Glass bottom boat ride in Hania

On Monday it was the May 1st holiday in Greece, so a lot of things were closed. As a result we decided to do one of the really touristy things before high season arrives - a ride around the Gulf of Hania in a glass-bottomed boat.

The 'Katerina' departs from the old Venetian harbour at 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm, and it is €10 for adults, €5 for children. We opted for the 1pm ride - which was just as well, because I spotted the 3pm journey returning to shore later on, and it was packed. Our trip had only the three of us, plus four other people on board. The boat is quite small - it can accommodate twenty, but I can't imagine that all twenty would get a good view through the glass at the same time.

The trip lasts for about an hour, and starts off with a gentle chug around the harbour. You then put out to sea, and head first eastwards, then double-back and head for the small island of (I think) Lazaretta, which we found out on the journey was a former leper colony. You idle around the coast of the island for a while, with the opportunity to swim for the brave or foolhardy.

It was a pleasant way to pass an hour, and the water was very clear, but to be honest, there wasn't a great deal to see. The fish we saw were only small to medium size, and there didn't seem to be any archaeological or maritime remains in the gulf. In fact, most of the sea life we saw was actually in Hania's shallow old harbour itself. Maybe we've been spoiled - the last time Claire and I were on a glass-bottomed boat was on our honeymoon in Paphos, and that hovers over both a sponge farm, and a shipwreck from the 60s.