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Travel Destination Guide - Amoudara
Amoudara (Crete, Greece) 
Amoudara Information
Slideshow of Photos
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Amoudara was developed for tourism and is popular with all. The resort contains enough shops, bars and restaurants to satisfy most tastes, plus a couple of clubs. Because of its central location and proximity to Heraklion`s extensive public transport services, it is often used as a base from which to explore other parts of the island. There is a congregation of touristy shops around the larger hotels but no matter where you stay, you are never more than a stone`s throw from some type of shop. The resort is still developing with new places opening all the time.
Locality:
Located on the north coast, on W outskirts of capital Heraklion; 5 mls from airport. Amoudara is sandwiched between old national road and Gulf of Heraklion, its westward growth stopped by a power station and picturesque mountains.
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Amoudara is popular with all ages and price budgets, singles, couples and families will find something to fit their particular needs.
Amoudara's main attraction is the long stretch of sandy beach. All types of water sports arenavailable with the windsurfing especially good in July and August. Sunbeds and sun umbrellas are available for hire everywhere.
Accommodation here covers everything from high-category luxury hotels to plain unadorned rooms and plenty of both. Outside of Amoudara's main draw card (the beach), there are an abundance of bars and a couple of discos; Greek evenings at some hotels and bouzouki nightclubs for the insomniacs. Shoppers are treated to an array of fashionable shops in the larger hotels; good range of minimarkets plus jewellery, leather goods, T-shirt and speciality shops. There's even a hypermarket with a Marks & Spencer for those who get a bit homesick.
Excursions here consist of half day trips to an archaeological museum in Heraklion; Minoan Palace of Knossos. Full day trips consist of Spinalonga island; Lassithi Plateau; Phaestos; Chania with its magnificent Venetian architecture; Ottoman-influenced Rethymnon; Souda Bay, an Allied war cemetery; various Minoan sites. One/two days: Samaria Gorge. Week-long trips to many of the Greek Islands can be made.
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Population: 10.668.400
Languages: Greek 99% (official), English, French
Currency: euro
Currency code: EUR
Local Times:
Greece - Athens
Country Dialling Code: +30
Voltage: 220V 50Hz
Electrical plugs:
   
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Greece appeals to different types of tourist, and very few could fail to find somewhere to suit their taste. From bustling Athens to blindingly bright islands, ancient fragments abound - the belly button of the cosmos at Delphi, fallen columns galore on the sacred island of Delos, frescoed Minoan palaces on Crete and even, quite possibly, the remnants of Atlantis at Santorini. Greeks are fierce guardians of tradition, but that doesn't mean they don't know how to have fun. In addition, hot sun and limpid seas conspire to make Greece a perfect place to relax. Whether you're supping in a beachside taverna , sipping coffee in a shady plateia or disco-dancing till dawn.
The Olympic Games were spawned in ancient classical Greece, along with democracy and the fundamentals of philosophy, science and mathematics. Modern Greece is better known as a great place to vacation rather than a centre of learning and culture. Today the country attracts by offering simple pleasures: delicious food at reasonable prices, local wine, beautiful beaches, sunshine, quaint villages, a seemingly endless lacework of coastline and little islands full of scenic surprises.
The country exudes traditional charm, particularly on its ever-popular islands, which cling to their stereotypical architecture and way of life despite being often over-run by tourists. Black-clad women still deliver vegetables to island tavernas on panniered donkeys, while bronzed, lined fishermen sit in the sun, drink thick coffee, and play dominoes or dice. The tourist infrastructure has intruded in many respects, but the timeless aspect of whitewashed buildings clustered on hillsides around narrow pebbled alleys has been retained. The myriad islands in the Aegean Sea are easily accessible from Piraeus, the historic harbour of Greece's mainland capital, Athens, by ferry or hydrofoil, offering a unique chance for 'island-hopping'. Many of the larger islands also have airports with connections to Athens or seasonally with major European cities.
On the mainland the city of Athens in the south is sprawling, overcrowded and polluted but nevertheless enthralls visitors, while Thessaloniki in the north is vibrant and modern with a Byzantine flavour. Athens is dominated by its major landmark, the Parthenon: the remains of other wonders of the ancient Greek classical world are to be found mainly on the Peloponnese Peninsula, south of Corinth, the gateway to a veritable treasure trove of history.
Greece and Greeks welcome with open arms the thousands of visitors that flock to admire their national assets every year - no-one leaves without having been warmed, both by the sun and the hospitality. |
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Local Area Weather
Heraklion, GREECE |
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14°C
Feels like: 14°C |
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