How to spend your day in Sougia

Sougia Taxi & Minivan – Meletis

What is there to say about the Beauty of Sougia. A destination that can calm you and get your head away of troubles and city noise, with crystyal clear waters and many trails around Sougia that simply get you close to the nature and its beauty. Here at Sougia Taxi Meletis we have met many people and returning customers over the years, that prefer our friendly and professional stuff and are happy to give you directions to the best of our knowledge about what to do and where to go for your vacation in Sougia.

Find the Beauty of Sougia

If you are looking  for a Sougia taxi or a minivan, you’ve come to the right place. You can book your taxi, give us a call, a quick sms or reach us by our contact form. If you are travelling to Crete by plane and arriving to Chania airport, you can also book a taxi Chania airport to Sougia route with Meletis.

So it is time for that information we promised! If you want to find information and activities around Sougia, keep on reading. For the ones thirsty for exploring and the ones who want to be a bit more active you can take a look below or browse through the rest of our articles and discover about Sougia’s beauty.

Sougia Taxi suggests – Agia Irini Church

Just around the corner, or better yet just 5 km from the village on the west part you will meet the end of  Agia Irini Gorge. Its a dirt road about 30 minutes of walking that leads to the exit of the gorge, surrounded with tall pine trees. Besides walking you can get there either by renting a 4×4, your own off-road car or by Sougia Taxi Meletis. On your way to the top you will find some rewarding views of the whole village of Sougia and the endless Libyan Sea.

Just 5 km from Sougia lies the small Church of Agia Irini

There lies the small Church of Agia Irini, with an architectural type of a single-aisled ( or aisleless ) byzantine church with a dome. At present state the church is saved with a lately refurbished dome. It is chronologically put around the 13th century and its architectural is linked with the tradition of  the Greek orthodox church. A big celebration is held on the 5th of May with food and songs.

The inner saved wall murals were revealed on 2008 and are thought to have been work of the very active in West Crete painter Theodoro Daniil Veneri.

 

Samaria Gorge with Meletis Taxi in Sougia

Samaria gorge is an infamous destinations for many tourists around the globe. You can book our Taxi  In Sougia or a Minivan if you are a group of people, so we can transfer you safely at the best prices to the Samaria Gorge or at its entrance  Xyloskalo, the start of Samaria Gorge. From there it is roughly half a day hike, depending on your expertise. You will find water spots on every one or two km through this amazing gorge. You can also check our Samaria taxi boat

Samaria taxi boat

Samaria taxi boat can take you anywhere you like privately or with a group to many destinations around Samaria. Some of them are Sougia, Sfakia, Gavdos or any South Crete city that you want. You can find more information on our Sougia water Taxi or Samaria taxi boat pages.

Sougia Taxi to Samaria Gorge with comfort and safety

You can find many articles about Sougia and information on Samaria gorge in our page or the Samaria gorge – Samaria National park official website. If you are looking  for a Sougia taxi to Samaria Gorge or a minivan, look no further. You can book your taxi, give us a call, a quick sms or reach us by our contact form.

 

Sougia Taxi Samaria Gorge the easy way

Ok. As you might have found out, not all the people can walk under hot sun for some hours, even for the best experience of Samaria Gorge. In that case, there is an alternative. Done by people who want to skip the long way, ones that are happy with less, or even the ones who have done the Samaria gorge a few times and need an alternative. You can simply take a ANYKDYK ferry to get you to Agia Roumeli or a water Taxi and the walk up the Samaria Gorge to the so called Iron Gates (because no iron anywhere to be seen…). Which also happens to be the narrowest point of the gorge at just 4 meters wide and about 500m tall!).From that point you can either keep going and follow the hard way up the gorge or get back to Agia Roumeli and catch the afternoon ferry, or even call a sougia water Taxi.

 

Sougia Activities – Trail to Ancient Lissos

A wonderful small bay near Sougia is the bay in fron of Ancient Lissos. You can get there from the trail ( the route belongs on the E4 trail between Sougia an Palaiochora ), or by Sougia Water Taxi. Either way it is certainly worth a visit. If you decide to get the trail near Sougia, you will start just behind Sougia’s port and start a mild climb. After that there is some descent to get to Lissos.  If you decide to go to Lissos the easy way, meaning through Sougia’s water taxi, on your way up from the sea, you will find a Roman cemetery on your left hand side on the hills and the remains of a Roman theatre and a small reservoir.

Dont miss the Ai Kyrkos fare on Ancient Lissos next to Sougia

Lissos was well known in the ancient times for its spiritual centre. It is one of the few places in Crete that you can find an Asclepieion.  Nowdays just the mosaic is saved and preserved.  On Lissos celebration day, there is usually a big crown that is gathered, bringing food and drinks to offer from the night before or in the evening of the fare. The church has an evening service and an early morning one at dawn that is just majestic. You can find more on the big fare of Ancient Lissos, that takes place on 15th of July for the celebration of its church Ai Kyrkos as we the locals call it, on our dedicated article in our blog. There are a lot more hidden surprises on this small destination that you can fiind out on your own. A subtle hint for one of them would be the following “Do try a night swim under a full moon“.

