When most people think of skiing destinations, Greece might not be the first country that comes to mind, and when it does come to mind, it is most likely the mountainous regions of northern Greece and not the islands. Nevertheless, Crete was featured in the New York Times Travel section on January 4 for “the best spring skiing anywhere” which surprised even some of the island’s natives.
When travel writer Biddle Duke, his wife, a longtime Greek friend, and the ski filmmaker Constantine Papanicolaou checked into the Domus Renier hotel in Chania in February 2020, the manager Antonis Michael, after seeing their ski gear, asked, “You will ski? There is skiing here?”
Duke notes that “from the deck of the overnight ferry from Athens, the sight of the massive snow-covered Lefka Ori range rising abruptly behind the ancient harbor town of Chania on the island of Crete, was astonishing and strangely unexpected.”
“Like a growing number of seasoned skiers, when I ski these days it is mostly under my own power, in search of quiet, aerobic exercise and the thrilling payoff of a descent on untouched snow,” Duke writes, adding that “several years ago I began to hear stories that sounded hard to believe — that I could find the best of that kind of skiing on Crete. The spring snow conditions were said to be dependable, the scenery stunning, and you could make long descents within sight of the sea while spending your nights at picturesque Mediterranean seaside towns.”
Read more at thenationalherald.com
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
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