Set amidst olive groves and surrounded by a Mediterranean garden, this family-run property in Kato Gouves offers air-conditioned apartments with panoramic views of the area. The beach is a 10-minutes walk. Each apartment at Valentina offers a kitchen with refrigerator and includes a safe, TV and radio. A complimentary welcome pack including fruit, Cretan wine and other local products awaits guests on arrival. Guests can spend relaxed moments by the Apartment Valentina’s gardens or head to the bar for a drink. Regular barbeque nights are organized on site. A gift shop and a mini market can also be found within the premises. The Valentina is only 100 meters from the Heraklion-Chersonissos Old National Road. The CretAquarium is a 20-minutess ride. Private parking is available on site.

Crete. As well as the magnificent beaches and warm seas, the size and physical variety of the island of Crete invites exploration, and Valentina Apartments, located at Kato Gouves, Heraklio, 70014, Greece, is the ideal staring point. Uniquely among Greek islands, Crete’s mountainous spine creates a sense of spaciousness, a life distinct from sea and sand. Fly-drive holidays to Crete – or simply the hire of a car for some days during your stay in Valentina Apartments, – will enable you to seek out the rugged formations of the interior, the fertile countryside and tiny chapels filled with frescoes, the mountain villages where time has stood still. Always, the authentic spirit of the islanders, their fierce independence and pride – as well as the best cooking and most delicious meals that constitute the famed “Cretan Diet” – will more likely be found where few others are looking. With so much to see, with dolphins to watch, shaded squares to paint, olive trees and wild orchids, Minoan remains and sweeping beaches, no wonder Crete holidays and Valentina Apartments are revisited so often.