The Lasithi region sits in the eastern third of Crete, served by Heraklion Airport (HER) approximately 65–90 kilometres to the west depending on the specific destination — transfers of between 60 and 90 minutes. The distance from the airport is the honest trade-off of staying in this part of the island. What guests receive in exchange is Crete at its most dramatic, most diverse and least tourist-saturated.
The Gulf of Mirabello — one of the most beautiful bays in the eastern Mediterranean, with the island of Spinalonga visible across the water and the Cretan mountains rising on all sides — is the defining landscape of the Lasithi coastal area. Agios Nikolaos, built around the extraordinary Lake Voulismeni in the centre of the town, is the main resort hub of the region and one of the most visually distinctive towns in the Greek islands. Elounda, a few kilometres north, is home to some of the most prestigious luxury hotels in all of Greece — the Elounda Beach Hotel and the Blue Palace among them — properties that consistently rank among the finest resort hotels in the Mediterranean.
Beyond the coastal resorts, the Lasithi Plateau — a high mountain plain surrounded by the Dikti Mountains, reached by a dramatic road that climbs through a series of hairpin bends — is one of Crete’s most extraordinary inland landscapes. The plateau was inhabited in Minoan times and the cave of Diktaion Andron, where according to Greek mythology Zeus was born, is accessible from the plateau village of Psychro. For guests based in the Agios Nikolaos area, a day trip to the Lasithi Plateau and the Dikti Cave is one of the most memorable excursions available anywhere on the island.
The Lasithi region also encompasses the Minoan palace site of Zakros on the far east coast — the smallest and most recently excavated of the four great Minoan palaces, set in a dramatic gorge descending to a secluded beach. Far fewer visitors reach Zakros than Knossos or Malia, and the combination of the palace, the gorge walk and the beach at the bottom makes it one of Eleni’s most personally recommended day trips for guests staying anywhere in the east of the island.
One honest note: the Lasithi region is further from Heraklion Airport than the north coast resorts and the transfers are longer. Guests who want a short airport transfer or the busiest all inclusive resort strip should choose Hersonissos or Kokkini Hani. Lasithi is for guests who want Crete at its most beautiful, most diverse and most genuinely extraordinary — and who are prepared to travel a little further to find it.
For luxury Lasithi holidays, Crete east coast holidays from the UK or Crete package holidays — book through GotoBeach with full ATOL protection under licence #11211, low deposits from £30 per person and the honest advice of someone who was born on this island.
