I hope you've been enjoying my posts lately. I thought I might do something different today and rustle up a few bits of info from around the WWW. These are some of the news items and blog posts that have been popular over the last few weeks. Leave me your thoughts.

Traveling to Crete and getting around at Greek Island Hopping

By plane, Crete can be reachable through the three significant airports located in the island. There's the Nikos Kazantzakis airport that is located at Heraklion, named after its famous author that produced various works 'Zorba the Greek' being one. ... A new public airport is also located in Sitia where visitors can also make use of to get into Crete. There are several flights available for Crete that usually departs from the main island of Greece. ...

the little tourist: A Note on Plane Food from the Flight to Milan

A Note on Plane Food from the Flight to Milan. Over the years I have developed a rather self-inflicted food snob reputation. Food is very important to me. High quality food is essential. All the books I read are about food. ... Naxos, Greece: Oct. 14-17. Santorini, Greece: Oct. 17-20. Crete, Greece: Oct. 20-22. Milan, Italy: Oct. 22. Casali, Italy: Oct. 22-Nov. 5. Barcelona, Spain: Nov. 5-8. Marrakech/Casablanca, Morocco: Nov. 8-20. Taipei, Taiwan: Nov. 21-? ...

Airflights.co.uk - Travel News - Dalaman, Turkey - How far will we ...

How far will we go for a cheap flight asks online specilaist airflights.co.uk. Dalaman, Turkey A new passenger airplane seating design is being considered in the UK where travellers are made to sit facing each other in rows, a bit like a bus ... Malta, Samos, Rhodes, Corfu, Kefalonia, Zante, Heraklion and Chania in Crete, Malaga, Alicante in Spain, Dalaman, Izmir Adnan and Bodrum in Turkey, Paphos and Larnaca in Cyprus, the Canary islands as well as Cheap flights and All ...

Hope you enjoy the read as much as I did and please if you have something to say, use the comments form below to let everyone know your thoughts.

Have a great day!

Technorati Tags: cheap plane flights to crete

A Crete Travel Guide

The Mediterranean island of Crete is a favorite for Europeans who are looking for a second home, vacation spot or retirement haven. It has year round sunshine and beautiful scenery, and is currently undergoing a development boom. Crete has over 1,000 kilometers of coastline, is the largest island in Greece and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean, and is important historically as the home of the Minoan Civilization and has many archaeological remains for visitors to see and explore.

Crete, approximately 160 kilometers south of the Greece mainland, has a population of nearly 650,000 residents, who mostly reside on the north coast of the island. A long mountain chain runs through the island, coming right to the sea along much of the southern coast, where there a number of smaller towns and beaches. The climate is temperate, with summers long and hot and winters mild. During the winter, snow falls in the mountains, and occasionally along the northern side of the island but rarely on the south.

The largest city on the island is Heraklion, with nearly 150,000 residents, followed by Chania, with 54,000 residents and Rethymno. Chania and Rethymno are the most popular destinations for tourists on the western part of the island. On the eastern half, Heraklion is the business and commerce capital of the island, with Agios Nikolaos and Sitia being popular tourist destinations.

In between Heraklion and Rethymno is the small town of Panormos, where a new home development is under construction. Panorma Seafront homes all have sea views, shared or private swimming pools and are located within 50 meters of the sea. Homes here begin at under €70,000 for a 1 bedroom property, while 3 bedroom houses can run over €200,000. This development is a fine example of the type of property available off-plan and nearly new on this idyllic island.

Chania is the major tourist destination on Crete. It has many resorts as well as the scenery and weather that Crete is known for. Chania has some of the best nightlife on the island, in the capital city of Chania Town and at resorts such as Platanias and Paleohora. The Golden Beach is within walking distance of downtown Chania and provides a sandy beach for those who want to stay in this lively city

The main airport for Crete is Herakli
1000
on International Airport, also known as Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport (HER), which serves many UK and European cities with daily, nonstop flights. The other international airport on Crete is Chania International Airport (CHQ), serving the western part of the island. A number of discount airlines fly to both airports, making it a reasonably priced destination. There are also ferries that travel to and from the Greek mainland, often taking an overnight for the trip.

