I visited Spinalonga the first Friday of November 2021. The website from the Greek Ministry of Culture indicated that the site is closed from 1st of November but it was open anyway.

I took a bus from Chersonissos to Elounda which required a change in Agios Nikolaos. I tried to do this the day before but then the bus from Heraklion was late and therefore I missed the connection and I chose another destination. On Friday I gave it another try and then it worked out fine.

On arrival one boat was selling tickets for the trip. Only two other people were already waiting and after some vague promises, a bit more waiting and some complaining from the other two passengers, we departed. It was a beautiful sunny day and the boat trip through the lagoon was very enjoyable. On the island, we had 1 hour and 10 minutes which was just enough, but I would not have minded to stay another hour or so.

There are also boats from Plaka but it is not served by bus after 1st of November. Plaka is closer to Spinalonga, so one would miss out on the pleasant boat ride (or save a bit of time and money, depending on preference and perspective). We were by no means alone on the island, there were several tour groups milling about, who arrive in tour boats, probably from Plaka. Between 1st of November and 31st of March the entrance fees are reduced …

Greece’s apparent intention to nominate the “Fortress/Leper Hospital Island of Spinalonga” on Crete for 2020 continues its policy since 1999 of not putting forward any of its numerous uninscribed ancient sites. In Dec 2018, we made a somewhat unsatisfactory visit to it in the form of a boat trip round the, otherwise “closed for the season”, island (photo)! Nevertheless we felt that this limited visit plus subsequent investigation has enabled us to extract most of the “value” offered by the site. This first review of it should at least help WHS travellers when tracking its progress through to the WHC as well as deciding whether and how best to visit it.

The small “islet” (a walk round it is c 1.5 km) is nicely situated at the entrance of the Gulf of Elounda towards the Eastern end of Crete - a 1.5hrs drive from Heraklion. It effectively “blocks” the seaway and was an obvious site for a “Fort”. The one “on show” is largely Venetian - built and occupied by them from 1578 - 1715. The T List description on the UNESCO Web site “bigs up” the “unique” design aspects (“Compared to other fortified islets around the world......the islet of Spinalonga stands out as the only example of an advanced asymmetric layout of the main fortification element, the seaward Michiel demilune”). But, to the non-specialist, it looks like just another fort - albeit in a picturesque island location. We saw a number of others on Crete, and …