 

Sougia Activities – Prophet Elias chapel – Tripiti beach

Just 400 meters above the Tripiti beach you can find this beautiful chapel of profitis Elias. The church is having a festive on the name day of the Saint, on the 20th of July.

Prophet  Elias has stunning views of the Libyan sea

On the night before (19th of July) many people gather on the chapel to spend the night on the surrounding grounds and celebrate with good, drink and traditional songs. Worth the visit if you are on Sougia on 19th of July.

 

Sougia Activities – Limnes or Agios Antonis Beach – Harei

About 2.5 km east of Sougia in front of the sea you come to find a small church. The chapel is called of Agios Antonios for short but is trully of Agios Antonios & Panagia Chilioarmenitissa and is actually divided in two parts. The name of Virgin Mary as Chilioarmenitissa comes from the local tradition that says that She is sending a thousand light candles when the Sea is wild for the ships that wrestle with the waves not to lose their way.

East of Sougia, just off E4 you will find Agios Antonis Beach

Starting on the E4 path a bit after polyphemus cave you start your way towards the sea and leaving the E4 path. At this point you leave the black and yellow signs to follow the red signs on the rocks and you will be fine.

How can you visit Agios Antonios?

• You can either walk on the E4 trail for about 1.5 to 2 hours on the route of Sougia to Agia Roumeli. ( Find out more about Sougia Trails here )
• Call a Sougia’s water taxi to get you there the easy way ( about a 5 minutes ride ).

The beach that is beneath the chapel, got its name from Agios Antonios. The waters are quite cold and there are probably underwater springs filling the bay, from the melting snow from the mountains. Having said that it is worth mentioning that radon has been  found in the waters  that are less saline than sea water and is considered ideal for thermal baths.  As you have understood by now this small beach goes by a lot of names. Sometimes locals might call it Harei ( From Hara Rei as in Joy Flows ), or Limnes ( lakes ) and of course Agios Antonios Beach.

The beach is pebbly, as most of the beaches on South Crete and it has a lot of pine trees and some wild flora. Its ideal for snorkelling, nudism and of course camping. You will find a lot of people arriving by boats on the night of the July 1st to camp on nature and take part on the festival that is Happening on Virgins Mary celebration of the church on the 2nd of July. The church has 2 celebrations each year. One on the name day of Saint Antonios (17th of January) and one for Virgin Mary (2nd of July). On the day of the festival might be the only day that you will find this beach crouded. Take good care and provision for your food and water, since this is not an organised beach.

 

Sougia Taxi Meletis suggests Sougia water Taxi

We havent mentioned yet all the small boat trips that you can do to South Crete, if you are not a hiking type. Because Sougia is not only for the adventurous ones! Of course we are speaking about the Sougia Water Taxi (Taxi boat), that can take you to numerous beaches and hidden gems around Sougia with no road connection. You can book your Sougia Taxi and let the rest to us.

 

Sougia Activities – Ancient city of Elyros

Ancient Elyros was an important city between Cydonia (Chania area) and Lissus. Its harbour was Syia (Sougia) and Lissus, where very significant finding were discovered. The archeological site that Robert Pashley discovered is  situated on Kefala Hill about 500m northwest of the present-day Rodovani village. As of today the site is not yet excavated.

Ancient Elyros – a city of the old with long history

You might have arrived to Chania with a ship with the name of Elyros. But Elyros was much more than that. Elyros was significant since the Classical Greek Era (Around 500BC to 350BC). It was considered to be the most important city in South West Crete and said to have around 16,000 inhabitants and about 30,000 on its peak. It was an industrial city and had a production of large weapons. The whorship of the city was God Apollo and nymph Akakallida and their sons.  On ancient geographer Pausanias writings, we can find that, there has been an offering to the Delphi Oracle of a bronze votive complex; a goat feeding the two infant sons of God Apollo and nymph Akakallida (Phylakides and Philandros). Ancient Elyros was also one of the thirty cities that signed the decree with Eumenes II in 183 BC. and it had its own coin with the name of the city (‘Ελυρος”) and a goat, that was used on Yrtakina, Syia, Lissus and the surrounding villages. That was clearly a sign of power.

The site as already said is not yet excavated and there is little to see, but still it has an amazing view to Sougia and Rodovani. A Roman statue of  the Greek philosopher Elyros was recovered and transferred to the Chania Archeological museum and you can find that in its permanent exchibition. The city was finally ruined by the Saracens. A sign has been discovered on the city that reads

“Εδοξε την πόλει των Ελυρίων” meaning “Blessed be the city of the Elyrians”

On 2008 Shipping company ANEK Lines named one of its ships “Elyros” from the ancient city.

If you want to visit ancient Elyros, the following directions might help you.

On your road from Chania to Sougia, at Rodovani intersection you turn left towards Sougia. After 20m you must turn right to a dirt road. From there after your initial turn you must go left towars the Church. It might be difficult for your vehicle, so you can walk the small distance to the church.

