Holidays to Crete from Bournemouth

Take advantage of a new charter flight from Bournemouth to Heraklion in Crete.

Archanes is a bustling agricultural town surrounded by a clutch of farming villages just south of the famous archaeological site of Knossos and only 12 miles from the airport, so getting out and back is quite quick and painless once you have extricated yourself from the busy centre of Heraklion.

The Knossos Country Suites are a few kilometres from Archanes and are a cluster of 14 beautifully designed and furnished rooms with a wonderful panorama across to Lassithi (with its famous plateau of 10,000 windmills) and the Dikti mountains.

There is a large pool with grassy terraces enabling you to enjoy the stunning view from the comfort of a chaise-longue. All the rooms and suites have air-con and central heating, kitchen, safe-box, satellite TV, Internet connection, direct dial phone, DVD and CD players, hair-drier and their own balcony or terrace plus a jacuzzi in the bathroom. The honeymoon suite has a Jacuzzi for two!

Some suites have an open fireplace, some a washing machine (both providing better viewing than Greek TV). All the rooms are called suites because of their spaciousness and excellent furnishings and fittings, all open plan with split levels in many cases so better for families than groups of friends. However, those for 5-6 persons have two separate bedrooms as well as two beds in the living area and there is a shower/wc as well as a full bathroom.

The food served in the terrace café overlooking the pool, gardens and view or in the vaulted dining room at ground floor level is mainly local and organic. If you want to exchange the pampered experience for the rough and tumble of some genuine Greek country life there are local tavernas in the surrounding villages to explore. If you can't be bothered to rustle up your own breakfast, it is available for £8 per person per day.

You are well placed here to drive to many parts of the island: just beyond Lassithi and the 10,000 windmills lie the well known (and picturesque but over-crowded) resorts of Aghios Nikolaos and Elounda on Mirabello Bay - and the village of Kritsa with fabulous frescoes is almost en route. The north coast to the east and west of Heraklion has many seaside resorts, though they tend to be rather built up. A little further away, but utterly remote by comparison, are the almost untouched beaches of the south coast. The inland scenery is magnificent.