Hersonissos is Crete's best-known resort, a lively stretch of the north coast half an hour east of the airport where long sandy-and-shingle beaches, big all-inclusive resorts and a busy harbour of tavernas and bars all sit within easy reach of each other. It is the island's most sociable base — the default choice for families who want an aquapark on the doorstep and couples who like a bit of buzz with their beach. Heraklion Airport (HER) is only around 25 minutes away by transfer, so you can land in the morning and be on a sunbed by lunch. If you want a Cretan week where everything you need is a short walk or a cheap taxi ride away, Hersonissos delivers it without fuss.
Every Hersonissos package we sell carries full ATOL financial protection under licence #11211, and your ATOL Certificate arrives the moment you book — you can read exactly how your ATOL financial protection works before you commit a penny. Every hotel on this page has been hand-picked and inspected in person against our 22-point criteria, not lifted from a brochure, so you are booking a resort someone from our team has genuinely walked through.
"Hersonissos gets a reputation for being loud, and part of it is — but that's only the strip near the harbour," says Eleni Trachalakis, our Greece Operations Manager, who grew up on Crete and spent years as a Thomas Cook resort representative here before joining GoToBeach. "Walk five minutes back from the port and you're in proper family territory: big pools, gentle beaches, kids' clubs that actually run. I still re-check these hotels in person every season, because the difference between a resort that photographs well and one that runs well is something you only see with your own feet on the tiles." Eleni will happily tell you which pools catch the afternoon sun and which beaches shelve gently for nervous swimmers — the details a brochure leaves out.