Crete is big enough to feel like a country. Its north coast holds the Venetian harbours of Chania and Rethymno; the south hides quiet coves and the dramatic Samaria Gorge.
The island was the cradle of Europe first great civilisation, the Minoans, whose palace at Knossos you can still explore near Heraklion.
Add pink-sand Elafonissi, mountain villages and some of Greece best food, and Crete easily fills a week or two on its own.