Медовый месяц на Крите Honeymoon in Crete

My husband and I arrived in Greece on September 7, departed on September 21. We took a ticket for 14 days through the Biblioglobus tour operator. We were met at the airport of Chania, promptly delivered to the Bali Mare & Bali Villa hotel. The hotel is located at the very beginning of the village of Bali on a hill. The road to the sea takes about 7-8 minutes. You go to the sea, going down the mountain, from it - going up the mountain. As a warm-up every day is a good lesson))) I'll tell you about the hotel itself. I read a lot of reviews about it, in principle I wasn’t going to go to it, because the plans were to stop in another place, but since we bought a ticket literally 4 days before departure, there wasn’t much to choose from, Bali Mare - the only hotel that confirmed the reservation for 14 days. The hotel itself is small with about 7 staff members. As a rule, the hostess of the hotel (a woman under 45 years old) sits at the reception desk, speaks Greek and English, when tourists arrive, she immediately calls Miro, who himself is from Bulgaria, but in the summer he works in Bali Mare with his son Mario, he is good speaks Russian, escorts everyone to the room, explains everything you need. In the future, we asked him a lot of things, he willingly told, so feel free to go to him with any questions - he will help you figure it out. The hotel area is very nice, all in greenery, banana palms, pomegranate, yucca, bougainvillea, grapes and many other plants grow. Unlike other three-star hotels in the village, where there is very little vegetation and the rooms are very close (crowded), Bali Mare is surrounded by greenery. On the territory there are also stone sculptures in the form of lions and antique sculptures, 2 fountains (although they do not work), children's swings, 2 pools - deep and children's with a slide. The pool has umbrellas, sun loungers, a couple of inflatable children's toys and 2 air mattresses specifically for pool swimming. There are 3 types of rooms in the hotel - studios and apartments with one or two rooms. I will say right away: the difference in price between a studio and an apartment is about 1500 rubles. BUT the location of the studio rooms (there are not many of them) is the most inconvenient, they are located under the tennis court, they have only 1 window that overlooks the street, but you can see from it - the opposite building (7-10 meters before it), where they are located apartments. Therefore, do not regret 1500 r and go to the apartments so as not to sit in a studio room in full view and look at the opposite wall of the building... The rooms of the apartments differ from each other - in some places there is new furniture, and somewhere old (as we had ); in some places the windows were changed to double-glazed windows with mosquito nets (in the "old" rooms - windows that simply open inward and additionally have shutters that open outward). In principle, the majority is located well: the neighbors are not visible from the balcony. Many rooms have an entrance from the side of the balcony, you climb it and open the front door, while you first get into the kitchen (that is, into the first of the rooms), and then you go into the second. On each balcony (not even a balcony, rather, but a small verandah), both in the studio and in the apartments, there is a clothes dryer (which we used to keep at home, foldable), so you don’t need to drag clothesline and clothespins. Also on the verandas-balconies are chairs and a table. The only thing that annoys is the excellent audibility in the rooms, you can hear the neighbors flushing the toilet, the plumbing is very noisy... but I think this is the case everywhere in Bali. The room has a safe, it is paid (10 euros per week). But it opens with a key, not a combination lock, so we decided that we would not use it. We put all our valuables in a suitcase, which was closed with a combination lock. Nothing was missing from us, and there were no signs that someone was looking for something. Now about the pluses of the room - there is a kitchenette everywhere. I don’t know how equipped the other rooms are, but ours (No. 82) had a TV, a stove, a refrigerator, a cupboard with dishes (a plastic dish rack, plates, forks, spoons, a saucepan, a frying pan, cups, glasses, 2 coffee pots , coffee maker (! ), grater, colander). All this helped us. We also had a bar counter and three wicker high bar stools. I advise those who love freshly squeezed juices - do not be too lazy to take a mechanical juicer with you. In taverns, juices are expensive (1 glass from 2 to 4 euros, depending on the institution). We did this: we bought oranges, 6 pieces came out for 1.1-1.2 euros and 5 glasses of freshly squeezed juice were obtained from them. Do not be afraid of the type of oranges that are sold, they look inconspicuous - somewhere soft, somewhere greenish, they seem not ripe enough - this is an optical illusion, they taste just super, juicy and ripe! The scarier - the tastier ))))) I also advise (if you are going to cook) - to take with you a sponge and dishwashing detergent, a cloth for the table, households. soap for washing (there is no basin in the room, I washed it in the sink in the kitchen, I don’t know - maybe you could ask about it, we didn’t). Because it is still not very profitable to buy all these accessories there. When you check into your room, do not be surprised - you will not have any of the bathroom accessories (no soap, no shower caps, no small bags of gel, shampoo, etc. ), so bring everything with you. ALSO PAY ATTENTION - THE HOTEL DOES NOT HAVE BEACH TOWELS!! ! If you forget to take it with you, then in numerous shops their price varies from 6 to 20 euros, depending on the quality. Regarding the change of linen and towels in the room, I read in the reviews before leaving... everything that was written there was confirmed... cleaning is a very weak point in Bali Mar: taking out the trash, changing the bedding, wiping the floors - every three days. Towels are generally a mess - sometimes they simply don’t have clean towels, so they may not be changed. The first time we changed everything except for small towels. The second time they changed only the bedding, but small and large towels were not changed. The third time (we were in the room at that moment) - they changed the bedding, large towels, and I