VAMOS village

Vamos village

Our luxury holiday home "Villa MAQUIS" is located in the village VAMOS, the center of the APOKORONAS area, at the foot of the White Mountains. They carry their name not because of the snow that covers these mountains until mid Mai, but because of the limestone appearing white in the sun.

Vamos is still a traditional unspoiled Greek village that offers year-round open tavernas, local shops, bakery, English butcher, petrol station, local hospital. Local inhabitants (most of them speak English) are very welcoming to toerist. Greek even have a greek word for this, called Xenofilia. Historically Vamos has been utmost important for the area and the island of Crete. During the Ottoman occupation Vamos was the capital of the province of SFAKIA and the area has developed significantly. You can still see some signs like the big buildings in the village, the many schools and governmental offices.

Take a look at our self take photo collection of the village of Vamos:

VAMOS Village photos

On the center of Vamos there is also a tourist office, here you can get more information regarding the many events they are organizing including cooking lessons, herb picking, go see the local bee keeper and honey production and other festivities.

More information: http://www.vamosvillage.gr

Small villages in the proximity of Vamos

Our luxury holiday home is located at walking distance from the next charming Greek villages.

XIROSTERNI (1km)

The true meaning of Xirosterni is dried well and this one is located in the center of the village. One shop (open every day) sells bread and vegetables, one little restaurant across the shop and a wine and raki distillery

LITSARDA (1km) with a pizza restaurant and a local shop Xirosterni (2km), Kefalas (4km).

GAVALOCHRI (3km) is a traditional village in the "green valley" with several restaurants, shops and a small museum, worth a visit

Gavalochori is a little original Greek village on Crete in the area of the APOKORONAS that belongs to the bigger village of VAMOS. About 350 inhabitants, several (very good) Cretan restaurants and souvenir shops. Gavalochori is named after the Byzantine family GAVALODON that lived here around 1200.
Most of the inhabitants are farmers, living on the production of Olive threes, figs, almonds and honey.U can find a number of architectural interesting buildings in the village.Gavalochori seems not to be affected by tourisme and is able to keep most of of its traditions and authentic character. Around the village you will beautiful stone houses, white stone streets, flower gardens and big and small churches. In the village of Gavalochori the woman are working in a traditional way with silk dating from the Byzantine times.
Gavalochori is also known for its 2 important churches dating from the 16th century, the church of the holy Mary and the church of Agios Sergios.
There is a folklore museum with interesting and valuable expositions including Cretan traditional costumes, old coins, wapens, old furniture and other objects used in daily f-life.
Venician wells are located just 1 km outside the village (to the south)
Right in the center, but a little hidden, you can visit (free entrance) an old olive oil press.

KEFALAS (3km)

From the village of VAMOS a nice road leads directly into KEFALAS. Villa Maquis is located just in between these two villages.
Kefalas means head or top of the hill. It is situated at 282m above sea level.The community is a collection of the villages of Kefalas, Drapanos and Palailoni.
The centre of the village has 2 tavernas, 2 little supermarkets and 4 kafenion's not yet discovered by the tourists.There is no hotel and most of the time it is very quite even in the summer.
At the Kefalas square there is an old school (renovated and reopened as the school of environmental studies). Immediately left of the old school there is an old building, rebuild and renovated as a museum. It contains artifacts donated by the inhabitants in order to represent a typical village house. A side building contains many tools for farming. The museum is open until 22.00h most of the summer days and entrance is free. At the square there is a monument with the names of the people who died as a result of the world wars.
In Kefalas there are at least 8 churches, coming from VAMOS you will first pass the little church of " The Saint of miracles". Here you can also find the stone structures build by Vangelis, the curator of the museum. ON the stone structure you can see text written in Greek and English. The oldest Church is TIMIOS STAVROS dating from the 16the century.
On the side of the village in the director of DRAPANOS there is still a ruine of an old wind mill, there are also a number of 'ALONI" around the village, stone circles where grain and olives was milled by donkeys.

PALAILONI

A little mountain village with only a few inhabitants. Mostly ruins from the Venetian and Turkish period.One cafenion & restaurant, but original Greek cuisine. The owner makes all the tables and chairs himself and the welcoming is very warm. You take place between the locals who seem to be celebration all the time. On sunday he makes slow cooked pork, never eaten better somewhere else.

KALYVES (6km) and Almyrida (6km) at the seaside

Have a look on trip advisor with the most interesting places to visit on the area:

the 7 villages of the Apokoronos

We are happy to send you a map with the location of the local shops in Vamos and Kalyves.

Souda bay

From the terrace of your holiday residence you will be able to overlook the bay of Souda with the peninsula Akrotiri, the NATO naval base and several small islands. In the evening you will enjoy the lights from across.

Cities

Your luxury holiday house, Villa Limani, is perfectly located to visit the major cities in the island of Crete ;

CHANIA is worth a visit, both for shopping and sightseeing. The Venetian harbor hosts many fish restaurants and lounge bars, next to the old center and the covered market with local products. Located outside the center are the “Venizelos graves” and the “place to be” KOUKOUVAYA bar, both offer wonderful views over the city and an amazing sunset.

RETHIMNON is about a 35km drive from the villa. The old town with its mix of architecture and history is worth a visit as well.

HERAKLION with the palace of Knossos is the largest city and the capital of Crete. (115km from the villa)

Beaches

In the proximity Kalyves, Almyrida (with sailing club) and Georgioupoulis (11km) offer beautiful sandy beaches. Beach bars and small restaurants offer home made dishes. From your holiday rental, Villa Limani, it is only a few minutes from these charming sandy beaches.

At Akrotiri (the north section of Chania), you will find several nice beaches, Seitan Limania beach (difficult access but fluo blue waters), Stavros beach where Zorba the Greek was filmed and Marathi with a small fishing harbor and several nice seafood restaurants.