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Villa Freedom, situated just East of Kokkino Chorio, with the most sensational sea views and magnificent mountainous surroundings, is an absolute paradise. The main villa has four spacious, en-suite double bedrooms, along with the beautiful guest villa which sleeps another 4 guests. The grounds are phenomenal, with a private heated pool, hot tub, pool table, playground and football pitch – it is safe to say the children were never bored! The grounds are privately gated and we felt extremely secure, it allowed the little ones to explore freely and make the most of the freedom to run and play to their hearts content. The décor was traditionally Greek with a stylish twist – very comfortable and unbelievably well equipped, not to mention the most fantastic welcome pack of goodies we were greeted with on arrival!
Lets talk location – located amongst the mountains, a 45 minute drive from Chania airport and just 2 miles from the lovely town of Plaka, where you’ll find a few charming tavernas and shops. Only a few miles further on is Almyrda, filled with fabulous restaurants, a supermarket and a gorgeous beach front. We always rent a car when travelling, it allows us to make the most of our adventurous souls and visit all of the top spots. We found an excellent rental company from Chania Airport – Autoclub, so family friendly with no extra charge for car seats – the whole experience with them was stress free and really pleasant and easy.
We would suggest renting a car in Crete if you’d like to make the most of the island – however, if you plan on just sunning yourself at the Villa for a relaxing week, transport can be arranged for you by Villa Freedom.
When visiting Villa Freedom, it is absolutely imperative to make the most of the Villa. We spent a few days soaking up the sunshine in the hot tub and swimming pool, and with huge outdoor seating areas and two fully equipped BBQ’s, it is just perfection for a big family getaway.Â
The gardens are filled with beautiful, exotic plants and little intimate seating areas, perfect little spots to enjoy your morning coffee or evening drinks.
The balcony area hosts another stunning dining area with views across the property and the backdrop of the most sensational mountains. Each bedroom in the villa is to the highest of standard with a different beautiful view from each one.
When you do decide to leave the villa, however, we have some excellent day trips for you to try on the island.
DanEri Yachts
DanEri Yachts, a local family run business based in Heraklion, run a fantastic day trip designed to be perfect for families. They take you on a beautiful boat trip across the Mediterranean to the Island of Dia. The boat is stunning, clean and welcoming, with 3 cabin bedrooms and a spacious indoor dining space. We found this was great for the kids, they had some areas inside they could go to relax and escape the sun for a minute or two. At the front of the boat are two nets to relax on, or if you are Harry – use as a trampoline! We stopped at the Island of Dia and had a couple of hours of swimming, snorkling and paddle boarding before lunch. The lunch was gorgeous – fresh mussles, prawns and fish with traditional greek salads and wine – absolute heaven! The crew are so family friendly, with the captain having 3 little ones of his own, they catered for the children so well. We had the most fantastic, fun filled day of memory making with DanEri yachts – we cannot recommend them highly enough!
Lake Kournas
The largest, natural lake on the island of Crete, and a beautiful one at that! Only 30 minutes from Villa Freedom, its the perfect day out with the little ones. There is plenty of parking and lots of lovely tavernas overlooking the lake, all of which have childrens play areas and trampolines for them to play on whilst you enjoy your gyros by the lake. Yo can hire a little peddle boat and do your own little tour of the lake, we found crabs, fish and even turtles on our little lake adventure.
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Elafonisi BeachÂ
The most magical and stunning beach set in on the West coast of Crete – this is a MUST. We had done our research of beaches in Crete and along with Elafonisi we had seen Balos beach – however, it was recommended to us by a few people on the island that Elafonisi is far more family friendly so we took their advise, and i am so glad we did! Elafonisi, voted the fourth best beach in Europe, did absoloutly not disappoint. The pink and white sand and clear blue waters made for the most exquisite scenery. The shallow, crystal clear waters made it so easy for the children to swim, spalsh and enjoy. Harry was particluarly impressed by the pink sand and the large blow up donut he convinced his daddy to buy him from the watersports shop – the perfect day in paradise!
Chania Old Town
Okay, so we fell in LOVE with Chania old town – the most charming and picturesque part of Chania. The narrow streets are filled with magnificent townhouses, with Venetian balconys and stunning Greek architecture. We spent hours exploring, going up and down all of the magical, hidden streets, discovering more beautiful little gems at each turn. A particularly good find was a stunning little bakery called ‘Pasteleria de Dana’ – I can not stress the point enough that you just MUST visit this bakery. The pastries, macarons and cakes were just divine. As you reach the bottom of old town you’ll find the wonderful Venetian harbour, with glass bottom boat trips, horse and cart trips around the city and lots of beautiful trinket shops – there is plenty to do down by the harbour. We picked one of the many traditionally Greek restaurants and had a beautiful meal overlooking the boats on the harbour.
Villa Freedom, is luxury, family friendly and absolute perfection in every way. We spent the most enchanting, wonderful week here. If you are looking for a big family trip filled sun, sea and beautiful memory making – this is the place! See below for more pics and as always, get in touch with us on instagram if you have any questions!
