Amoudara Holidays

If ‘close to the beach’ and ‘sightseeing’ are your holiday must-haves, you can kill two birds with one stone in Amoudara. This beach resort brings a fat dose of sun, sea and sand, with a close-to-the-city postcode to boot. It’s practically a suburb of Heraklion, it’s that close – we’re talking 15 minutes’ drive to the Cretan capital.

Elbow room’s not a problem on Amoudara’s beach. In fact, there’s three miles of the sandy stuff to play with. It keeps going all the way to Heraklion’s borders. Not only does it have the golden sands swag, but it’s got the watersports, too. And loads of the sunbeds are free, when you grab a drink from the nearby bars.

Families come first in Amoudara. There’s the Bravo waterpark, which has a fistful of slides and a zip line over the pool. And, when you want to keep to the shade, there’s an indoor kids’ play area with bouncy castles and a ball pit. It’s worth calling in to Heraklion, too. There are some great places to break bread in the old port, plus the ancient Palace of Knossos is just up the road.