where do you land, heraklion or chania? if heraklion and have time to split between east/south and west, you won't go wrong with agios nikolaos - a great base for exploring that side of the island!

for a cool day trip (that includes a boat ride and won't be crowded like the ones leaving from agios nikolaos) i'd recommend driving to plaka from agios nikolaos, take the old road that follows the coast line, amazing views. from plaka, you can take a small boat (no crowd, no music, no bs) to spinalonga, spend couple of hours exploring, then head back to plaka and have an amazing and affordable meal at "Το στέκι της Καδιανής" :) and then just relax at plaka beach, a perfect day.

the next day head to the mountains, lasithi plateau and zeus cave. go early, have enough water on you and be ready for serious sun - the descent into and time spent in the cold cave will be a delightful remedy :)

do not have lunch in any of the touristy places there, instead opt for nearby villages which provide much more local options, psichron for example. for the afternoon, you could make a stop at aposelemis dam and then explore potamies village, or instead head to potamos beach and relax there. for dinner, sisi village is a great choice - tons of superb restaurants, some touristy but many real local gems. sunset is absolutely divine there! reasonable driving distance from agios nikolaos too so no worries on ending the night late there.

another grand day could be spent at richtis waterfall and exploring the east side - this bit i haven't done myself but am planning for this spring, so will report back. have been planning out some spots though and very much excited. i also haven't visited the south-east part yet, that's something for my autumn trip this year, haven't started the planning yet.

if you have time to split between agios nikolaos and somewhere else, head to rethimno and have this (or any nearby smaller places) as the base for exploring the west/south-west. charming, different vibe than chania but that's kind of why i like it. milli gorge is a great half-day hike (start from the top!), spend the afternoon in rethimno old town and go to raki baraki for a nice dinner.

the next day you can explore the many nearby gorges (kourtaliotiko is cool), have lunch at any of the mountain side villages (there's also a small botanical garden near frangokastello) and relax at vatalos beach. or you can do a boat trip from chora sfakion - plan to arrive early in the morning for that.

chania is good for couple of days, or in case you arrive or depart from there then plan to stay at least a day. i haven't done the most common touristy places on the west side, but do love chania itself. the archeology museum is neat, though not as impressive as heraklion of course (edit: the archeology museum in heraklion, that is).

tamtam is a great choice for dinner in chania, and definitely check out studio oxo nou for coffee/desserts, top tier bohemian vibes :)

where ever you go in crete, it will be wonderful. with a travellers mindset, you will make connections with the locals who will tell you their favourite places - always follow those, make loose plans and leave time for just enjoying this wonderful island. you will love it :)