The following post was created before we postponed our reunion. We expect the plans for 2022 to follow this same itinerary.
Our reunion planning trip was very productive, and we are anxious to give you an update on our preparations for next year. We have a tentative schedule in place! Nothing is final, as we have some details to work out and they may affect the itinerary.
Here is what we know so far.
1. Hotel.
We know many are anxious to try someplace new, or to be close to the beach. The challenges we found are that in July nobody in the big hotels that could accommodate us are willing to set aside the rooms we need. There is a chance, in their minds, that we cancel last minute and rooms go empty during prime season. Also, as much as it’s hard to believe, they don’t need our business. Hotels use booking.com or other online resources to book rooms. Many are already booked for next July. While we still need to get prices from one or two locations, they will e very expensive, from what we can determine. But final prices will be shared as we get them.
All this brings us back to Oasis, where we stayed in 2014. They are happy to welcome us back and gave us a price of 55 Euros a night. It’s a great price for July, anywhere in Chania. As we now see things, Oasis will be our base again in 2020.
We are requested to book our rooms by Christmas. Please contact Pari at info@oasis-guesthouse.com.
2. Itinerary.
We have two full day excursions planned. The first one takes us to the southern shores and Frangokastello. There is an old castle on the beach and the view of the castle from the water is beautiful. After the beach we will spend the afternoon in Sfakia where everyone is free to choose a restaurant to have a meal. After Sfakia, depending on everyone's responses, we are offering the option of a ferry boat ride to Loutro, about 15 minutes west of Sfakia. You can stay overnight and return on the next day, which is an open day on the schedule. I strongly urge that you consider this Loutro is amazing and offers a quiet, unique break from the busy week of events.
The other full day is a charter boat that takes us to Balos beach, a truly amazing location that is hard to describe. After a few hours on the beach we will take a short bus ride to Falassarna, where we expect to return for a sunset meal at the Panorama hotel, as we did in 2014.
Nestled in between these two days above we have various small excursions planned. A train ride to Therisso is in the works, repeating one of the favorite events of 2014. Lunch in the village with free time allows us to see more of Therisso than time allowed in 2014.
Options
Other places to see throughout the week include a train tour of the German soldiers cemetery in Malame, and the Charma brewery tour, the only brewery in Crete. Other events as options include winery tours, botanical gardens, and the Limnoupoli water park. We will post more items soon.
Here is the tentative itinerary we planned for 2020:
Sunday, July 12 - Registration, welcome night (location to be determined)
Monday - Options day (see options)
Tuesday - Amoudari Doxologia at Agios Georgios, Frangokastello, Sfakia and an option to stay overnight in Loutro.
Wednesday - Options day,
Thursday - Therisso lunch by train and evening free
Friday - Balos beach by ferry, followed by dinner at Panorama in Falassarna
Saturday, July 18 - Day free and Farewell dinner at Madares in Therisso
We strived to keep things less structured this time, with more free time and many options to fill the week.
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