Agios Nikolaos

The town of Aghios Nicolaos is situated at the Northern part of the island, at a distance of 67 kilometers eastern to Heraklion and at the western part of the prefecture’s territory, within the large bay of Mirambello, at its western coast it is the capital city of the prefecture with approximately 10.000 permanent residents. The actual town seems to have been built at the place of the ancient Doric city “Lato pros Kamaran”, that used to be the port of the famous Doric city of “Lato i Etera” (“the other”), found in the inland, close to the village of Kritsa. During the Roman and Byzantine times, as well as later, during Venetian and Ottoman domination and the incorporation of Crete to Greece, the history of the town was common with that of the rest of the island. During the last few decades the town has an impressive tourist development; as a result accommodation of any kind and for all budgets is plenty. You will find hotels, studios and rooms to let and you will find a room even on the peak periods in summer, as the town may offer accommodation to a pretty big number of tourists. A lot of restaurants, taverns, cafes, fast foods bars and clubs with music, both Greek and foreign, are available in the town and at the near by beautiful beaches. Amusement and nightlife is one of the pros of the town, thus it is a popular destination for young people.Swimming is possible both at the beaches of the town and of the broader area. The Municipal beach, the beach at the small port (Kitroplatia), at Ammoudi, at Chavania, at Almyros, at Ammoudara are some of the choices you have. All of them are well-organised beaches, with clean sea and many facilities for the swimmerAccess to Aghios Nicolaos is possible by ferryboat from Piraeus; there is at least one ship from Piraeus to Aghios Nicolaos, all year round. In summer and during the official holidays there may be some more, according to the needs. The ships usually sail in the afternoon or in the evening and, depending on their speed, they arrive at Aghios Nicolaos after 6 to 12 hours.