www.ekriti.gr/

To reach Zominthos, you first need to drive to the village of Anogia, then follow the road south towards the Nida plateau. After about 7 km, you should come across the remains of this former Minoan palace. The mayor of Anogia announced the opening of the excavations. They can be visited every day except Tuesdays between 8:30 and 16:30. At the moment, we do not have information on ticket prices.

On Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 6:19 a.m., a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 on the Richter scale occurred off the coast of Crete. The epicenter was located in the sea area 56 kilometers northeast of Naples in the Lassithi region, at a depth of 60.3 km. Due to the considerable depth of the focus, the tremors were felt over a large area of Greece, including all of Crete, the southern Aegean Sea, and parts of Attica, and even Athens.