The far east of Crete runs out of road at Zakros, and that is exactly its charm. The village sits on the very edge of the island, below the Sitia mountains, and the way here from Sitia, about nineteen kilometres, leaves the tourist belt behind and climbs through olive terraces and rocky hills that smell of thyme and dust.
For a rider, this corner of Crete has the best sort of roads: not a motorway, not a goat track, but a quiet ribbon with enough bends to keep you busy and enough views to make you slow down. Beyond Palekastro, the landscape opens into dry hillsides, small chapels, and the odd view of a bright blue sea. The surface is mostly decent, though gravel in corners and the occasional goat are part of the deal. Wind can be strong on the eastern ridges, particularly in the meltemi months of July and August, and the sun is hard; April, May and October are the sweet spots.
Zakros is famous for its Minoan palace, one of the four great palatial centres of Bronze Age Crete, lying a short way down a gorge towards a small shingle bay. It was a trading port facing Egypt and the Levant, and when it was excavated in the 1960s it still held a wealth of untouched objects, including that rock-crystal vessel which now stands in the museum at Heraklion. Above the palace runs the Gorge of the Dead, called that for the Minoan burial caves in its walls, and you can walk it down to the sea if you have the shoes and the patience. The village itself is little more than a handful of tavernas under plane trees, shaded places where you can sit with a plate of grilled fish or lamb and a small carafe of local wine.
For practical purposes, remember that the nearest real fuel is in Sitia, a harbour town of nearly nine thousand people, so top up there before you come. Palekastro, closer, is a village with limited services, and nothing should be assumed after dark. Bring cash, a bottle of water, and a bit of time. The reward is being at the end of Europe's southern frontier, with the hills behind you and the Libyan Sea in front.