This community is about 25 kilometers east of the town of Heraklion and 35 kilometers west of the cosmopolitan town of Agios Nikolaos. Hersonissos is in fact famous for its peninsula and harbour. It is part of the Heraklion Perfecture.
Hersonissos nowadays is considered as one of the most developed tourist resort of Crete, due to the high range of quality services and attractions provided and is able to fulfill all the expectations.
Hersonissos is oriented towards tourism industry, and popular with British, Dutchh, German nationals. The famous harbour of Hersonisos is full of nightlife and is mostly preferred by younger tourists who want to have fun at the beach and enjoy the entertainment, while the neighbouring villages offer quiet and peaceful environment for family vacation. The strip near the harbour is heavily themed with Irish and Dutch pubs. On the eastern side are large hotels and the Star Beach with slides, bars, pools, games, bungie jump, go-karts, like a day time club. There is also a lot to do for children. In the main street there are many souvenir shops, as well as other shops and restaurants, some of which are near the sea. There is also a small aquarium featuring local sea life and reptiles. The museum called Lychnostatis, with its recreation of a traditional Cretan village, is another interesting place not only for those with children. One can take a sight-seeing train that runs down the main street along the sea, and provides access to the surroundings of Chersonissos.
Near Hersonissos there are three small villages, Piskopiano and Koutouloufari and Old Hersonissos which are overlooking the busy resort of Hersonissos
There are activities for every taste: for sport lovers: (golf, sea sports, mountain bike ect) for children (playgrounds, animal farms), for the lovers of gastronomy and wine from a wide selection of high quality restaurants.
Visitors may enjoy the organized tourist installations of the north and also escape by taking cultural tours and walks in forgotten ancient paths and in the villages of "Lagkada".
People who like to rest and sunbathe on holiday can enjoy Hersonissos, for it has beaches, and excursions to other places on Crete can be made from here as well. Like many communities on Crete, the local economy is not only based on tourism, but also on agriculture. In the fall, when most of the tourists have left, many people normally employed in the tourism industry earn money with the olive harvest.
