Baby Friendly Hotels in Crete

Cretefor families with babies

Crete is the only Greek island where you can be on a sandy beach by 11am and in a UNESCO-listed mountain village by 4pm, and that matters more than it sounds when you have a 14 month old who naps in the car. It is 3hr 55min direct from London Gatwick to Heraklion, 4hr 5min to Chania, and there is a 2 hour time difference which most under 2s absorb within 36 hours. The island is large enough to escape the package crowds and small enough that you do not need to plan a road trip. Crete also has the deepest bench of family hotels in Greece. Daios Cove on the east coast has a private sandy crescent reached by funicular from your room (a small mercy when you are carrying a sleeping toddler and three towels). Avra Imperial outside Chania runs Worldwide Kids childcare with the Alpha Creche taking babies from 4 months. Grecotel properties along the north coast all pack proper baby gear, sterilisers, cot rentals, plus shaded buggy paths between rooms and beach. Water is warm enough for paddling toddlers from late May, and the meltemi wind that flattens the Cyclades barely touches Crete's north coast in June. Eating out with a baby is straightforward: tavernas open at 7pm, expect children, will warm a bottle, will not flinch when half the rice ends up on the floor.