Welcome

Villa Eleni is near Agia Galini on the south coast of Crete. Villa Eleni is a 3 bedroom modern villa with a swimming pool, in a secluded location with stunning sea views. Great for the relaxing summer break away from it all! Ideal for the family holiday, and stargazers!

With easy access to both North and South coasts Rethymnon city is a historic delight. Nearby are the mountain villages near the Melidoni cave and ancient Eleftherna archaeological sites, as well as other must see villages such as Spilli.

Villa Eleni is great for the romantic get-away, touring, walking, senior citizens, families with children, beach holidays and students writing your thesis, and just a base to go sightseeing.

Covid 19 - Our Villas meet the standards required regarding Covid-19. Please take note of local guidance re Covid-19 before you travel. Villa Eleni is part of Villas of Crete (villasofcrete.org.uk ; villas in crete ; cretan villas ) a company registered in Greece.

Villa Eleni - WINNER of the Best Villa in Crete 2021 & 2022

Come sight-seeing with us!

Villa Eleni Villa Alexander (now sold)

Villa Eleni (on left above) is on the south coast, and is a great location for sightseeing, stargazing and relaxing. The above star photo is genuine and unedited, taken from the garden at Eleni in July 22 (18mm lens; 30s exposure; f2.8).

The south coast of Crete is less touristic than the north, with small ports and villages, and very dark skies. Agia Galini is home to the story of Icarus and Daedalus of Greek mythology fame, and boast a greek theatre as well as many nice restaurants overlooking the harbour.

On the north coast are many quaint villages near to the Arkadi monastery, such as Eletherna, Margaritas, Panormo, Meladoni cave and the Ancient Eletherna Minoan and Roman ruins.

Our villas are near good beaches, but you will need a car. Fights come into either Heraklion or Chania airports.

The south coast has many small beaches and bays within easy reach, some of which have very sheltered swimming. The north coast has excellent beaches and there are several nice beaches within an hours drive from Eleni.

Villa Eleni is great for families. It is just outside the port of Agia Galini. Ancient Soulia in Minoan and Roman times. The port is home to a fishing fleet, great restaurants, beaches, horse riding, and other activities. It has an open air Greek theatre as well as craft shops and other facilities.

You can explore the various mountain villages, each with their own particular style. From Rethymno, you are close to Margarites, home of Cretan pottery. Eleni is not far from Spili with its roman fountains, craft shops and restaurants.

Sight-seeing from the villas

Guest comments - Eleni

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Guest comments - Alexander

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News and forthcoming events

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Please note that Villa Alexander has been sold in November 2025 and is no longer available for hire. However, you are welcome to view previous guest comments above.

Getting to Eleni

The villa is approximately the same distance from Chania or Heraklion airports by national road. It is about 80km from Heraklion, but if you cut through the mountains, making this a quicker route taking about an hour and a quarter from Heraklion, and upto 2 hrs from Chania if there is traffic. The new bypass at Armani (opened in 2024) has made a significant reduction in time from Chania.

In 2027 the new Heraklion International Airport at Kastelli will open which is about 30 mins further away. Nearer the time we will give instructions on how to get to our villas from the new Kastelli airport.

Full and detailed driving instructions will be sent to you shortly before departure.

Flights

Our villas offer the option of flying to either Chania or Heraklion. You can book flights direct to Crete (Heraklion or Chania) with most of the major holiday airlines (TUI, Jet2, RyanAir, EasyJet, WizzAir). Aegean Airlines flies via Heathrow and Gatwick, and other major EU airports, direct to Crete in 2025. SkyExpress started flights from the UK in summer 2022 to Crete. British Airways from Heathrow. EasyJet fly from Luton, Bristol, Gatwick and Manchester. RyanAir flies from Prestwick, Stansted, Manchester and East Midlands. Jet2 from East Midlands, Manchester and Leeds Bradford. WizzAir from Luton and Gatwick. TUI from Gatwick, Manchester, East Midlands and Birmingham.

You can also get ferries from the other islands and from Athens.

Most holiday airlines stop regular flights at the end of October and resume before Easter, usually end of March approximately. From the UK, most flights are on Saturdays, Sundays and Tuesdays, although some are also Fridays. Aegean, RyanAir and EasyJet operate most of the year around to Athens, and out of season you can get connector flights (50 mins) with Aegean, Minoan or SkyExpress.

Ferries are available all the year around from Athens to Chania, Rethymnon and Heraklion. Transfer time by ferry is about 12 hours from Athens.

Car hire

You will need to hire a car and we can recommend car hire companies for you. Contact us for more details. All drivers need to be over 21 for hiring a car.

Please note that cars usually come with empty fuel tanks. With some companies you can pay for a full tank to be delivered with the car. As some roads in Crete are unmade and stony, it is worth taking out full insurance. Most petrol stations take credit cards but with recent problems many of them are insisting on cash. The more rural ones prefer cash anyway. We usually find that a full tank lasts about a week.

Driving is on the right. The speed limit on the national roads is 90kmh unless otherwise marked. Drive slowly through towns as pedestrians have right of way, or think they do! Also beware of flocks of sheep on the roads. To assist someone overtaking you, you are expected to pull right over to the right hand side to give them room to pass. This may mean moving on to the emergency lane occasionally. Road signs are given in both the Greek and the Roman alphabet.

Country roads near to the Villas are bendy, narrow and sometimes with a drop on one side…but this is Crete! Drive carefully!

Our chosen car hire company in Crete for 2025/6 is CreteCars.

Car Hire 2026

CreteCars.com

Our car hire introduction for 2026 is CreteCars.com . They have a range of car types and for guests of Villa Eleni and Villa Alexander, you will receive a free upgrade to your car group when you mention Villas of Crete ! (eg Group A to B; Group E to F). CreteCars also included :

No deposit paid in advance

No charge for credit card use

100% full Comprehensive Insurance (CDW)

No excess !! - Clients have no responsibility in case of damage

Unlimited mileage

No surcharge for second driver

Car delivered to the airport where representative will meet you in arrivals lounge.

To contact CreteCars click on the link here - www.cretecars.com

(Please note that your car hire agreement is between CreteCars and yourself, and nothing to do with with Villas of Crete, Villa Eleni, or Villa Alexander. All arrangements and payments are made between you and with CreteCars directly. Villas of Crete act simply to introduce you to a car hire company that we have used ourselves and found to be very helpful and good value. We have no commercial arrangement with CreteCars. Villas of Crete accept no responsibility for your car hire and/or performance of the care hire agreement or equipment. Other car hire companies are available.)

Please respect the road laws whilst in Crete! Roads do tend to have significant ‘drop offs’ at the side. Drive safely.

Villa Eleni and Villa Alexander, Crete, both available for rent. Contact details on the website www.villasofcrete.co.uk Movie taken 2019 and 2020.

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