Past the church, towards the east you will find a fence and a door. Do make sure you close the door behind you. After some climbing you can get to the site. You can also ask the very friendly priest. You can also find more detailed information for your visit to Elyros on this lovely article at meetcrete.com

 

Sougia Activities – Ancient city of Yrtakina

High above the hills you come to meet the ancient city of Yrtakina. It is located on the top of a hill called Kastri, next to the modern-day village of Temenia. Temenia is today known for its natural springs and you can taste the water from a small running spring inside the village. Yrtakina is though to have flourished in Hellinistic Greek Era (between 323BC and 31BC). Still today you can find some remains of the two huge city walls surrounding the city, that was to protect it from raids and atacks at that perilous times. The city was autonomous and had its own two coins. One was displaying a dolphin and an eight ray star and another one with a Cretan wild goat (Kri Kri) and a bee named Tarra (Tarra was a neighboring ancient city). Ancient Yrtakina was also on of the cities that that signed the decree with Eumenes II.

Excavations on 1938-39 on the site, revealed an ancient temple of god Pannas (Pan) and a statue, that you can find today along with a curved gravestone on the Archeological museum of Chania. You can also find a lovely small church of the 13th century; Church of Christ the Saviour. In the city you can also find a road winding down to Lissos and outside the walls, a necropolis with curved gravestones that were sadly found desecrated.

 

How to get to Ancient Yrtakina with Sougia Taxi Meletis

Leaving the village of Temenia and taking the road for Maza you will see a sign “Ancient Yrtakina”. You can park your car there and start the climb uphill. In case you dont have a car you can book our Sougia Taxi to take you to the village of Temenia. The climb takes about 30-40 minutes and its about  2 km in distance. Climbing on the top will give you great views of the whole area. Based on a hill with a great view of Sougia NorthEast and the Libyan sea, the deep gorge of Agia Irini and the neihboring villages of Rodovani, Koustogerako. On the east you can gaze at the peaks of the white mountains (Volakias and Gigilos). If you are into hiking, you can take a look at our page with trails near Sougia area. If you do decide to wonder off to this rather large city, do make a note where you came in, since getting lost is easy.

 

Activities next to Sougia – Paleochora

If you have a free evening and want to see some more people and escape from the sereness of Sougia, you can have a daytrip to Paleochora. Paleochora is located on a peninsula West of Sougia and its a comparatively a bigger town than Sougia, with vivid nightlife and more people.

Paleochora – Bride of the Libyan Sea

You can find more information for Paleochora on our dedicated Taxi to Paleochora page.In case you need to book a taxi to Paleochora or a minivan in case you are a group of people, you can directly make your booking from that page. You can also take the Ferry of ANEKDYK from Sougia from Thursday to Saturday, but make sure you remember the timeschedule. The ferry that does this route is F / B SAMARIA I.

 

Livadas and Koustogerako villages with Sougia Taxi Meletis

On the road winding down to Sougia, you come to meet the crossroad to Koustogerako. Koustogerako is a heroic mountain village at an altitude of 510m and 73 km away from Chania. On a 2011 census it was reported to have 44 villagers. A bit further South of Koustogerako at an altitude of 820 meters you can find the stone built church of Agia Aikaterini that is celebrated with a festival on the 25th of November every year. The church was build there as a reminder for the Heros that escaped death from the Germans on 25/11/1943.  You can find more information about the legentary fight of Achlada and the Koustogerako Heroes in this article ( on a local news paper ), how the church was build and the miracle that took place and saved the local Rebels. Koustogerako is upon the E4 trail. You can Find more routes from Koustogerako here. The church was build by Paterakis Michalis, son of one of those that were saved on that day.

North of Sougia you meet Koustogerako a heroic village

Livadas is a smaller village before Koustogerako at an altitude of 292m with fewer villagers. Livadas along with Sougia and Koustogerako was one of the villages that were plundered and burnt during the second world war period. It has a two-aisled temple of Agion Panton that is build according to villagers testimonies around 1850 and has it icons painted on 1888 by painter Oikonomou P. Konstantino.

If you want to get a taxi to Sougia for your vacation or a hiking excursion you can call Sougia taxi Meletis on the phone, use our contact form or drop us an email at meletistaxisougia@gmail.com. Our well trained stuff will be more than happy to be of service to comfortably and safely transfer you to your destination. We also have special prices in our Chania Airport to Sougia route. Make sure you ask us for a quote and prebook your ride. Stay safe with Sougia Taxi Meletis.

 

Catch up with other articles from Sougia Taxi Meletis:

Book your Sougia Taxi, the ways to get to Sougia and the most important information

Yet again if you are a group of people or in need of special help, also take a look at the following pages.

Family friendly and Large group Sougia Taxi Meletis

Health Care Sougia Taxi Meletis

Licenced Disabled Sougia Taxi Meletis

Pet Friendly Sougia Taxi Meletis