Glad I could help! Have fun in Greece!

George

We’ll share our vacation when we return!

Best regards
Pedro

Hello Pedro,
First of all, don’t let airlines ruin your Greek holiday. I’m glad you and your family are visiting Greece this summer. 🙂
To your questions:

1) I find Chania a much better option. The Old Town of Chania is beautiful, and the vibe is better, in my opinion, than Herakleion. The latter feels more like a proper city. While the New Town of Chania isn’t memorable, the Old Town is truly beautiful. Plus, Chania is much closer to some of the island’s best beaches: Falassarna, Elafonissi, Balos, etc.

2) I don’t think you’ll have any problems renting a car in Crete. Since Herakleion is bigger, I’d expect a greater variety. However, in Chania, you will also find plenty of car rentals.

3) Don’t stress about ferry companies. Book the most convenient one. Both Blue Star Ferries and Minoan Lines are great options, and the journey will be smooth. Sometimes, there might be slight differences between ferries, but overall, I’d hop in the most convenient one.

There are two articles on the blog about Crete: one about how to reach it from Athens here and a short guide about Crete here. Feel free to have a look for some inspiration. Also, feel free to comment there before or after your vacation and share your impressions -I’d love to know if you enjoyed the island.

Take care & have a fantastic holiday, all four of you!
George

Unfortunately we couldn’t book a proper flight due to issues with lufhthansa and swissair. Since our new trip is shorter by a couple of days shorter, we’re planning to go to Crete and back to Athens between 29 of august and 3 of September. Both will be night trips. That way we’ll be sleeping and traveling at the same time. What would be your advice of port? Chania or Heraklion? I’ve read that beaches in the region of Chania are better and less crowded. Will it be the same getting a car hire? It seems that cars are better and cheaper at Heraklion. And, hoping i’m not taking to much advantage of your help, are Minoan Lines better than Blue Star or more or less the same?

Thank you again
Pedro in a family of 4 trip of culture and beaches.

Hey Sarah,

You can travel between Port de Soller and Soller by tram. I’m not sure if you can pre-book tickets online for this itinerary, but you can definitely buy a tram ticket for the route. Locals also use the tram for their daily needs, so I believe that they won’t sell online tickets just for this itinerary.

The best advice I can give you is to buy your tickets when you are in Mallorca. I don’t believe that the train will be packed in June, and if you buy it a day or two in advance, you can get your tram ticket to Soller, look around, and then embark on the train to Palma.

Have a great time in Mallorca 🙂
George

Never mind, John: since you already enjoyed Copenhagen’s delicious food, next time, you’ll dedicate yourself to writing about everything else 🙂

Tivoli was closed for the winter, so I didn’t have the chance to visit it. However, I’ve been there on a previous visit to Copenhagen, and it’s really fun. I also went to Christiania. I’m currently trying to write a guide about Copenhagen; I’ll post it hopefully next month.

Hey John,

I didn’t know you had been to Copenhagen! Do you have an article on the blog? If so, feel free to share it 🙂

Yes, food prices in Copenhagen are indeed astronomically high. So it was good that you were invited to a restaurant in Nyhavn 🙂 On the bright side of life, eating in Copenhagen is an experience. I had a fantastic time, and everything was delicious. I’d really love to revisit the eateries mentioned in the article -and there are a few more on my list for the next time I visit.

All the best,
George

Hey Pedro,

Thanks for the kind words. You have set a lovely itinerary on the Greek islands, and I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time. Regarding your question, there are often slight price differences due to different ferry companies or slightly different itineraries. For example, different companies can operate the routes, or the second itinerary calls at more ports.

I understand that price differences can be a concern. Have you checked both legs with Blue Star Ferries? If you share your dates, I’d be happy to take a quick look for you. Generally, I would expect the difference to be a couple of euros at maximum.

Yes, Ferries In Greece has a fantastic search engine, and I have always trusted it.

Best regards,
George

Hello Alexandre,

Thanks for the kind words and glad you found the Santorini tips and facts helpful. Although it often gets overcrowded, Santorini is a fascinating island offering more than just stunning landscapes. Let me know if you need more info and enjoy Santorini to the fullest!

George

Hello Sham,
It’s possible to book a gondola ride in Venice at almost any time of the day. You can check the options I mentioned above for pre-booking a gondola online. For example, this one offers rides from 9:30 am.

You can also visit the docks where gondolas are stationed in Venice and ask the gondoliers directly what time they operate. They will definitely have offers, but make sure to talk with them in advance.

If you visit during the high season, they might already be booked. That said, if you want peace of mind, it’s always better to reserve your seats online.
Let me know if you have more questions -and enjoy Venice!
Best regards,
George

The beds on Blue Star Ferries cabins are pretty narrow—I believe they are about 70 cm wide. As far as I remember, there are no double beds. If you decide to book a cabin for one person, imagine it like in hotels: you usually book a double room for single usage unless you have a shared cabin with fellow travelers. However, single cabins exist, and you never know if you’ll be given one.

Honestly, the price difference is insignificant (double cabin for single usage compared to double cabin for two people). Therefore, it’s much better to book a double cabin, have peace of mind, and enjoy your sleep. Booking one bed for two people is risky (I believe the crew monitors corridors), and I can’t recommend it.

I’m curious about the 1-bed cabin as an option for two people (one holding the cabin ticket, the other a deck ticket). The price for a 2-bed cabin for two is not much higher, but I like the flexibility to rest and/or spend time on the deck. However, when it’s time for both people to rest, do you know if it’s big enough to hold two? i.e. Is this actually 1-bed cabin or a 2-bed cabin sold as a 1-bed at a higher price? Any insights would be much appreciated!

Hello Adam,

I’m sorry to hear about your experience with Bluehost. From my side, I still consider myself a happy client. I never had issues with Bluehost and downtimes were also very rare -like once or twice for my websites through the years. Whenever I needed help I got good support from their chat.

Thanks anyway very much for commenting and I’m glad that you found a good alternative that works well for you.

Best regards,
George

God what a pain it has been trying to deal with this company. They are not proactive at all. Their support is very unskilled. They pull every trick in the book to prevent you from leaving. There are so many competitors with much better services that have been created over the years. Im happy to be with a capable company now in hostinger. They do everything right. I very strongly suggest not going with bluehost. You will regret it!