What to Pack When Moving to Crete

Packing for a long-term move is different from packing for a holiday. You are not trying to be prepared for every possible scenario across a two-week trip — you are trying to figure out what is worth the effort of transporting and what you should just buy when you arrive. I got this balance reasonably right, but there were things I packed that I did not need and things I needed that I had not brought.

What You Can Easily Buy in Heraklion

Before the packing list, it helps to know what the city actually has. Heraklion has proper supermarkets (Lidl, Sklavenitis, AB Vassilopoulos), a range of electronics shops, pharmacies stocking most standard medications, IKEA-adjacent furniture stores, and Amazon deliveries via a Greek address. This means you do not need to transport basics — bedding, kitchen equipment, cleaning supplies, standard over-the-counter medicines — from home. You can buy them on arrival.

What to Bring

Clothing: Crete has a long warm season (April through October) and a mild but sometimes cold winter. The dress code is casual almost everywhere. Bring: a range of lightweight clothing for summer, a few layers for winter evenings and the occasional January cold spell, one smart-casual outfit if you anticipate any formal occasion, comfortable walking shoes, and flip-flops or sandals. What you do not need: heavy winter coats, rain gear beyond a light waterproof, formalwear.

Electronics: Bring your work setup — laptop, chargers, any peripherals you rely on. A universal travel adapter for Greek plugs (Type C and F, standard European) is useful for the first few days; you can buy local power boards cheaply. A good pair of noise-cancelling headphones matters more in a city apartment than you expect. If you use a specific brand of coffee equipment (aeropress, moka pot), bring it — these items exist in Greece but are not always easy to find in a specific style quickly.

Medication and Healthcare: Bring at least a three-month supply of any prescription medication and the full prescription documentation. While most common medications are available in Greek pharmacies, specific brands and formulations may not be stocked. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, bring extra supply and a copy of your prescription — opticians in Heraklion are good but it takes a few days to get new glasses made.

Documents: Passport (valid for the duration of your stay plus six months), home country ID, all academic and professional qualifications (certified copies), birth certificate, health insurance documents, EHIC card (EU citizens), any vaccination records. Keep digital backups of everything — scanned PDFs in cloud storage.

Things I Packed That I Did Not Need

A full set of kitchen knives — the apartment came with knives. Multiple beach towels — I bought good ones locally for €8 each. A portable Wi-Fi router from home — the landlord's router was fine, and a local SIM served as backup. Heavy reference books — digital is fine and saves the weight allowance for something more useful.

Things I Wish I Had Brought

A proper kitchen thermometer (harder to find in a specific style than expected). A compact surge protector — the sockets in older Cretan buildings can be unreliable and a good surge protector with multiple USB ports is worth its weight. Printed copies of key documents rather than relying entirely on a phone screen at bureaucratic offices. And — this sounds trivial but is not — a bag of familiar tea or coffee from home. The first few weeks in a new place have enough friction; morning coffee does not need to be part of it.

The General Rule

If it weighs more than 500 grams and costs less than €30, consider buying it in Crete. Bring the things that are genuinely irreplaceable — documents, prescription medication, specific electronics — and leave the rest. You will buy things you did not bring and discover you did not need half of what you packed. Everyone does.