How should I spread sightseeing priorities across several days?

Anchor days around your priorities

Put the experiences you would most regret missing into the plan first. Group them by practical geography, not simply by category. A beach and a museum in the same area may combine more comfortably than two famous beaches on opposite sides of the island.

Avoid treating a day in Chania, a gorge walk and a visit around Heraklion as interchangeable blocks. They involve different travel, physical effort and opportunities to rest. Check access and operating arrangements before making a particular day depend on a particular attraction.

Alternate effort and flexibility

Follow a demanding outdoor day with something more adaptable, such as a town walk or a focused museum visit. Leave gaps for heat, fatigue and discoveries that deserve more attention. Place weather-sensitive priorities where there is some opportunity to rearrange them, without assuming another date will necessarily be available.

Review the plan with everyone travelling. The best distribution is not the one that maximises the number of names ticked off, but the one that gives your important experiences enough attention without turning every day into a transfer.