By:

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Travel to Crete is a popular things to do in the UK,author Nicholas Marr has operates several Greek property websites including greece.homesgofast.com and www.greekhomes4sale.com

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Anissaras, information about Anissaras in Crete

Anissaras is a hilly area in east Crete just outside of Hersonissos. Anissaras hotels are large and all-inclusive. In Anissaras you can find some excellent man-made sandy beaches in front of the hotels.

Cheap Holidays in Crete

Cheap holidays in Crete is not booking an all-inclusive hotel in Crete. You can save money by travelling around Crete by local bus and tasting Cretan cuisine in small traditional restaurants.

What was the best vacation you've ever had?

In 1994 it cost us about $3500 per person to take an all inclusive totally guided cruise and land trip combined. We arrranged it through AAA and never even had to carry a bag. The tour guide had tickets for us at every attraction ... Hawaii was an all-in package (air fare plus hotels and transport between the islands, except meals) which included a rental car on Maui. For Crete, we took the cheapest charter flight and then stayed in bed and breakfasts around the island. ...

Hope you enjoy the read as much as I did and please if you have something to say, use the comments form below to let everyone know your thoughts.

Have a great day!

Technorati Tags: all inclusive hotels crete, fly to crete

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Sat Sep 26, 1:36 PM

ATHENS (AFP) - Greece's national carrier Olympic Airlines which was bought by Greek and United Arab Emirates investment group Marfin announced Saturday that starting Tuesday most of its flights will be operated by its successor Olympic Air.

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The new airline was originally set to start operations on Thursday "but for reasons related to adapting and transferring passengers to Olympic Air flights, we decided to make this succession on Tuesday, a day when traffic at Athens airport is not that heavy," Olympic Airlines spokesman Michalis Miyakis told AFP.

Olympic Air will take over most of the 28 international flights and 26 domestic flights previously operated by Olympic Airlines, he added.

Any passengers holding tickets on Olympic Airlines after September 29 can travel on Olympic Air or with other carriers at no additional expense, the airline said in statement.

Earlier this month Olympic Air said it had signed a deal with US carrier Delta Airlines allowing code sharing on the Athens-New York route from October 1 in a bid to boost its global reach.

Olympic Air chief Antonis Simigdalas also said the airline would sign agreements with Air France-KLM, Cyprus Airways and Etihad Airways for flights to Canada, France and the Netherlands between now and March 2010.

Olympic Air has received investments totalling 1.1 billion dollars (746 million euros), employs 5,000 people, owns 32 planes and includes handling and engineering services.

Olympic Airlines will continue to operate flights to a few international destinations including Tel Aviv, Istanbul and Cairo and some Greek islands after a call for bids for these destinations proved unsuccessful in August.

A new Greek government to be formed after the general election next weekend is expected to relaunch bids for these remaining destinations, Olympic Airlines has said.

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Technorati Tags: cheap flights to greece, cheap holidays to crete

Nowadays, more travel is sold over the Internet than any other consumer product. In the United States Internet-booked rooms is the fastest-growing segment of hotel reservations in part because the Internet is a perfect medium for selling travel as it brings a vast network of suppliers and a widely dispersed customer pool together into a centralized market place.

In fact, the travel marketplace is a global arena where millions of buyers (travel agents and the public) search for travel services and sellers (hotels, airlines, car rental companies, etc.) work together to exchange travel services on the world's global distribution systems and the Internet distribution systems.

However, any mention of the Internet as a distribution channel for travel needs to start with an understanding of the existing electronic distribution infrastructure, the Global Distribution System (GDS). The airline industry created the first GDS in the 1960s as a way to keep track of flight schedules, availability, and prices.

The GDS’s were actually among the first e-commerce companies in the world facilitating B2B electronic commerce as early as the mid 1970s, when SABRE (owned by American Airline) and Apollo (United) began installing their propriety internal reservations systems in travel agencies.

The legacy of these GDS’s, namely Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan, today provide the backbone to the Internet travel distribution system and additionally there are thousands of private label Web sites like Expedia and Orbitz, as well as hundreds of tour operators, corporate booking portals, and regional convention coordinators.

Yet although technology has given hoteliers so many ways to sell a room, it has become nearly impossible for a smaller hotel operator to understand, let alone intelligently manage the available channels for room sales. In fact if you are the average small hotel, many of these channels have an allotment of your rooms, and it is likely most are showing out of date rates and incorrect availability.

