The fashionable resort of Elounda is located in the western part of Mirabello Bay, 80 km from the capital of Crete and the airport, and 11 km from the town of Agios Nikolaos. It is well located opposite the entrance to a small beautiful bay and is protected from sea winds and steep waves by the bend of the peninsula. There are luxury hotels, numerous cafes and restaurants, various shops and souvenir shops.
According to wholevehicles, the most prestigious resort of Crete, Elounda is the pride of Crete, its real decoration. A resort was built just 1 km from the ancient city of Olus. The choice of location is not accidental: all this is the influence of the myths of Minoan Crete (Olus was one of the most important cities of Ancient Crete) and the circumstances of modern history. Elounda is a world-famous resort, so tourists can be found here from everywhere. They are attracted by the landscape of the area – very picturesque and diverse, the climate – mild and warm, excellent ecology, clear sea. Even the fishing boats that moor at the pier near the promenade look beautiful, smart and carefree. The boats are absolutely real, every morning they come from the sea with a catch, many tourists come to admire this spectacle and take pictures of it.
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The resort is built on the shores of a small lagoon and a peninsula that functions as a natural breakwater. In the 19th century, a canal was dug, which still separates the peninsula from the mainland. Numerous cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, shops and bars are located on the banks. All this forms a motley, very attractive picture of a carefree resort life.
Modern Elounda consists of two parts – the new and the old city. In the old city, there are few people, only about 600 people. Most of the city’s residents are engaged in the service of the tourist flow. In striking contrast to the luxurious resort are the surrounding villages: Mauritius, Skisma, Upper and Lower Pines. Picturesquely scattered along the coast, they live their own lives, their inhabitants work, the aroma of Greek coffee stretches from coffee houses, a small steamboat scurries from village to village. A walk around the neighborhood will help you see a slightly different life on the island of Crete than the life of a fashionable resort.
Hotels
Several very attractive hotels have been built on the embankment. I must say that hotels in Elounda are mostly expensive and fashionable – prestigious. The hotels of the Elounda chain are known all over the world, the belonging of the hotel to which means that everything in it will be of the highest quality.
The level of service here is very high, the variety of services provided is huge, the hotel staff is professionally trained. Since holidays in Elounda are romantic in nature, many hotels offer special rooms and packages for honeymooners who come to spend their honeymoon in the resort.
Cuisine and restaurants
Guests of the resort are ready to hospitably meet a variety of restaurants offering local, Cretan, and Greek cuisine. In the evenings, many restaurants offer a variety of live music or entertainment shows. One of the traditional entertainments in Elounda is a romantic dinner on a yacht in the open sea.
Beaches
The beaches of Elounda are wonderful, in addition, they are well protected from the winds, so the swimming season here lasts until mid-November. The infrastructure of the beaches is rich and well organized. Here you can go in for water sports, play tennis or team games, take a bike ride. Much attention is paid to the safety of vacationers. In particular, there are no random people in the rescue service of the resort, all its employees have received special training and have the appropriate certificates.
Entertainment and attractions of Elounda
Elounda was built on the site of an ancient Greek settlement, part of which is now flooded by the sea: the ancient ruins are clearly visible through the clear waters of the bay. At the entrance to the bay, opposite Elounda, there is a small island of Spinalonga, which since ancient times served as a fortress-fort and has a rich history. In summer, excursion boats depart hourly from the port of Elounda (15 minutes) towards the famous island.
This fortress was founded by the Venetians in 1579 to protect the port. In 1715, it passed into the possession of the Ottoman Empire, and in the 20th century it served as a leper colony.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Greeks, fearing that the Turks would take away from them such an important strategically important island of Spinalonga, set up a shelter for leprosy patients on it. The reluctance to contract this terrible disease has stopped the invaders ever since. By the middle of the 20th century, it became clear that this disease was curable, the patients were sent for treatment, and the shelter ceased to exist. Today the island is a historical monument, its buildings remember the drama of the life of the leper colony, the tour makes a very strong impression.
Elounda is the real pride of the Greek tourism industry, namely the industry. After all, such a level of services as here can be achieved only by applying modern technologies for organizing a resort and resort management.