Comfortable base to explore beautiful Crete. Perfect for a solo traveller (like myself on this occasion) or a couple. Compact but light and airy thanks to lots of natural light and a lovely terrace. Bedroom is lovely, I was unlucky with few noisy nights partially due to supermarket next door starting rolling out trolleys and bins at super late/super early hours but mostly slept soundly. I enjoyed hanging my washing on the small back balcony to get natural airing. I used kitchen for minor cooking and glad accommodation was fitted with dishwasher. I had my breakfast on the terrace and that was absolutely glorious. The main road the apartment is on is a convenient way to get in and out of Agia Marina, albeit can get busy, but not to worry as adds to the dynamic and liveliness. I have learned Greeks to be proud and loud which is smth to get used to like how they use horn all the time: to greet each other, to point at smth; made me jump in the beginning but then you take it a part of experience haha
Hosts are very welcoming. Mr Manos has a fishing boat, I strongly recommend booking an experience with him as it is a whole day in the sea, fishing , freshly cooked fish for lunch, swimming, snorkelling, priceless.
There are so many things you can do without driving anywhere. I tried jogging in the sand all the way to the bridge (on the way to Chania) along the water. It is an hour return trip with moderate speed. I also tried Jet Ski with Splish Slash, pricey but fun (my first time trying it). I wanted to also try Paraflight and Scuba diving but was not available for my time of stay. Chania is less than 30 mins away by car. I had a rented car so drove to Elafonisi and Balos Beaches. I tried Wine Testing experience, again pricey but the group really made it, we bonded and had great chats. They also offer bike tours, I was tempted to get on one but communication was slow with the company, so I left it. I went for Mosaics workshop with Marielle, which I thoroughly recommend (2 mins away from Venezuelan Graves). Whilst you are there go to Nymfes for coffee. I had the best homemade waffle ever and Greek Coffee there. KouKouvaya is also down that way, 2 secs from Mariella and perfect to enjoy desert at sunset time. All in all like everything else is what you make out of your experience. Temptation was (for me personally) to fill every second of my day with activities but based on previous experiences, I was pacing myself and tried to have at least couple of chilled days for some planning, enjoying what is in front of me and lye ins in the morning. Oh yes, special mention to Platanias Bakery: very authentic and no frills, but great spinach pie and those pretzel looking pastry (round with hole in the middle, like huge bagel): I went for multigrain and it was devine. I also had Greek Coffee sat outside to enjoy it. I was not lucky buying fruit and veg from local supermarkets as did not seem fresh so my recommendation is to go to nearby Lidl: local fresh produce and reasonably priced :)