BA serves HER from LGW, with Olympic and Aegean serving the island from Greece. I would take Aegean over Olympic any day, as Olympic's service/baggage handling/strike problems make Alitalia look like Singapore Airlines. Additionally, Aegean is likely to be cheaper than Olympic. Don't know if you've been to Crete before, but if you haven't, avoid HER as a final destination, as it's a total dump. I've driven all over the island, and the place to stay, IMHO, is Aghios Nikolaos. Ag. Nik. is on the eastern side of the island, about an hour's drive from the airport. There are several self-catering style apartments to choose from there, and the town itself is gorgeous, with a beautiful inner harbor and plenty of night-life. If you want upscale accomodations, Elounda is just north of Ag. Nik., and is home to the Blue Palace Resort -- A Starwood Luxury Collection hotel that is fantastic.

Some of the destinations we enjoyed whilst there were the palm beach at Vai, east of Sitia (1.5-2hrs east of Ag. Nik), the minoan ruins at Xerokambos on the far southeast coast, the waterfront promenade/shops/restaurants in Ierapetra, all the fruit orchards on the Lesithi Plateau, the byzantine castle on the beach at Frangokastello, and the mountain villages and scenery between Rethymnon and Hora Sfakia. There's plenty to see and do there. Hope you have a great vacation.

If you have enough time, you may want to look into a side-trip to Rhodes, as the old walled city is not to be missed.