Communicating with all of these channels in order to keep them current on your inventory and rates, requires in some cases, daily manual intervention with multiple faxes and phone calls. More importantly, verifying the accuracy of each channel's current allotment and rate by the property is critical but rarely automated. Most times hotel operators do not know where or how their rooms are being sold or at what rate until the booking confirmation arrives.

The tangle of reservation channels is not likely to be simplified soon. But with regard to the easy accessibility of hotel reservations on the Internet directly booked from hotel websites with their own integrated reservations systems, the system is working.

Unfortunately even now, the overwhelming majority of small to medium sized hoteliers far from realizing and exploiting the Web's true potential are still accepting bookings by telephone, form and fax from their websites or selling their inventory at reduced rates or high commissions via Web-proficient online intermediaries.

As such, hoteliers, who want to broaden their room’s distribution intelligently, improve margins and maintain their brand identity in the face of on-line distributors that would turn hotel rooms into a lowest-price commodity should seriously consider integrating a real time reservations system into their own website for the ultimate benefit of their own hotel and visitors.

After all, commodities tend to look and taste the same. Do visitors want a box they will rent if the price is right or a room experience they will wish to revisit again and again?

About The Author

David Brights writes for http://www.showcheaphotels.info where you can find out more about cheap hotels and other topics.

Sun yourself with a cheap flight to Malaga

... they offer cheap flights to most beach destinations in Europe including cheap flights to Monastir, Marrakech, Malta, Rhodes, Corfu, Kefalonia, Zante, ...   Read More...

Slope off with a Cheap Ski flight from airflights.co.uk

... of cheap flights to Ski destinations as well as beach destinations and Cities in Europe including cheap flights to Malta, Funchal, Faro, Samos, Rhodes, ...   Read More...

Winter sunshine in Sharm El Sheikh

Find Airflights.co.uk on the web where they offer cheap flights to beach destinations in Europe including cheap flights to Sharm, Monastir, Marrakech, ...   Read More...
That's all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

Technorati Tags: cheap flights to cyprus, cheap flights to rhodes

Crete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean region. The mountainous landscape and miles of sandy beaches attract many tourists - young and old - throughout the year.

Alongside the history of the island, Crete has established itself as a popular tourist destination, with many flocking to Iraklion - the island's largest city - in order to take in the sights and sounds of Greek culture.

Tourists from all over the world take advantage of cheap flights to Crete. Indeed, many choose to escape the dreary weather for a more temperate climate.

The island has a rich and proud history, and there are many archaeological sites dotted around the island that give an insight into a time when the island was the center of many legends of Greek mythology.

One of the most popular dig sites in the region is the Minos Palace at Knossos. The palace has connections with a number of legends, such as the Labyrinth of the Minotaur, and is considered one of the most significant landmarks of Minoan civilization.

Flights to the island usually touch down in Iraklion airport - which is named after the cities' most famous resident, the writer and philosopher Nikos Kazantzakis.

There are a number of ports around the island, which offer tourists the chance to participate in boat tours, scuba diving and water sports activities.

Crete as a whole has developed to meet the needs of an increased number of tourists to the island. There are now a wide variety of hotels and hostels available to suit all tastes and budgets.

With more of us taking advantage of cheap flights in order to get away to somewhere warmer, Crete has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece.

Indeed, the island is becoming a popular choice for expatriation, with an abundance of property companies now specializing in villas in the mountains and by the coast of the island.

I found out some info about some rental companies as autounion, Zorbas rent a car, sunny and they are pretty encouraging. What do you think?It would be realy helpful for me.

Technorati Tags: car rental crete, flights to crete

Crete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean region. The mountainous landscape and miles of sandy beaches attract many tourists - young and old - throughout the year.

Alongside the history of the island, Crete has established itself as a popular tourist destination, with many flocking to Iraklion - the island's largest city - in order to take in the sights and sounds of Greek culture.

Tourists from all over the world take advantage of cheap flights to Crete. Indeed, many choose to escape the dreary weather for a more temperate climate.

The island has a rich and proud history, and there are many archaeological sites dotted around the island that give an insight into a time when the island was the center of many legends of Greek mythology.

