My wife and I stayed at Clive's the first week in May 2014. We were collected from the airport by Clive, shown around the apartment and the local area and generally made very welcome. The apartment was very stylish with every amenity we needed for our week's stay. There was even some food basics to get us started for the first couple of days.

Heraklion is interesting. It takes a bit of time to get into it but if you like every imaginable type of coffee you can dream of, then its cafe culture is one of the best. To make the best of the city, gen up on the history in your travel guide books and then check out the Historical Museum of Crete. This will help you dig deeper into the place and enrich your stay.

Knossos is a must but go to the Archeological Museum first.

Clive introduced us to a few restaurants. His "local" is great for starters but there are some superb fish restaurants around the harbour, especially if you steer away from the more obvious ones.

We did not hire a car and used buses for trips to Rethymnon and Phaestos. However next time we will hire a car for a few days so we can access the beaches on the south coast.

On the last day, Clive took us back to the airport to end a very satisfying week. You can now test me on the Minoans, Byzantines, Saracens, Venetians, Ottomans etc! A very rich and turbulent history!