WHy I love crete

Why I Love Crete: The Island That Stole My Heart and Why I Keep Going Back

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Crete is one of the two trips SGA is offering this summer. We will be heading to Italy first from August 7 to 16, and then to Crete from August 21 to 30. So I thought this week’s blog I would tell you why I chose Crete, and next week I will talk about why I chose Italy.
And I did not choose them just because they are popular travel destinations. I chose them because they are two of my favorite places in the world.
Yes, I realize Italy is a country and Crete is part of a country. For the sake of time and space in this blog, I am generalizing when I say I love Italy. But I will return to my love for Italy and the cities we will be visiting next week.
This week I wanted to talk about why I love Crete. Why it is currently my favorite place that I have visited. Why this trip is so important to me, and why someday I would love to live on this island. It holds a special place in my heart, and it is a place I want to bring people back to again and again.

It Feels Like a Country of Its Own

Okay, technically it is not a country, but it feels like it could be.
Crete is the largest of the Greek islands and is actually larger than several countries, including Luxembourg, Singapore, and Trinidad and Tobago. Because the island is so large, each city has its own personality.
Much like Rome, Florence, and Venice all feel completely different from one another, the same is true across Crete. Matala, Heraklion, and Chania each have their own unique atmosphere.
When you visit some of the other Greek islands, each island tends to have one dominant vibe. Santorini is known for romance and dramatic views. Mykonos is famous for its party scene. Skopelos has that classic small island charm.
But Crete is different. You still feel like you are on a Greek island, but drive a couple of hours and you are somewhere completely new.
The busy streets of Heraklion feel nothing like walking the sidewalks of the old town in Chania. Rethymno feels worlds away from the relaxed, small town energy of Matala. It is a place where you could stay some where different every day and feel like you traveled somewhere completely new.

The Beaches

Yes, the beaches are beautiful all across the Greek islands. The clear blue water of the Mediterranean is something special to see. It looks clean and vibrant in a way that many waters near the United States simply do not.
Other islands absolutely have stunning beaches. But many of them are packed. And while Crete does have busy beaches, they rarely feel overcrowded the way they can in places like Santorini or Mykonos.
The beaches in Crete feel simpler. There might be a small refreshment stand here or there, but it is not lined with endless restaurants or boardwalk style attractions. The focus is the water, the view, and the experience.
Matala is probably one of the busier beaches on the island, but even there it rarely feels overwhelming. Most travelers stay on other parts of the island, so Matala is often more of a day trip destination rather than somewhere people visit again and again.
A few years ago I had the pleasure of bringing my sisters and my mom to both Santorini and Crete. I think they would agree with me that the beaches in Crete feel more relaxed and more enjoyable.
And I am not knocking Santorini. It is stunning. I once went there planning to stay for two days and ended up staying for a week and a half. But there is just something different about the beaches in Crete.

It Does Not Feel as Touristy

Crete is absolutely a tourist destination. But it does not feel overwhelming in the way some places do.
When I have visited, the streets feel open. You can walk comfortably without being stuck in a crowd. Of course there are souvenir shops across the island. It is a vacation destination after all.
But you are not shuffling along shoulder to shoulder with a mass of people.
There is space to move.
You could honestly put your arms out and spin around like Maria in the opening of The Sound of Music. And you might want to, because the scenery is that beautiful.
Another thing I love is that the restaurants rarely feel like they are trying to take advantage of tourists. Instead of huge overpriced restaurants lining the waterfront, you often find smaller places with simple seating and family run kitchens.
Of course there are larger restaurants too. But they do not dominate the way they do in some other tourist destinations.
I never once felt like I was being ripped off in Crete. And that was true both when I was drinking and when I was sober.
The people of Crete seemed to care more about your experience than they cared about squeezing every dollar out of you. They do not rush you to pay the bill. They are not pushing for huge tips because they know you are American. They are simply happy you are there.
Their culture and their food still matter deeply to them. And that is something I really love about Crete.

The Sense of Community

I have been lucky enough to stay in Crete for an extended period of time three years in a row. Each time I stayed for about a month.
And the reason I keep coming back is the sense of community.
The last time I was there, I would walk down to get my morning tea, and after only a few visits the barista already knew my order. I would sit outside and watch people greet each other as they walked through town.
One morning I even heard a bus honk its horn. At first I thought someone was in the way, but the driver was actually just saying hello to a woman walking down the street.
In the evenings the town squares fill with locals spending time together. People are talking, laughing, and connecting. They are not staring down at their phones.
What surprised me most was that even the teenagers were not glowing in the light of a screen. They were actually sitting together and talking.
It felt special to see.
I think we have lost a lot of that connection in everyday life. I am a man of a certain age. I remember growing up without a phone in my pocket. I liked not always being reachable. I liked hearing stories instead of watching a video or scrolling through pictures.
Crete still seems to hold on to some of that slower, more connected way of living. And that is something I truly love.

Why I Want to Share Crete With Others

Travel has meant something more to me than just checking places off a list. The best places I have been are the ones I never want to leave. They change how you see the world a little bit.
I mean, every city I travel to I usually say, “I could live here.” But Crete is somewhere I actually could see myself living someday.
It is not just the beaches, the food, or the views. It is the feeling you get when you are there. The slower pace, the connection between people, and the sense that life is meant to be enjoyed and shared. Something I think a lot of people are craving right now.
When I started Sober Gay Adventures, I knew I did not want to just create trips. I wanted to create experiences that meant something. Trips where people could connect with each other, explore beautiful places, and feel fully present without alcohol being the center of everything.
Crete felt like the perfect place for that.
It is a place where you can relax, explore, laugh, and truly take in the moment. It is also a place where community comes naturally. And that is exactly the kind of experience I want people to have when they travel with SGA. A sense of connection that many of us found in sobriety and want to continue finding while traveling.

Experiencing Crete Together

So that is why I chose Crete.
It is not just one of my favorite places. It is a place that changed how I think about travel, connection, and what it means to truly experience somewhere new.
This August I am excited to bring a group to experience it together. We will explore beautiful towns, relax on incredible beaches, eat amazing food, share our lives, and most importantly build connections with each other.
Next week I will share why I chose Italy as our other SGA destination this summer.
And if Crete sounds like your kind of adventure, I would love for you to join us. Feel free to sign up for a Zoom meeting HERE. I am happy to walk you through what to expect, introduce myself since I will be your tour manager, and answer any questions you might have.
Leave a comment below and tell me what kind of places make you fall in love with travel.

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