Making the most of Agios Nikolaos Crete
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
Cruise ships berth in the town centre. The town is lively without feeling overly touristy, and invites a pleasant stroll or a look around the specialist shops.
Aghios Nikolaos is a small port with 25,000 residents, set on Mirambelou Bay in the prefecture of Lassithi.
Larger ships anchor and bring passengers ashore by tender.
Agios Nikolaos means Saint Nicholas.
The sea around Agios Nikolaos is superb, and the city’s surrounding area is known for sandy beaches and beautiful bays. Its landmark is circular Lake Voulismeni, at the foot of the cliffs in the city centre, with a diameter of 137m.
Agios Nikolaos has Crete’s second-finest Archaeological Museum, displaying splendid finds from across the Prefecture of Lasithi.
Getting around
Taxis offer excellent value and are usually large, clean, air-conditioned Mercedes. Most drivers have basic English and avoid the habits associated with many Mediterranean taxi drivers, such as loud local music or smoking en route.
Boat trips along the coast visit Barbarossa’s cave and Spinalonga, an old leper colony that was formerly a Venetian fortress. They are fascinating and good value; do not pay more than 10 euros, and they usually include an ocean swim.
Little Train Tours leave from directly in front of the cruise dock for a guided circuit of town. They run every hour, with a 40-minute tour.
Several operators provide boat trips, including semi-submarine tours.
Reasonably priced car hire is widely available in town, from 40 Euro all in per day for a full day in port.
For Knossos, a cruise-ship-organised tour is recommended because of time constraints. It is more than 60 km away.
Almyros beach is a long sandy beach with a cold-water stream entering the sea at its southern end, ideal for cooling off in the heat. It is about a 20-minute walk from the town centre, or a taxi costs about €8.
A few kilometers north of the city are the jet-set resort of Elounda and nearby Spinalonga island.
Food and shopping
Clean, attractive shops line the 2 main streets, interspersed with pleasant, fashionable cafés and restaurants.
Thyme honey is a genuine local product: bees collect thyme pollen, giving the honey its delicate flavour.
Money
The Euro.
Opening Hours and
Public services open Monday to Friday, 8.00am–2.00pm. Retail and specialist shops open Monday to Friday, 9am–1.30pm and 5pm–9pm, and Saturday, 9am–2pm. Supermarkets open Monday to Friday, 9am–9pm, and Saturday, 9am–6pm. Tourist shops and convenience stores usually have no official hours and, in summer, open from dawn until well after midnight.