Spinalonga
Venetian Sea Fortress, Later An Ottoman Village And From 1904 To 1957 Greece'S Leper Colony; Known Worldwide Through The Novel The Island · Plaka, Crete
Spinalonga is a small rocky islet at the mouth of the Gulf of Elounda in eastern Crete, a few minutes by boat from the village of Plaka. The Venetians built a sea fortress here in the late sixteenth century, and it held out for decades after the rest of Crete fell to the Ottomans. It later became a Muslim village, and from 1904 to 1957 it was Greece's leper colony, where people with Hansen's disease were sent, often for life. They were cut off, but they built a community with shops, a church, a school, marriages and a fight for better care; the last residents left in 1957. Victoria Hislop's 2005 novel The Island and its Greek television series made the island famous worldwide. Today you enter through the tunnel the patients used, walk their street of restored houses, and circle the Venetian walls above a turquoise bay. It suits readers of the novel, history lovers and families. Honest caveats: it is small (one to two hours), shade is scarce, the boats arrive in waves at midday, and it closes in winter.
Spinalonga (Kalydon) islet in the Gulf of Elounda, Lasithi; boats from Plaka (about 10-15 minutes), Elounda and Agios Nikolaos, Plaka, Crete, Greece
State site of the Ministry of Culture, open roughly April to late October, when the boats run; summer hours are long, roughly 08:00 to 19:00 or 20:00, shorter in spring and autumn - confirm current hours. Closed in winter, and closed on the main public holidays when those fall in season. Reach it by boat from Plaka (about 10-15 minutes), Elounda (about 20 minutes) or Agios Nikolaos (about an hour or more). Boat tickets are bought at the harbour kiosks; the island entry is a separate ticket, from the official Hellenic Heritage e-ticket system or the island gate. Boats may not sail in strong wind.