The largest and most southerly of the Greek islands, Crete's reputation for constant sunshine makes it one of the most attractive year-round vacation destinations for solar-starved Europeans.

With its mountainous interior, astonishing gorge, picturesque villages, long sandy beaches and fascinating archaeological ruins, Crete offers far more than most Mediterranean beach bumming destinations.

The island's lush hinterland flourishes with olive groves, herbs and fragrant wildflowers. Crete is home to more than 3,000 caves, many of which were once used as ancient dwellings, tombs or shrines. Crete's most spectacular natural wonder is the verdant Samaria Gorge, the longest in Europe and nowadays a popular hiking destinations; the six-hour trek through the gorge is not for the faint-hearted.

The seat of Europe's earliest advanced civilization, Crete is scattered with some of the world's most significant ancient sites, including the expertly reconstructed Minoan Palace of Knossos as well as Gortys - the Roman capital of Crete. Due to its geographical position, ancient Crete provided a strong trading link between East and West. With the downfall of the Minoan era around 1450BC came subsequent years of occupation by conquering civilizations such as the Mycaeans, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans, all whom have left their mark on the island.

Crete's warm Mediterranean Sea and 1,046 kilometres of coastline lends itself to water sports, including swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving and parasailing. While significant chunks of Crete's northeast coast have been blighted by developments targetting the package tourism market, the east, south and west coasts still boast stunning secluded stretches. Vai beach is one of the island's more popular beaches. With azure sea lapping its golden sands, it is fringed by Europe's largest natural palm forest. The sandy beach at Matala is also an idyllic - albeit crowded - stretch. The caves that line the rocks above the beach are former Roman tombs carved into the sandstone and were a notorious hippy hangout in the '60s and '70s when the likes of Bob Dylan dropped in.

Crete's capital is Heraklion (also called Iraklio), a buzzing city with a must-see archaeological museum housing a world-renown collection of Minoan artifacts. Other urban centres on Crete include Rethymno, a student and package tourism town worth visiting for its Venetian fortress and wide sandy beach, and Hania, the loveliest city on Crete, infused with Venetian architecture and dramatic views to the snowcapped White Mountains.

For the most amiable weather, the best time to visit Crete is between April and October.

Heraklion International Airport is the main airport on the island.