When the weather decides: a plan B for Sougia

Most days in Sougia need no plan. But a few times a season the weather writes one for you: Samaria closes, rain moves in, or the wind makes the beach impossible. On those mornings the village fills with walkers who had other plans. Here is what we would do.

How to know before you go

The national park closes the Samaria gorge when storms, heavy rain, strong wind or a high risk of fire are forecast, sometimes the evening before, sometimes the same morning. Check the official NECCA ticket site before you set out. For the weather, use meteo.gr, the forecast service of the National Observatory of Athens.

When Samaria is closed

Walk Agia Irini instead. It is shorter and closer than Samaria, the terrain is easier, and it does not always close on the same days. It is often open when Samaria is not, but not always, so check before you go. Take the morning bus or a taxi up and walk down towards the sea, or start at the bottom and walk up as far as you like.

The walk in detail: Agia Irini, the gorge that walks you to the sea →

On a calm day you can also stay on the coast and walk the old path over the headland to Lissos, about an hour and a half each way.

When it rains

Rain here rarely lasts all day. Wait for a dry spell and take a shorter walk around the village and up the valley. After the first autumn rain the riverbed may be running again, and the rainbows that follow are worth getting a little wet for.

Visit the church of Saint Panteleimon in the village, built over an early Christian basilica whose mosaic floor of peacocks, a deer and amphorae wound with ivy is still in place. If it is locked, ask us at the reception and we will arrange for it to be opened. Then sit down to a long lunch in a good taverna. There is no better day for it.

The story of the mosaic: the old cities under the pebbles →

Or take a short drive inland. Near the village of Moni, the church of Saint Nicholas holds frescoes painted in 1315 by Ioannis Pagomenos, the best-known church painter of western Crete; it is reached by a dirt track and may be locked. Further up the road to Chania, Kandanos remembers its destruction in June 1941 with a war memorial in the village.

When the wind is too strong for the beach

Sougia beach faces the open sea in one long line, and there is no corner of it the wind cannot reach. On those days, do not sit and wait for it to drop. Have a slow coffee, visit the church, and use the day for something inland: Agia Irini, the mountain villages, or Chania.

The large ferries along the south coast usually keep sailing in the wind; it takes a really strong one to stop them. For smaller boats, ask at the harbour.

A day in Chania

The bus over the White Mountains takes about one hour forty-five minutes to two hours. Take the morning bus, walk the old town and the Venetian harbour, and see the new Archaeological Museum in Chalepa, which is closed on Tuesdays. Check the time of the afternoon bus back before you go.

Staying with us? Ask us in the morning, and we will help you choose.