Things to do in Elounda and Spinalonga

Elounda is the upscale end of the Lasithi coast, a low-key resort town on the gulf of Mirabello facing the fortified islet of Spinalonga.

From 1903 to 1957 Spinalonga was a leper colony, the last in Europe, set inside a Venetian fortress built in 1579; Victoria Hislop's novel The Island made it famous, but the people who lived and died there are recent history, not a backdrop for photographs.

Boats run from three points: Plaka, the shortest crossing at around 10 minutes and roughly €12-15 return, Elounda itself, and Agios Nikolaos, a longer trip of about 45 minutes to an hour. Crossings operate May to October, with a thinner, weather-dependent timetable outside July and August.