Agios Nikolaos & Spinaloga Tour

Agios Nikolaos (1 1/2 hours)

The lovely serene little town of Agios Nikolaos is the cosmopolitan capital of the prefecture of Lasithi with 20000 permanent residents. The town is built on the site Mandraki, on the west side of the Gulf of Mirabello, but the current name comes from the Byzantine church of Saint Nikolaos located west of the city.

Trademark of St. Nicholas is the picturesque Lake Voulismeni, a small lagoon in the center of the town, used as a small harbor where fishing boats stop. Dozens of legends are associated with it, mainly because of its very deep waters (e.g. that it has no bottom). At the bottom of the lake the Germans disposed all their war material before leaving Crete in 1944. A walk around the lake is a very nice experience indeed.

Spinaloga (2 1/2 hours)

Spinalonga is a small island near Elounda in East Crete. Spinalonga is known as the Leper Island, as that is where lepers from Crete and the rest of Greece were quarantined until 1957.
Over the years, Spinalonga island has gained the reputation as one of all time favourite ones – it is a dear classic from the ‘must see’ repertoire on Crete that never fails to meet the expectations. You get it all – a rich and exciting history, turquoise waters and a stunning landscape. Besides, it is not only the island but the whole journey to and from it.

Spinalonga’s atmospheric, winding streets are now abandoned, but still seem full of history. The island has inspired artists and writers through the centuries, and was the setting for Victoria Hislop’s international bestseller book, The Island, is a moving account of what life for the lepers of Spinalonga must have been like.