Myrtos is possibly the most southerly settlement in Greece and although off the beaten track it is worthy of a visit...Lying a little to the west of Ierapetra, the village's shingle beach looks out over the Libyan Sea towards North Africa. The fresh salad you'll get here will have been supplied by one of the many glasshouses that surround the village, growing everything from bananas tomatoes and aubergines, to peppers and cucumbers.

This sleepy little village is popular with the Greeks themselves and makes an excellent base for exploring the south east of Crete.

Walkers can enjoy the hill country around the fertile Myrtos River Valley. The Pyrgos Minoan site is nearby and the Bronze Age remains of a settlement at Phournou Koripi.