Renting a car is a must in Crete. The island is so big that if you really want to explore it you need the freedom of your own vehicle. But if you want to relax on the beach and not hop around the island for your holidays you can do that too. Crete has it all.

WHAT TO SEE IN CRETE?

Heraklion Archeological Museum is one of Greece’s most important and famous museums. The museum houses representative artefacts from all periods of Cretan history. The exhibition is really interesting and worth visiting.

When you are visiting the museum, you can buy a combo ticket to visit The Palace of Knossos which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Crete. You can explore the ruins of the ancient palace and learn something about history. I recommend you take a private guided tour of the Knossos Palace. 

The biggest cities in Crete are Heraklion and Chania. Both are very vegan-friendly. In the city centre of Heraklion, many restaurants are offering vegan options. Chania is the busiest of them all. 

If you want to know more about what to do when visiting Crete you can check our detailed guide here. 

BEST BEACHES IN CRETE

The best beaches to visit on Crete are Phalasarna, Elafonissi, and Balos. Phalasarna is our number one beach to chill. Very popular is also Elafonissi Beach with pink sand but it is not our favourite because it is a little bit too touristy for us.

There is also the most beautiful one of all three called Balos Lagoon. The views are breathtaking, and the beach is amazing. Just be sure to have enough water and snacks and good walking shoes because it is quite a hike if you arrive by car.

An important tip for visiting Balos is to arrive early to secure yourself a parking spot and to visit the beach before the crowds that arrive by boat. 

->Don’t miss out on the best car rental deals we’ve found for Crete.

BEST VEGAN RESTAURANTS IN CRETE

You can find something vegan to eat in almost every restaurant in Crete. Most of the restaurants have Dolmadakia, which is a traditional Greek dish: stuffed grape leaves with rice and herbs. This one is so good that we ordered it for almost every meal.

You can also have potatoes and to make Greek salad vegan, order it without feta cheese. Most of the restaurants offer stuffed peppers or tomatoes with rice called Gemista – this is also one of my favourite foods in Crete.

Here are listed some of the best vegan restaurants for your trip to Crete.

FAST VEGAN FOOD CRETE

Is a small vegan takeaway restaurant in Crete. They are offering a lot of fast-food options like pizza, sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, and wraps. You can also have milkshakes and pancakes.

We tried gyros and it was our first vegan gyros on our trip to Crete. We loved it!

CRETE VEGAN: CRUMB DESSERTS

When you are visiting Heraklion you have to stop here and have a vegan snack and coffee. They have delicious plant-based desserts, the best you can find in Crete.

SPILIOS IN CRETE VEGAN

This restaurant had one of the best views we have seen in Crete. The restaurant is overlooking Phalasarna beach. We ordered a few different vegan dishes and made ourselves a perfect lunch with a view. If you are visiting Phalasarna beach you have to stop here for lunch or dinner. You can check their menu here.

LET’S VEGAN RETHYMNO RESTAURANT

It is a nice restaurant near the sea that is offering many vegan dishes. They have street food like burgers, meze plates, pasta, moussaka, paella, gyros, and many desserts. We tried moussaka and gyros plate.

We were very happy with the friendliness of the staff and with our food.

FALAVELA FALAFEL CRETE VEGAN

It is an affordable falafel place offering a variety of falafel wraps. Not all are vegan but most of them are. It is a great snack option a little bit out of the city centre of Chania on Crete.

We tried falafel wrap and it was very good.

PULSE VEGAN CRETE

This was one of our favourite restaurants in Crete and we ate there twice because there were too many good things to choose from. For mains, you can have moussaka, casserole, risotto, and many other things.

There are many amazing starters and desserts you can try, and they also have fresh smoothies. For dessert, we tried vegan tiramisu, and it was very good. 

TO STACHI VEGAN SLOW FOOD

It is a cute restaurant offering traditional Greek cuisine in Crete. You can try moussaka, zucchini flowers, and traditional dolmadakia. You can also have spaghetti, soup or salad.

Here we tried pastisio which is a dish made from layers of pasta, tomato sauce, mushrooms, vegetables, and plant-based bechamel.

PRIMA PLORA ORGANIC RESTAURANT & WINE BAR

When we were visiting the city on Crete called Rethymnon we stopped here for lunch with a beautiful sea view and the view of Venetian Fortezza Castle. For starters, you can order vegan hummus and falafel, fried potatoes, and boiled greens.

You can choose different salads or pasta and risotto for mains. They are also offering some gluten-free options.

EVILION BISTRO CRETE VEGAN

Many of the dishes in this restaurant are plant-based. You can have healthy bowls, pasta, salad, burgers, gyros, and falafel.

TALOS RESTAURANT

This restaurant was just a few minutes from our hotel in Crete, so we decided to stop there for lunch. On their menu, everything that is vegan or gluten-free is written in a different colour, so it is easy to spot vegan dishes. I had my favourite traditional speciality called gemista and we also tried briam which is a dish of roasted vegetables.

TAVERNA MOURAKI

This restaurant also has an amazing view. It is not very vegan-friendly, but you can find a few dishes. Most restaurants in Greece and Crete are offering dalmadakia for starters and gemista for mains. These are two traditional specialities that are also vegan and super delicious.

PESKESI CRETE VEGAN

It is one of the most famous restaurants in Heraklion, so we wanted to try it. For starters, we had dalmadakia which it said on the menu was plant-based, but we were served yoghurt beside them.

For the main dish, we had a traditional vegetable dish, which was ok but nothing special. This restaurant is overhyped, especially for vegans there are much better restaurants in the area. 

Crete is a very big island. It is so big that you will need to spend at least one or two weeks here if you want to see it all. We did not have that much time, so we chose to stay three days in Heraklion and five days near Chania.

As I already mentioned most of the restaurants have vegan options listed on the menu so you can be a little bit spontaneous on your trip and not check every restaurant up front. Crete is very beautiful and one of the Greek islands that you cannot miss!

SEE ALSO: Visiting the Famous Shipwreck Beach on Zakynthos Island and Trying the Best Traditional Greek Vegan Food!

The post Crete is a Greek Island with Many Vegan Restaurants. Here are the Best 10 Options for You to Try on Your Holidays appeared first on Vegan Friendly Travel.