Our visit to the old leper colony/Venician fortress was poignant and fascinating.

Our guide, Paul, had a relative who'd been one of the island's inhabitants not long before it closed.

His insight into the history of the place therefore had a depth of passion you couldn't have gleaned from a guidebook. And the island's dilapidated buildings do have some real horror stories to tell (and no doubt ghosts to accompany them).

However, if you do want to see all of Spinalonga, you might prefer to tour the island yourself.

For some reason, all the tours to the island combine a barbecue and swim and visit to Agios Nikalaos with the stop there. The ratio is wrong and you get to spend too little time on Spinalonga as a result.

There's a church, still operative, in the centre of Main Street from which you can buy a guidebook (€5.00), which is detailed enough to warrant making your own way around if you'd prefer.

Even with the bbq, swim and stop off, it's worthwhile visiting this ancient place.

I guess you could get a bus to Elounda from which the boat trip departs, a stunning resort in its own right (and one the tour operators may ought to think about switching with Agios Nikalaos as the post-visit chill out venue).

You certainly can't do Agios Nikalaos in the time they allot. Doing Elounda instead would cut down on time travelling and free up more time to spend on Spinalonga.

Take a camera, your factor 30, a hat and a pair of sturdy shoes to make your visit a comfortable one.

From Hersonissos, the tour cost us €40 per person, which included travel to Agios Nikalaos, the boat stop to allow a swim in the crystal sea next to the bbq grill on the beach, the island itself, entry onto it and said bbq lunch, which wasn't half bad.

Decent value, but you could probably do it cheaper if you cut out the extraneous travel, stops and bbq.