One of the most popular dig sites in the region is the Minos Palace at Knossos. The palace has connections with a number of legends, such as the Labyrinth of the Minotaur, and is considered one of the most significant landmarks of Minoan civilization.

Flights to the island usually touch down in Iraklion airport - which is named after the cities' most famous resident, the writer and philosopher Nikos Kazantzakis.

There are a number of ports around the island, which offer tourists the chance to participate in boat tours, scuba diving and water sports activities.

Crete as a whole has developed to meet the needs of an increased number of tourists to the island. There are now a wide variety of hotels and hostels available to suit all tastes and budgets.

With more of us taking advantage of cheap flights in order to get away to somewhere warmer, Crete has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece.

Indeed, the island is becoming a popular choice for expatriation, with an abundance of property companies now specializing in villas in the mountains and by the coast of the island.

Across the Aegean there are many dream holiday islands to choose from, but for many holidaymakers the largest of the Greek islands, Crete, still retains unique factors that set it apart from the others. As you examine the vacation possibilities on Crete you will be spoilt for choice with a vast selection of luxury hotels and villas.

Secluded coves, breathtaking bays, golden sandy beaches and dramatic countryside backdrops make the island a very special place. It’s no wonder that the island has attracted the rich and famous including celebrities, royalty, world leaders and stars of film and music over the years.

In terms of history Crete can rank with the best of other islands and locations in the Aegean. Some of the earliest European human settlements from the Minoan era have been found on Crete but for most visitors the island’s main attraction are its weather and holiday options.

The size of the island (almost 250 kilometres from east to west) provides it with around 1000 kilometres of wonderful coastline to enjoy. Daytime average temperatures rarely drop below 15 degrees Celsius, even in winter, and during the months May to October temperatures are always warm and pleasant. Rainfall is also negligible during June, July and August.

Crete ranks alongside Lanzarote in terms of visitor numbers, with around 2 million visitors coming to the island every year. Much of the growth in Crete’s popularity came in the late 1980’s when visitors numbers jumped by 50 per cent.

The capital of the island, Heraklion, is also the main transport hub, providing a port for cruise ship arrivals and an international airport which is currently quite stretched and in need of expansion. The airport is the second busiest in Greece and handles around 5 million passengers per year. Six years ago the Greek government announced plans for a new airport that should become operation by 2014. Reading the reviews, few people have a good word to say about the current airport, especially during busy periods, but don’t let that put you off from visiting Crete. Once you get beyond the hustle and bustle of the airport, this wonderful island will reward you with its treasures.

Crete is a large island and you are unlikely to be able to take in all of its wonderful offerings in one visit. Here are some of the more beautiful bays and coves across the island.

At Elounda you will be greeted by the almost perfect bay, home to a selection of some of the island’s most luxurious hotels. Luxury villas are also a feature of the area and recent constructions exhibit state of the art contemporary design with stunning balconies and infinity pools carved into the hillside around the bay.

For people who want to get away from the mass crowds the bay at Loutro may have everything you need. It’s a small stony seaside village on the south coast of the island and is fairly inaccessible making it amazingly quiet. There are a few local developments so you will not be totally cut off, but peaceful beaches and gentle swims in crystal clear waters may be all you need for the perfect day.

Remember the advertising slogan “a taste of paradise”? The beach at Vai, surrounded by palm trees, was made famous in one of the Bounty commercials and is still called the Bounty beach by some. It is a popular spot with a lovely sandy beach and plenty of sunshades to shelter beneath, but can become crowded during high season.

Finally you may be tempted by a visit to the beach at Matala. Despite having one of the best beaches on the island, with soft golden sand leading down to wonderful waters for swimming, this location retains some of its original relaxed atmosphere. It is here, in the caves near the beach, that German and English hippies made their home during the 1960’s. The village itself now makes the most of its attraction to tourists. It is mainly made up of hotels and rooms for rental and can become very busy during the summer, so perhaps the best time to go there would be out of the main season.

About The Author

Here is Dan Williams' wrap up of Crete. As an tourist in Crete Dan is seeing changes, with many of the hangovers from its previous popularity now updated. There are now some fantastic hotel choices on the island and cheap flights to Crete are provided by companies like http://book.flythomascook.com

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