Explore Spinalonga island and feel the past !

In the morning we will visit Ag.Nikolaos, a town with 14.000 inhabitants which is built on the side of the Gulf of Mirabello. In the centre of Agios Nikolaos there is the lake Voulismeni, probably created by an earthquake.

There, we can have a coffee break or a walk around the lake, which gives you a great view from above, over the center and the harbor of Agios Nikolaos. Next to the lovely harbor are shady tree-lined streets filled with shops gives you the opportunity to do some “serious shopping”.

After that, we head to the famous village of Elounda that used to be a fishermen village but is nowadays one of the most luxurious areas of Crete, attracting celebrities from all over the world. From there a short 15 minutes boat ride takes us to the beautiful island of Spinalonga. At Spinalonga, the last leper colony in Europe, we will have a guided tour around this famous island, which is just a distance of 850m. Originally, Venetians fortified the islet in 1579, by building a fortress with 40 cannons and they are actually the best-preserved walls in Europe.

It used to be a leper colony from 1903 until 1957, where lepers could have a better life, medical help and economical support. The ruins of the market street with the shops, the hospital and many small houses in which lepers lived isolated, can still be seen.

On our way back on the boat, we are having a stop on the beach “Kolokytha”, where you can enjoy swimming and a BBQ lunch.