living in crete, brits in crete, retiring in crete | Introduction to Crete: How Big? Annual Sunshine, How Many visitors? for british expats in crete, working in crete, greece, kreta.

How big is Crete?

For expatriate residents, they often forget just how large is Crete. In fact, Crete covers a total area of 8,336 km2, this equates to 6.3% of the total Greek Territory. Below is a photograph of the Megalonissos "Big Island" of Crete taken from Space during a NASA Space Shuttle Mission. The Semi Circular Island with a tiny speck in its centre is the Volcanic Island of Santorini (centre to the right in the photograph).

A view of Crete from 22,000 miles above Earth
Crete From Space: Courtesy of Nasa Web site

What is Crete's Highest Peak?
The highest peak on Crete is Mt Psiloritis (Ψηλορειτης) or Mt Pachnes, even Mt Idi - after its location in the mountain range called Oros Idi (Idi Mountains). It stands at 2456 metres or 8057 feet high in the Rethymnon prefecture (nomos). According to legend this is the birthplace of the Greek God Zeus, hence the reason the Greeks call Psiloritis the Mountain of the Gods. Actually there are five "peaks" within a few metres of each other. Psiloritis edges out Mount Pachnes at 2452 meters.

Mt Psilorotis is locally named as Timios Stavros (Holy Cross). Hence: Sainte-Croix" in French, or Heiliges Kreuz" in German.

From the picture below, note there is snowfall but it varies from year to year. There are one or two cabins for skiers in the western part of Crete (yes there are several short run pistes) on the higher slopes at high altitude. Check out the culture of the people and the customs and other useful information of the Mr Psiloritis region at a dedicated website.

Mount Psiloritis, also known as Mt Pachnes Birthplace of Zeus
Mount Psiloritis / Pachnes - The Highest Peak on Crete taken at the height of summer where it is 30C-ish not 40C as on the coast sometimes.

Beaches of Crete
If you like the Beach, Crete has 1,046 kilometres of Coast Line, much of which is suitable for swimming, sunbathing and just having fun in general. Also the majority of the beaches on Crete have been awarded the International Blue Flag status for their high quality and cleanliness. Always a controversial issue, here is topical conversation in our forum. Or visit the international website for Blue Flag organisation based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Blue Flag organisation responsible for Greece can be found at the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature, Athens.

Blue Flag Beach Rankings for Crete, 2007 - If you wish to know how each of Crete's Prefectures fair in the blue flag beach rating system in 2007, click on: Chania, Rethymno, Irakleio, Lasithi and then there are detailed beach descriptions for each location.

Annual Hours of Sunshine in Crete
Crete is famous for it's sunshine and blue sky, but the annual amount of sunshine per year varies from the North side to the South Side of this 260+ kilometres long island. The average in the North can be anything up to 2700 hours while the Southern Coast can bask in the sun for up to 3000 hours per annum.

Crete's Four Seasons
Contrary to popular belief (particularly among tourists) Crete does not have wall to wall sunshine 365 days a year, Crete does have a winter, granted it's not as long as the Winters in the UK, nor anywhere near as harsh but it's Winter alright. In summer (May to September) temperatures are a daily average of 29°C and in winter they can be down as low as 14°C. The average rainfall is around 9.27cm most of this seems to fall between December and April. Both Spring and Autumn are brief. Curiously the seasons are shifting. Novembers can be dry with clear days making them feel warm for the time of the year. March and April can be unpredictable. During that period, Crete can sometimes feel like it is experiencing four seasons in a day.

Crete Winter. Street Scen., Stalis, Copyright BritsinCrete
Stalida (Stalis) Northeast Coast Resort
- It rains in Crete - but Not in Summer!!!

Crete's Resident Population
The Population of Crete is around 650,000 at last count (2005) This figure relates to permanent residents, and equates to around 5% of the total population of Greece. The figure in Summer is considerably higher with foreign workers arriving for the Holiday Season

Crete is a very popular travel and holiday destination. Of the two million visitors, half are from the British Isles. Most years Crete welcomes more than 22% of all international arrivals in Greece. More detailed and useful statistics and general reading on Crete can be found at Wikipedia.

Useful Links
Greek Island Postcards | Tourist holiday travel guides to Crete and the Greek islands
Travel Directory and Travel Portal | Comprehensive travel sites directory. Travel photography, travelogues and destination guides. Book discount hotels, car rental and find cheap airfares.

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