Camping Elizabeth

Rethymno

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Crete's oldest campground is only 4km east of the old city but feels far removed from Rethymno, on beautiful Missiria beach. Bamboo, palm and tamarisk trees provide plenty of shade. If you don't have your own gear, it rents out tents with bedding (singles/doubles €20/28), as well as caravans and air-conditioned glamping (sleeping four) on the dunes overlooking the beach.

There’s a taverna (open May to November), plus a snack bar, a communal fridge, a safe, laundry facilities and free beach umbrellas and sunloungers. Gas cookers can be rented for €5 per day. An Iraklio-bound bus can drop you nearby.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Ruins of the ancient Minoan Palace of Phaistos (Festos) with the Messara mountains in the background. 354488120 aegean, age, ancient, archaeological, architecture, backdrop, background, blue, bronze, building, city, civilization, cretan, crete, culture, faistos, famous, festos, greece, greek, history, horizontal, island, landscape, legacy, mediterranean, messara, minoan, mountain, old, outdoors, palace, past, phaestos, phaistos, place, plain, plateau, remains, romantic, ruin, scenic, site, sky, stone, summer, temple, tourism, travel, tree, view, wall

    Phaestos

    27.58 MILES

    Phaestos was the second-most-important Minoan palace-city after Knossos and enjoys an awe-inspiring setting with panoramic views of the Messara Plain and…

  • The main church of Arkadi Monastery, symbol of the struggle of Cretans against the Ottoman Empire , Rethymno, Crete, Greece.; Shutterstock ID 586702175; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 586702175

    Moni Arkadiou

    7.6 MILES

    The 16th-century Arkadi Monastery, 23km southeast of Rethymno, has deep significance for Cretans. As the site where hundreds of cornered locals massacred…

  • Turkish medieval fortress at Ancient Aptera in Chania, Crete, Greece.; Shutterstock ID 1575956149; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 1575956149

    Aptera

    21.83 MILES

    The ruins of the ancient city of Aptera, about 13.5km east of Hania, spread over two hills that lord grandly over Souda Bay. Founded in the 7th century BC…

  • Chania, Greece - April 15, 2017: Exposition of Archaeological Museum of Chania, Greece. 651422344 exhibition,greek,art,past,aegean,exhibits,heritage,history,people,building,crete,interior,mediterranean,greece,museum,culture,archaeology,archaeological museum,exposition,chania

    Hania Archaeological Museum

    29.86 MILES

    The setting alone in the beautifully restored 16th-century Venetian Church of San Francisco is reason to visit this fine collection of artefacts from…

  • The path to the cave of Zeus; Shutterstock ID 1827561248; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 1827561248

    Ideon Cave

    20.89 MILES

    Although just a huge and fairly featureless hole in the ground, Ideon has sacred importance in mythology as the place where Zeus was reared by his mother,…

  • ELEUTHERNA, CRETE, GREECE - March 19, 2019. Inside the museum of the archaeological site of ancient Eleutherna, Rethimno; Shutterstock ID 1387762328; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 1387762328

    Museum of Ancient Eleutherna

    9.31 MILES

    A must-see for anyone visiting the ruins of Eleutherna is the accompanying modern museum that contextualises the ancient city through the exhibition of…

  • Melidoni Crete September 1 2019-Melidoni cave, an amazing historical and archaeological cave with the impressive formations of the stalactites and stalagmites.; Shutterstock ID 1501663331; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 1501663331

    Melidoni Cave

    12.35 MILES

    About 2km outside the village of Melidoni is this stunning cathedral-like cave, an evocative underworld of stalactites and stalagmites. A place of worship…

  • Chania, crete greece - 05 12 2022: Venetian harbour of the pittoresk cretan town with colorful old houses; Shutterstock ID 2227253445; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 2227253445

    Venetian Harbour

    29.93 MILES

    There are few places where Hania's historic charm and grandeur are more palpable than in the old Venetian Harbour. It's lined by pastel-coloured buildings…

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Nearby Rethymno attractions

1. Mili Gorge

2.04 MILES

A popular hike from Rethymno is through this lush, leafy gorge that spans 4km along a scenic stream. Along the route you'll encounter stone houses from…

2. Kara Musa Pasha Mosque

2.06 MILES

This building began life as a monastery but was turned into a mosque by the Turks, who added the domes and a minaret, of which only bits remain. It is…

3. Lighthouse

2.13 MILES

Punctuating the old pier in the Venetian Harbour, the 9m-high lighthouse was built in the 1830s, when Egypt ruled Crete. (Britain forced Egypt to give…

4. Paleontological Museum

2.16 MILES

The highlight of this dusty old museum are the displays of fossilised tusks and bones from the dwarf Cretan elephant and pygmy hippopotamus. Both were…

5. Venetian Harbour

2.21 MILES

Rethymno’s compact historic harbour is chock-a-block with tourist-geared fish tavernas and cafes. For a more atmospheric perspective, walk along the…

6. Loggia

2.24 MILES

This nicely restored 16th-century landmark originally served as a meeting house for Venetian nobility to discuss politics and money, and morphed into a…

7. Rimondi Fountain

2.29 MILES

Another vestige of Venetian rule is this small fountain where water spouts from three lions’ heads into three basins flanked by Corinthian columns. Above…

8. Neratzes Mosque

2.3 MILES

This triple-domed mosque began life as an Augustinian church and was converted by the Turks in 1657, although the recently restored minaret wasn't added…