HOW TO GET THERE

Crete is so well connected to the rest of Europe that there is barely a city in the UK without a direct flight heading there. The busiest of the island’s two airports, Heraklion is a hive of arrivals in summer. British Airways (0344 493 0787; ba.com) flies in from Heathrow and Gatwick; easyJet (0330 493 0787; easyjet.com) offers services from Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Liverpool, Luton and Manchester. Beach-break expert Jet2 (0333 300 0404; jet2.com) visits the island from 11 different British runways, adding Belfast, East Midlands, Leeds-Bradford, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Stansted into the mix. Meanwhile, its package rival Tui (020 3451 2716; tui.co.uk) is even more intricately connected, with 12 British routes into Heraklion – including from Cardiff, Bournemouth, Exeter and Norwich. Then there is the Turkish low-cost carrier Corendon Airlines (020 3499 0642; corendon airlines.com), with flights from Gatwick and Manchester.

Chania is the second option – BA, easyJet, Jet2, and Tui all land here too (albeit from fewer departure points). Ryanair (01279 358 438; ryanair.com) only uses Chania – flights from Birmingham, East Midlands, LeedsBradford, Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle.

Inevitably, prices vary according to airline, route and month. At time of publication, a return ticket with British Airways from Heathrow to Heraklion on the first Saturday of August will cost £420 per person (£316 from Gatwick). A basic return from Stansted with Ryanair at the end of the season (flying out on October 11) costs from £189 per person.