Let me set the scene. It is a rainy day in Crete. The beach is out. The kids are restless. You are staring at your phone trying to figure out what on earth to do with two small children who are now approximately thirty seconds from losing their minds.

The answer is CRETAquarium. And I say that with full confidence. We stumbled into this on a grey afternoon and came out the other side genuinely delighted. It is one of the best family-friendly things to do in Crete regardless of the weather, but on a rainy day, it is basically a gift from the universe.

CRETAquarium in Heraklion is Greece's first major aquarium, run by the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. It is located approximately nine miles east of Heraklion and is home to around 2,000 sea animals across 200 different Mediterranean species. It sits right on the coast in the area of Gournes, which means the views from the cafe at the end are genuinely lovely.

The building is right next to a brutalist architect's dream. I genuinely wanted to do a whole photo shoot outside, but we had children to entertain and priorities to manage.

If you are coming from Heraklion city centre, you can take bus number 8 to Gournes. Alternatively, a taxi takes around twenty minutes and costs roughly 15 to 20 euros. We usually book an Uber to handle the logistics so we aren't fumbling with cash at the curb.

We took the bus, which was perfectly straightforward. Once you get off, it is basically just down the hill from the stop and it is a pretty direct walk. You pass the animal shelter on the way, which my kids thought was a complete highlight in its own right. We spent a solid five minutes waving at dogs through the fence before I could coax anyone back into forward momentum.

One heads-up: there is a Dinosauria Park just over the hill. If your kids spot the signs and you are only planning to spend an hour or two at the aquarium, you may want to strategically adjust your walking route. Consider yourself warned.

The tanks are huge with clean windows, and the bigger ones even have benches in front so you can sit and watch the marine life comfortably. That detail matters more than you might think when you have small children who need to plant themselves somewhere for a few minutes and just stare at things.

Right at the entrance there is a really well-done section about conservation efforts. The aquarium operates not just as a tourist attraction but also takes part in animal welfare activities and educational projects behind the scenes. They do a good job of weaving that mission through the whole experience rather than just tacking it on as an afterthought. There is a genuinely powerful exhibit that shows how long different materials take to degrade underwater. An aluminium can takes 400 years, which my kids received as actual shocking news. Both of them stopped in their tracks. That is the kind of thing you cannot manufacture and it is worth the trip alone.

At the bigger tanks, touchscreen displays on the walls allow you to select which tank you want to learn more about and are available in multiple languages including English and Greek. So instead of squinting at tiny placards, your kids can actually interact with the information, which keeps them engaged in a way that traditional signage never really does.

The aquarium is especially welcoming for young visitors, with observation windows set at kid-height so they do not miss anything. Small thing, genuinely significant when your child is three feet tall and everything is designed for adults.

There are staff members floating around throughout, and they do a solid job of making sure the experience stays orderly. They enforce the rules politely but clearly, which I respected enormously on a busy day. Nobody was pressing their face against the glass screaming at fish for more than about thirty seconds before someone gently redirected them.

Remember when the news was about what happened, not how to feel about it? 1440's Daily Digest is bringing that back. Every morning, they sift through 100+ sources to deliver a concise, unbiased briefing — no pundits, no paywalls, no politics. Just the facts, all in five minutes. For free.

Read the newsletter trusted by 4.5 million fact-seekers.

For a 90-minute experience, this is excellent value. To avoid the "vacation math" headache of currency conversion at the ticket desk, we use our Wise card to keep the fees low and the transaction seamless.

The aquarium is fully accessible, with a cafe and gift shop on site. Most importantly, there is a restroom located around the second tank—essential info for any parent! We ate at the cafe as well, for roughly around 25 Euro for the three of us, and the food was pretty good.

A couple of extra tips worth knowing. Visit on a weekend afternoon to avoid the largest crowds, as most families with young children tend to arrive in the morning before afternoon nap time. And if you want to skip the queue in peak season, booking tickets online in advance is worth doing.

If you want to skip the queue in peak season or during a rain rush, book your CRETAquarium tickets online here.

Even better, download the GetYourGuide App and use my exclusive code ZACHMOVESABROAD5 for a 5% discount on your booking. It’s a small win that adds up when you're booking tours for the whole family.

If the weather turns on you in Crete, CRETAquarium belongs on your list. It is educational without being dry, interactive without being chaotic, and affordable. The conservation focus gives it real substance, and the cafe at the end with a view of the water is the perfect place to decompress.

We would absolutely go back.

The blog is only half the story. Moving a family across the world is 10% planning and 90% "figuring it out as we go." If you want to see the daily chaos, the travel hacks we use in real-time, and what life actually looks like when the cameras aren't perfectly positioned, come hang out with us: