Eloúnda

thumb By plane Flights are available to Heraklion Airport (HER) near Heraklion (about away, 1 hour's drive) from many European countries and via Athens from elsewhere. Drive on E74 to Agios Nikolaos and then turn for Elounda. By bus A local bus service with modern air-conditioned buses is available. Take a bus to Agios Nikolaos and get a connecting bus to Elounda. By ferry Major ferry lines operate to the port of Herakleion, connecting with bus services at the main bus station near to the port. Ferries run to the nearby town of Agios Nikolaos via LANE lines from Piraeus and Rhodes.

By car Car rental is available. By bus Good and modern public transport is provided by the KTEL bus company. On foot Elounda is a cosmopolitan town/village with a small fishing port. It has several sandy beaches all in walking distance from the centre (square) The square has many bars, restaurants and fast food businesses. You can even find a few kafenions here the real traditional watering holes. Elounda's fishing port also offers boat trips to the nearby Island of Spinalonga (Kalidon) which in the past was used as a leper colony. Near the main beach a little way from the square is a children's play area. There are shops, bars and restaurants close by. The beach has been awarded the blue flag. Near this beach there is also boat trips and one boat called the Shark's Eye has a glass bottom and is a hydrofoil. If you walk back through the square to the other end..you will see a street going up a bank. You probably came down this street on your coach. On this street there are shops, bars, restaurants and jewellery shops, fashion shops, tourist shops, and even a couple of night clubs. Going further up this street you will see a cut going down to the left. You will see a sign saying "Sanken City of Olous"(yes, sanken) This was the original Elounda many questions are being asked about this city "was Olous the real Atlantis from Myths and Legends?" As you walk along the causeway you may still see some of the walls of the city in the water. Keep walking and you will come across a small beach, with a large old stone building at the end of it. It was built as a storage building.

Spinalonga Island 300px| Spinalonga Island (Σπιναλόγκα) is the setting for the bestseller The Island by Victoria Hislop that was made into a popular television mini-series. The novel chronicles the history of the island as a leper colony through the lives of a family from Plaka. Spinalonga Island is easily accessed by boat from Agios Nikolaos, Elounda, and the small village of Plaka. The island of Spinalonga (Καλυδών, Kalidon) has captured the imagination of many throughout its long history. Since millennia past, artists, musicians and authors have romanticised and written about this island. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions on Crete, and annually thousands of visitors walk along the narrow streets through the village on Spinalonga. The name 'Spinalonga,' which means 'Long Thorn,' came from the Venetians after a small island near Venice. The official name is Kalidon, but so well known is its former name that even the sign posts and the boats that take you to the island will call it only by its Venetian name. Spinalonga is an island fortress on the southwestern entrance to the Gulf of Elounda. It is 5.6 km away from Skisma (the central village of Elounda). On the rocky island of Spinalonga, a fortress was built even from ancient ages to protect the port of the ancient Eloundians.

The Shark's Eye Boat Tour. The Eklektos bookshop for a diverse choice of literature, including those recommended by the helpful proprietor. Visit the next village of Plaka on the Happy Train, which you can catch in the square. You can also take a trip to Spinalonga from Plaka.

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