myself gave small towels to the cleaners, but they didn’t put me clean ones in return, but only a day later we ourselves came up and asked them to give them (fortunately - they were in that moment were). Changed everything for the fourth time. You will understand when you see two cleaners why cleaning is a weak point, they go not in any uniform, but in ordinary home clothes (as they like), chatting loudly, constantly throwing a bunch of keys into a dustpan with a roar when come to clean up the next room. The floor is washed at the speed of light (dirt is smeared rather), in general, cleaning the room takes at most 5 minutes, or even less... looking at them, one gets the impression that they are very indifferent people))) however, they always say hello and smile! )))) but where should they hurry))) they are not from Russia))) The sea is very clean. The beach has large sand. In total, Bali has four bays and, accordingly, 4 beaches. Near Bali Mare - the largest. All beaches are municipal, umbrellas and sunbeds are set up everywhere, the price of a set (2 sunbeds + umbrella for the whole day) is from 4 to 6 euros. Walking along the beach, you will see that near each tavern there are sunbeds of a certain color, respectively, the tavern workers collect money for them. The cheapest sunbeds are somewhere in the center, the set cost 4 euros (blue umbrellas). We did not use them, we had a mat with us, plus we bought another one on the spot for 2 euros, and so we went to the beach. Umbrellas are sold in the shops, if you want - you can buy them on the spot, it is also not necessary to bring air mattresses with you - they are there just like we have. The food at the hotel is generally good. Breakfast is the same every day: butter, margarine, ham, cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, milk, yogurt, cereals, chocolate balls, bread, tea, coffee, cocoa, water, 2 types of jam, chocolate paste, honey, boiled eggs , 2 types of drinks like yupi in vending machines (tasteless because they are too diluted), muffins, oranges (2 times instead of oranges there was fruit salad, 1 time watermelons, 1 time puff pastry with cottage cheese). In the end, I got a little fed up... Dinners are always different and very tasty. Usually 2 types of side dishes, 2 types of hot dishes (there was fish, meat, and chicken), several types of salads, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese. As desserts there were watermelons, ice cream, sometimes grapes, 1 time jelly, 2 times puff pastries. No one left hungry, thanks to the chef for that! All drinks at dinner are paid, including water, 0.5 l of wine = 4 euros, alcoholic cocktails for 7 euros, non-alcoholic cocktails for 3.5 euros, etc. There is no animation in the hotel, in principle, it is not needed, in the evening we just walking around the village. By the way, someone writes that the village of Bali is small and it takes 20 minutes to go from one end to the other, this is not so, it takes about 50 minutes to go to the other end of the village, since it stands on a slope, you constantly have to climb the hill or go down it was not easy in the midday heat, but in the evening it was easier. It will be uncomfortable in heels))) it is better to walk in comfortable shoes. Before leaving, we read that there are a couple of discos, but we did not go to them. And didn't really want to. There are a lot of souvenir shops and shops in the village, the choice of souvenirs is plentiful. Regarding olive oil: if you want to buy it, do not rush to grab the first one that comes across, look at the prices, compare... there are about 400 families in Crete that produce their own olive oil, so no one will advise you which one is better to choose, we bought 2 cans of 1 liter for 10 euro. It's all about the level of acidity, it's best to buy 0.3 (for salads), if you buy oil with a higher degree of acidity (0.6, 0.8, etc. ), then this is for frying. Well, naturally, the more beautifully designed the jar / bottle / metal flask, the more expensive the oil will cost. With honey, the same thing, do not rush, compare prices. In duty free at the airport, both oil and honey are more expensive, so buy on the spot. Every shop sells ouzo (aniseed vodka) and crayfish (vodka with honey), they don't call crayfish themselves vodka. Everything can be tried. We didn't like the ouzo, but we liked the raki. We bought a glass bottle to take with us and brought it home. Fruits are not cheap - pears are mainly at 2.5 euros per kg, apples at 2.2, nectarines at 1.6, watermelons from 0.14 per kg. Melons smell very tasty, but they taste like grass, do not take them... they are not offered in hotels either, because they are not sweet. About car rental: there are a lot of rental cars in the village, on the first day we went around 4 or 5 of them (I don’t remember), we found out that the most economical car (class A) - Matiz - will cost 130 euros for 4 days, KIA Picanto (class A) - 124-130 euros for 4 days... they all have inflated prices in their prices, the calculation is made for a European who does not bargain much, and the Russians talk for a discount, or they immediately give discounts to Russians themselves))) As a result, the next day we agreed rent a car directly at our hotel (there is also a rental car). We were offered conditions better than in other rental cars. We took a Hyundai Atos (class B) for 120 euros for 4 days. Full insurance is included, the car is not inspected for damage at all, I came back - handed over the keys and that's it! It is very convenient. In Greece, many tourists dissect at Athos. We were first offered to take a Suzuki Jimny when they asked where we were going, but we refused... why is this voracious car needed? On Atosik, we climbed all the mountains, drove along the serpentines, which is near the highest point of Crete, and everything is fine! Husband drives well! Athos is light, pulled! We were satisfied, he ate 6 liters per 100 km. Gasoline in Greece is expensive - from 1.60 to 1.78 euros per liter of the 95th, depending on the gas station. In 4 days we drove all over Western Crete, rolling 1250 km. When we were leaving, an announcement was posted at the hotel stand: Hyundai Atos for 3 days for 80 euros! I advise everyone to bargain and take a car of class A or B at a price not higher than 30 euros per day. We were happy with our vacation!! ! Have a nice trip everyone!! !