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Ninety seconds on Spinalonga
From 1 April to 31 October the site opens daily from 08:30 to 18:00, except on Easter Sunday and 1 May, when it is closed. On Good Friday it opens at 12:00. From 1 November to 31 March it is closed, though groups can visit on request through the Ephorate of Antiquities of Lasithi (efalas@culture.gr).
Plaka is the better choice for the shortest crossing, about five minutes, against about fifteen from Elounda and at least forty-five from Agios Nikolaos. Parking for rental cars at Plaka harbour is free.
Admission tickets are sold at the counter on the island, on arrival by boat. Admission is not sold online. The boat ticket is bought separately, at the port before boarding.
For more than fifty years, leprosy patients were sent to live apart on this island behind its sea walls, and Cretans called it the island of the living dead. Plaka harbour is a short crossing away.
Venetian engineers and local craftsmen built the fortifications in 1579, and they still stand in good structural condition, with bastions, cannon ports and curtain walls round the shore.
Three half-moon bastions face the water: the Barbariga, Moceniga and Veniera demi-lunes. The buildings of the old Venetian camp sit behind them.
Newly diagnosed patients first entered the colony through a stone passage known as Dante's Gate. Ruined residential buildings still line the colony's main street, and the church of Agios Panteleimon stands among them.
The colony closed in 1957, once antibiotic treatment made enforced quarantine unnecessary. The island has stood uninhabited since 1962, though parts of it have undergone restoration work.
Boats from Plaka harbour are run by the Elounda-Plaka Boat Cooperative and leave every quarter or half hour, depending on demand. The first trip is at 08:15 and the last return at 18:00. Boats also sail from Elounda and Agios Nikolaos.
Some boats circle the island before landing. They dock at a small jetty, where you pay the entrance ticket at the counter.
From the jetty you walk through the walls into the fortress. Inside, a marked path loops round the island, through the colony and out to the bastions.
Carry plenty of water, a hat and sunscreen. The island is exposed to sun and wind with little shade, and summer temperatures regularly pass 30°C.
If you bought a round trip, find out before you step ashore which boat brings you back, and when.
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