Gotta Travel On Crete

Crete is the biggest and most inhabited island in Greece and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is actually said that Crete should be its own country, and we can see why! The island has an amazing 1,000 kilometer long shoreline that is marked with countless cities, big and small, harbor ports, bays, highly mountainous landscapes and fresh, flavorful food to die for.
Although tiny sections of Crete are reminiscent of other Greek islands, Crete stands alone and has an unmistakable environment, culture and cuisine.

Organize your car rental Crete before you arrive to save cash.
Drive a manual. There are very few automatic cars to rent last minute and manuals are literally 1/2 the cost.
Choose your location wisely based on what you want to visit (areas listed below)
Don’t try and fit too much in over a short time. Distances are large!
Appetizers such as bread, olives etc are placed on the table when you sit down at a restaurant but not always free. If you eat it, you pay for it, generally 1 or 2 Euros per person.
Tap water is fine to drink although some people dislike the taste.

This is the million dollar question that everyone wonders when they visit Crete. With a place so big, you don’t want to get it wrong! i have outlined the main spots below.
I stayed on the west side of the island, 14km NE of Chania at Tersanas Beach Lodges. It was right on the sea and very peaceful due to how remote it was.I had a spacious room, a beautiful balcony with sunset views every night, a private beach in front of our property and another 5 minutes walk away. The only downside of being so remote was the lack of accessibility to supermarkets & restaurants. I didn’t have a car, but there were buses into town every 2 hours.

Crete is a big island with so much to offer. You are surrounded by amazing beaches, archeological sites, tiny islands, gorges and historical cities. It will take at least 10 days— 2 weeks to see all the top attractions, but you could quickly spend 4 weeks and still have more to see.
So, realistically, i don’t recommend any less than 7 days. This will allow you to see a few of the main sites (Knossos, Samaria Gorge, Balos, Elafonissi Beach) and still have time to relax and indulge in the amazing Cretan Cuisine (see our post on Cretan Cuisine here).
Note: Depending on where you are staying, day trips to the most popular sights can take up 12–13 hours, round trip.
Arriving into Heraklion Airport
Upon arriving into the small airport of Heraklion there are many counters for Crete car rentals, transfers & taxis. If you aren’t renting a car directly from the airport, the local buses run until midnight to various towns or your hotel can arrange a pickup service. If you’re arriving late or want to pre-arrange an airport transfer, Victory Car Rental has the best rates and really great service.

Chania — Chania was my favourite of the towns and a great place to base yourself in Crete due to it being central to the main sights. The Old Town is still very much intact and has alleys filled with cute restaurants, apartments with balconies overlooking the harbour + a really relaxed atmosphere. Chania also has an international airport. Chania is a great base for exploring Crete.

Kissamoss — Built along a beautiful sandy beach, Kissamos is the nearest city to explore Balos and Elafonissi Beach. You'll find that Kissamoss isn't as crowded as Chania.
Rethymno —Rethymno combines the conveniences of a big town with the beauty of a tiny ancient town. The Old Town is a labyrinth of streets and alleys mostly reserved for pedestrians. Frequent buses operate from Rethymno to the beaches in the south of Crete.

Heraklion
Heraklion — Heraklion is the largest city in Crete and holds one of the 2 main airports on the Island. Apart from spending an afternoon and evening there, there wasn’t too much else going on, it’s a port city. We enjoyed the variety of restaurants in the main pedestrian area along with the range of shops. If you find yourself in Heraklion, grab a meal at Parilia, it was on the water and it was extremely fresh and very affordable. If want a beach, the decent beaches near here are a bus/car ride away from Heraklion. The most visited attraction in Heraklion is the Archaeological Museum.

Malia — Malia is located in North East Crete and is primarily a party destination especially for young British backpackers. Pubs, clubs and fast food restaurants line the main street and the crowds during the summer are in full force. Unless you want to party, avoid Malia during the summer! We came here for a quick stop over and the only thing we enjoyed about Malia was having cocktails at Drossia Restaurant & eating at Thalassa Bar Restaurant on the waterfront. Otherwise, I think we were about 8 years older than everyone else here.

As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, Crete is large and therefore the distances between the towns and the main sights can be long depending on where you’re based. Thankfully Crete has a few options of getting you from A to B.

Bus — Crete’s bus system is extensive and there are regular services that run across the north of the island and from north to south. The buses stick to their timetables, have A/C, comfortable seats and for the longer journeys have luggage compartments to store your bags. For the routes and timetables, visit the KTEL website. Tickets can be bought at the bus stations as well as on the bus. Hold onto them, they will be checked along the way.

Local Buses — Local buses run into the smaller streets and are a convenient way to get around the towns. Buy your tickets before getting on the local buses as they are more expensive on board.

Bus Tickets Bus Tickets 
Rent a Car In Crete— Coming to Crete without a rental car is like being in Manhattan without a wallet
ATV/Scooter — For short distances, ATV’s/Scooters are commonly rented in and around the towns but not as frequently as some of the other Greek Islands.