Relocating to Crete and deciding what to pack and what to leave behind can be a difficult decision.

There are as many theories and opinions on what to take and what to leave when moving to Crete, the most beautiful of Greek Islands, as there are ex pats in Crete.



But we’ll try to narrow down the options for you.

To sell all possessions and arrive with just what can be carried in a suitcase takes some courage. Surprisingly enough, this may turn out to be the cheapest option for you, as transporting your possessions by carrier or driving yourself is costly.

We’ve all collected "treasured possessions" that are usually packed away in the loft and never see the light of day for years if not decades. Yet when it comes to relocating we simply cannot bear to be without that 1974 dog eared football programme, the knitted tea cosy Aunt Hilda made and that "interesting" set of ashtrays picked up in Morocco.

The rules of decluttering are if you haven’t used it in 12 months you don’t need it and should get rid of it!

Sell what you can sell.

Give away what will be appreciated.

Bin the rest.

If you still haven’t room in your suitcase for the family photo album, treasured or sentimental ornaments etc. ask relatives to hold onto them for you. They can bring them, one at a time, in their suitcases when they come to visit you.

Everything, and we mean everything you would want or need is available here in Crete. We carted a tattered old ironing board, (amongst lots of other stuff) through Europe when we made our move here to Crete. Only to find that a brand new one would cost two thirds of a new one in the UK. Even our big screen TV that we’d carefully packed didn’t work when we got here.

With hindsight, this is the option we would have opted for.



Take Everything

You can use the services of a specialised removal company. Basically they offer a door to door service and pack, collect, transport and unpack a container filled with your stuff.

In this way you can bring absolutely everything you possess.

We only know of one company who specialise in removals to Crete and Greece. For more information see their website at NOMAD.

We ruled out this option because of the cost.

Take it Yourself

Some choose to travel overland and drive themselves to Crete with their possessions. We chose this option. We thoroughly enjoyed it, and treated it as an adventurous holiday.

We unpacked our worldly goods at our Crete property, spent a couple of nights in a hotel in Agios Nikolaos and made the return journey through Europe and returned the now empty van to the north of England.

Both on the inward and outward journeys we made a few overnight stays in hotels and had cabins to sleep in on the ferry trips.

We stayed with family in England, had a farewell party and later that week took a one-way flight to Crete.

As well as the van hire charges, road toll charges, fuel costs, and ferry costs, we had to allow for several overnight stays in hotels throughout Europe.

Highlights, were the Swiss scenery, a stay in a 5 star hotel in Milan and the wonderful food, cabins and facilities of the brilliant ferries of Minoan Lines.

This option cost us a similar price to having our possessions shipped out by a removal firm.

Special Note

Some choose to drive their car to Crete, pack it full and not have to make the return journey to return a hire car/van and immediately start living in Crete. We ruled this option out because of the importation rules of bringing a car into Greece. See our Greek Bureaucracy section for full details.

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