Crete Leisure
With its rich and varied landscape, Crete is the perfect place for those who like to be active during their holiday. The varying terrain of beaches, plains and mountains offer countless possibilities for participating in sporting activities.
Spectator sports
Opportunities for watching sport in Crete are few and far between, and unless you are a fan of football, the best you might hope for is catching the locals playing volleyball at the beach! Soccer fans might want to check out the island’s home team OFI, or Omilos Filathlon Irakleiou, which is based in Heraklion and plays games at the Greek Premier Division (A’ Ethniki). Home games are held at the stadium in Heraklion and are open to residents and visitors alike.
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Participant sports
At the beach, you’ll find numerous opportunities for sporting activity, with pretty much every water sport or activity represented. Scuba divers will find organised trips from most beaches in the main resort areas, with some fantastic opportunities for observing the local marine flora and fauna around a selection of reefs off the coast.
Waterskiing and windsurfing are also popular and can be found at Malia, Agia Pelagia and Limenas Hersonissou in the Heraklion prefecture. Many of the beaches have banana boats, which should you be unfamiliar with, are large inflatable motor-driven bananas on which you sit and get something of a rough but thrilling ride up and down the length of the beach.
Back on dry land, you’ll also find no shortage of activities available. Golfers, as always, have a chance to indulge their passion and on Crete, they can do it at the Crete Golf Club, which is situated seven kilometres south of Hersonissos. Other activities on offer include mountain biking, rock climbing and hiking. Horseback riding enthusiasts also have a chance to enjoy their hobby, with several centres located in West Crete including the Deres horseback riding centre in the hills south of Maleme, the Zefiros horseback riding club in Tersanas and the Akrotiri, Zoraïda's horseback riding in Georgioupolis.