Crete: A Small Country, Not Just an Island

Crete is not an island you day trip. The author's first day mistake was a five hour white knuckle drive across the mountains, and it taught him the rule this whole guide runs on: split your stay between the coasts.

A first person guide to Greece's largest island, prefecture by prefecture: Knossos at opening time before the tour buses, the Samaria Gorge walked with its clock in mind, Balos by dirt road or by boat, pink sand Elafonissi before the crowds, and the harbour tavernas that still cook for locals, with every price checked before publication.

Inside the guide:

• The famous sights done right: Knossos, Samaria, Balos, Elafonissi, Spinalonga and the old towns of Chania and Rethymno

• Where to eat: Tamam in its old bathhouse, Apostolis on the harbour, Peskesi's farm table, gamopilafo and the raki that ends every meal

• Where to drink and stay, from the roofless Sinagogi courtyard and Fagotto's jazz to the Casa Delfino mansion and the empty south coast

• Best photo spots and hidden gems: roadless Loutro, the Kourtaliotiko waterfalls and the pottery village of Margarites

• Watch Out: the fish weighed in secret, the ten euro shot deal and the Balos road insurance gap, plus itineraries for 1, 3 and 5 days

18 full-color photographs, 7 full page panoramics among them: a small country, walked properly.