Koutouloufari is a lovely, quiet, typically Greek village nr Hersonissos town (Koutouloufari)

Member Name: janeh

Product:	Koutouloufari
Date:	17/04/01 (1260 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Village very quiet and peaceful but close enough to the main towns to stroll to for beaches, shopping and nightlife.

Disadvantages: None really

Hersonissos is on the north coastal highway, 4 miles west of Malia. 18 miles east of Heraklion and the airport. Olive groves and fruit orchards still cover much of the countryside between a myriad apartments and hotels, with a mountainous backdrop.

We stayed at nearby Koutouloufari, in the Villas Esperides. Koutouloufari is a lovely, quiet, typically Greek village. It is far enough away from Hersonissos to be peaceful, but close enough to stroll down to the beach, shopping and restaurants. We felt we had the best of both worlds. The beaches are a mix of soft sand and shingle, whilst some coastal areas are pure boulders, but no less beautiful. There are many water sports available on the main beach areas. Lots of places to eat from traditional tavernas to fast food outlets. If you want nightlife it is at Hersonissos or Malia. If you want peace & quiet stay at Koutouloufari or nearby Piskopiano. Taxis - most of which are Mercedes, are plentiful and cheap, so no need to bother hiring a car unless you want to travel to other parts of the island. If you like jewellery - this is the place to shop - every other shop is a jewellers. We went in June 1999 and they were having a heatwave - temps in excess of 40 degrees, one day 44 degrees - that's 118 degrees in old money, even the locals were complaining about the heat, every day on the news there were stories of people dying from the heat.

We found that if we stayed by the pool during the day - under a parasol and took regular dips in the pool and did nothing more exhausting than drink freshly squeezed orange juice we were ok. This heat however, is not the norm, so don't be put off.

If you want the quiet life but want to be able to shop or boogie with the best of them then this is an ideal location. Some of the roads are quite steep, so perhaps not ideal for the less able bodied but we found the strolls into town and the beach to be very relaxing.

We did find that there were l
ots of people on motorbikes - most without helmets. These can be hired out very cheaply, but judging by the way the Greeks drive, I personally would not have got within 10 feet of one.

We only paid £250 each for the week on a last minute booking, so it was well worth the cost & I would have paid more.

Although we only spent a week here, it was so laid back and peaceful it felt like a month - that's what I call a holiday!

Summary: