• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

MuslimTravelGirl

Award Winning Muslim and Halal Travel Friendly Blog

  • Blog
  • About
    • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Blog
  • DIY Umrah
  • Muslim Friendly Travel
    • Destinations
  • Travel Tips
  • Resources
  • About
    • FAQ
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Home
  • Start Here
    • Guide to Budget Travelling
    • Guide to Loyalty Programs
  • Muslim Friendly Travel
    • Honeymoon
    • Hijab-Free Holiday
    • Your Stories
  • DIY Umrah
  • Travel Tricks
    • Loyalty Programmes
    • Tutorials | Videos
  • Destinations
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Europe
    • North America
    • Reviews
      • Trip Report
      • Hotel Reviews
      • Airport Lounge Reviews
      • Flight & Airport Reviews
  • Resources
Home » Reader Story: Exploring Crete and Santorini as Muslim Women Travelling Alone

Reader Story: Exploring Crete and Santorini as Muslim Women Travelling Alone

09/08/2017 //  by Muslim Travel Girl//  Leave a Comment

I love receiving stories from readers on their experiences while travelling around the world. Our lovely reader Shaista send us her experience as single Muslimahs travelling to Greece. I love seeing Muslim women travel around the world. Here is her story:

My friend had originally chosen Santorini to be our holiday destination, however, after some research (which included consulting the Muslim Travel Girl site more than once), we decided to holiday in Crete. I won’t bore you with the how we ended up in the village of Koutouloufari, but suffice to say it was based on budget and distance from the beach!
creteReader Story: Exploring Crete and Santorini as Muslim Women Travelling Alone

Koutouloufari is quite pretty with enough traditional architecture adding to its pleasing aesthetic, but with a tiny population of residents, it thrives on tourism and the people are very welcoming.  We stayed in one of the newer hotels in the village (Casa Bianca Boutique Hotel) and were pleased with our choice. The hotel is based at the top of the hill so a walk up from the town certainly met our quota for cardio for the day. It also means that it’s less suitable for those perhaps with mobility problems although cars do drive up this street.

Since it was our first time in Crete we decided not to hire a car, but car rental places are easy to find and there was one near our hotel even. Although, if I returned to the village I still wouldn’t hire a car. The narrow and steep streets were enough to put me off driving around there.

Reader Story: Exploring Crete and Santorini as Muslim Women Travelling Alone

As I mentioned, our first plan had been to stay in Santorini but we decided against this and instead, we took the ferry from the Heraklion port and had a day trip instead. We booked a tour (it cost us €104/person and this included the cost of the ferry (return), transfers to and from the hotel (or nearest meeting point) and an English-speaking guide. We booked it from a tour operator on the beach front. It was easy to do but there was no haggling on the price. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be any haggling in Crete so be prepared to pay the price on the sticker.

Reader Story: Exploring Crete and Santorini as Muslim Women Travelling Alone

[irp posts=”5584″ name=”7 Stunning Hotels in Santorini with Private Pools – And some Are Muslim Friendly Too”]

We found everyone friendly and welcoming even though the village is not used to Muslim tourists. My friend and I both observe hijab and this was something that a lot of people (local and other tourists) commented on. It became an ongoing opportunity for dawah for us and we even made friends with a local hotelier after she invited us for coffee so we could talk some more with her about Islam.

From my reading before the trip, I knew that it was common to be offered Raki at the end of the meal which is the local alcoholic spirit. We explained at whichever restaurant we ate that we would be meat and alcohol-free (Elena you were right, we didn’t need the Greek for ‘no alcohol’ since everyone spoke English), and we found mocktails on every menu and we ate fresh, delicious food every day. There are plenty of seafood dishes and fresh salads to choose from at most restaurants and would recommend trying the Cretan salad with its sweet and acidic balsamic dressing with rusk croutons.

Reader Story: Exploring Crete and Santorini as Muslim Women Travelling Alone

[ms_section background_color=”#f3f3f3″ background_image=”” background_repeat=”repeat” background_position=”top left” background_parallax=”no” border_size=”0″ border_color=”#5cb2aa” border_style=”none” padding_top=”0″ padding_bottom=”5″ padding_left=”10″ padding_right=”10″ contents_in_container=”no” top_separator=”no” bottom_separator=”” full_height=”no” class=”” id=””]

[ms_featurebox style=”1″ title_font_size=”25″ title_color=”#5f5f5f” icon_circle=”yes” icon_size=”30″ title=”Read More” icon=”fa-globe” alignment=”left” icon_animation_type=”tada” icon_color=”#f70070″ icon_background_color=”” icon_border_color=”#66666″ icon_border_width=”0″ flip_icon=”horizontal” spinning_icon=”no” icon_image=”” icon_image_width=”0″ icon_image_height=”” link_url=”” link_target=”_blank” link_text=”” link_color=”” content_color=”#66666″ content_box_background_color=”” class=”” id=””]

10 Reasons Why Greece Should Be In Your Bucket List
5 Amazing Private Villas In Greece For A Muslim Friendly Holiday
10 Breathtaking Muslim Friendly Resorts For A Relaxing Holiday Part 1
10 Beautiful Muslim Friendly Greek Islands You Must Visit
Villa Elena Review: Hijab Free Holiday In Crete

[/ms_featurebox] [/ms_section]

[embed_popupally_pro popup_id=”2″]

Share with your Friends :)

  • Share
  • Tweet

Related Posts

Hotel Review: Doubletree Hotel Ras Al Khaimah -exterior view

Hotel Reivew: Doubletree Ras Al Khaimah Resort and Spa

tourism visa extending in dubai, the photo was taken while I was in Dubai as a tourist for two months

How to Extend Your Tourist Visa in Dubai – The Easy Way

Dubai creek marriot

Hotel Review: Marriott Executive Apartments Deira

Ultimate Muslim friendly guide to Venice_1

Ultimate Muslim-Friendly Guide to Venice with halal food and mosques

muslim friendly guide to Dubai incuding money saving tips for Dubai and how to enjoy a halal holiday

The Best Muslim-Friendly Guide to Dubai with Money-Saving tips

Muslim activities and tours to do in Lisbon, aerial view of the city

Your Ultimate Guide to Muslim Friendly Lisbon

honest burger new york halal food 1

Definitive Guide: Best Halal Restaurants in NYC to check out

Transferwise reasons why its good for muslim travelers

Why I love Transferwise as a Muslim Traveller and became my travel companion

halal food options in Greece 6

Halal Food in Greece – Availability in Athens and the Greek Islands

Honeymoon resorts in Europe

Beautiful Hotels in Santorini with Private Pools for Muslim Travellers

Top Tips for Finding the Perfect Muslim-Friendly Pool Villa

Halal Holiday with a Private Pool Review: Al Baleed Resort Salalah by Anantara

Previous Post: « Hote Review: Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Al Muraqabat – Great budget option in Dubai
Next Post: 7 Reasons Why You Should Be Visiting Cappadocia Now for an Adventure of a Lifetime »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Looking for Something?

Recent Posts to Check

  • Hotel Reivew: Doubletree Ras Al Khaimah Resort and Spa
  • How to Extend Your Tourist Visa in Dubai – The Easy Way
  • Hotel Review: Marriott Executive Apartments Deira
  • The easiest way to earn THOUSANDS of Avios without flying
  • Ultimate Muslim-Friendly Guide to Venice with halal food and mosques
  • My Husband’s Experience of Umrah with the new Covid rules in Makkah

As seen in…

Footer

Inspiration

"Traveling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller. - Ibn Battuta" Be an adventurer
  • Blog
  • About
  • Courses
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Copyright © 2021 MuslimTravelGirl · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme