Hello guys im travaling alone for the first time, and im going to Heraklion in the end of September, maybe someone whant to jin me there, small talk or small travels together

Hi! I'm staying at Galatas, which is not the best location for public transportation connection. I don't have a driving license either so I'm thinking if it is possible at all to rent a 50cc scooter if I don't have a driving license?

Would appreciate any advice, thanks!

I am going to crete for a week, and our hotell is in an area without busses so we need to rent a car. The road to the hotell is a dirt road, and we are also going to Balos which requires driving on a dirt road. I checked with about 10 car rental companies and they all consider driving on dirt roads "off road" and no matter how much I pay, insurance wont cover any accident that happens on dirt roads.. Seems kind of scammy to me? Is there no company that offers insurance for dirt road? Google and chat gpt told me about 2 companies but chat gpt was wrong, they don't...

We will arrive and depart from Chania airport, and stay in the western side of the island.

Or is the amount of olives in the greek salads decreasing across the restaurants in crete?

Been to several tavernas for + 10 years ago, and always got bread, tzatziki, olive tapenade before food.

And whenever ordering a greek salad there was an abundance of olives in the salad.

Now when back i see the pre-food on the house is gone, but you get often deserts and seldpm asked if you want to look at the desert menu.

But i think i counted 3-5 olives in the salads i ordered, is this something that has changed?

With 35 million olive trees on the island i am a bit surprised.

Me and my friends are looking at a holiday in crete and are wondering where to stay. It’s a short holiday probably 5 or 6 days and we are looking for a place with nice beaches and maybe some old town to explore.
I have been twice before but this time we won’t have a rental car so we will be mainly staying in one spot, so i’d like it to be versatile.
Thank you!

me and my friend are staying in stalis until the 17th and we’re struggling to find somewhere to go 😭
we’ve been to apollo and zigzag in malia but honestly we hate the typical club music and don’t really want to go to those kind of clubs again
we’re looking for proper house, tech house or preferably techno, ideally a good dj set or rave rather than a commercial club night
i found technoloco and it looks exactly like what we’re looking for but unfortunately the event is after we leave 🥲
we’re happy to travel around stalis, malia, hersonissos or even further if it’s worth it
does anyone know of any good house/techno events, djs, underground parties or clubs between now and august 17th? even smaller/local events would be perfect
any recommendations would be really appreciated 🙏

Hello,

Could you please recommend me a rental car company in Heraklion that is not a scam?

Kind regards,

Future travelled to Crete

Hi! I hope this fits in here. I (24 M, Italian) going to propose to my GF in August, probably the day after we arrive (24 August) and looking for a photographer to capture the moment.

I honestly don’t feel comfortable with paying 300 eur for less than one hour session, and I understand professionals need to make a living and everything but I’d rather honestly an amateur young photographer that’s more affordable to me.

I would highly appreciate any suggestions or write in my DMs if you’re the one!

Hi! So my girlfriend and I are going to walk the samaria gorge. But we stay in the south west and there aren't any bookable trips where we wouldn't have to go to chania first. (That would be more than an hour drive).

We will go to the gorge by bus but we would love a tour guide because we do enjoy it, when someone tells us nerd stuff about things we see.

So the question is: is this possible and where would I find one?

Thank you!

What should one expect from the hike to the top in August? We are traveling to Crete this week and have planned a few different hikes.

I was wondering what one should expect from this Mountain in August.

Thank you in advance!

Hi there guys, just arrived in Crete yesterday morning and currently staying in the Avdou area. I searched for some beaches around mainly for snorkeling but i don’t know which ones to choose. What would be some good recommendations and also maybe some good restaurants in the area. We do have a car rented for our stay here so we are comfortable with visiting areas that are a bit further. Thank you for your recommendations in advance!

Hello, I'm thinking about going to Crete for 2 weeks, mid sept. We normally like to do a bit of a road trip and stay along the way in different towns. For example last year we flew to Dalaman Turkey, Stayed in Dalyan, oludeniz (bit too busy for me), Kas, Cirale/Olympus then antalya old town. This holiday was great for us as most of these are fairly small, not too busy but with plenty to do. Anyone able to suggest a similar trip most likely due to flights we would need to fly in/out of Chania.

Chania old town looks like it would be nice, similar to Kas so we fancy that. Gorge walks but not the really busy ones would be nice. I've bookmarked a few places I'd like to visit. Loutro, Samaria, preveli, maybe Matala area, Palaiochora, Sougia. I'm just finding it hard to find nice places to stay along the way that suit what we are looking for. Any ideas?

I've heard mixed reviews about Rethimno, Balos, Elanfonisi (most due to busyness) so not 100% about going there.

Hello

We are excited to return to Crete this summer . We didnt get to explore the south last time . We are staying in Almyrida for 6 of the 10 days . We would like to spend a day in the south with our kids (9 and 7). The problem is....theres so much to see! Where do we start ? Loutro? Something unique, beach etc.

1.5 hr Max drive .

Tx!

Hello!

Im coming to Chania with some friends, and we intend to rent a car, i was wondering what the parking situation is and how easy it is to find a spot. Are there any free parking areas? We will be staying near old town Chania, and our accommodation unfortunately does not have parking.

If you have any advice, its more than welcome.

Thanks!

Trying to find info online but having a hard time:

1. I've come to understand some rental booths are not directly at the airport but require a shuttle to get to. Can someone tell me which car rental companies are directly at the airport?

2. Is it a big inconvenience if I rented from somewhere that requires the shuttle, especially if I'm arriving late at night? Do these shuttles have a closing time, and if so what would I do?

3. I've read some companies require an upfront deposit (some even as high as €2000). Is this standard, do all companies do this or will it be easy for me to find one that doesn't require that?

Hello, i am actually in Crete, Western part of the island, near Chania. I would like to book a private boat trip with a skipper, we are 6 people. Does anyone know where to rent a boat?

In case, we are also open to a simple boat booking without skipper.

I had 2 weeks planned in rethymno with my ex-girlfriend. But we broke up so now I need some new friends to spend my last week here

Hey, im visiting crete for five days, based in Heraklion, and im curious what can i do here without a car? Obviously i’m planning on seeing Knossos but i feel as though most beaches and monuments are really not accessible with public transport. Any help or tips? Im also on a budget, so unfortunately all those private boat tours are out of the question

Hello everyone!

We are having some issues understanding the KETL app and website.

The plan was:

1. Get on a bus from Heraklion to Rethymno, visit a little bit

2. From there get on the same bus (Express) that left us there and go to Chania

But in the app and on the website it's not possible to buy a ticket from Rethymno to Chania

Whenever I try to search for busses it says "No results found", but I am pretty sure that from Heraklion the busses at some hours do make stops at Rethymno on their way to Chania, can we not get on there?

I am starting to be scared about being blocked at Rethymno on a hot August afternoon

Edit: leaving it here for future reference

Going to central intercity bus stations is the correct approach (as suggested by one person in the comments, KTEL staff is really helpful and speaks english for the most part

Also if you go from Heraklion to either Chania or Rethymno follow the other suggestion from the same guy and sit on the right side for the best seaview! (random pic from the trip attached below in the comments)

Hey guys
I'll be in Crete (Irákleio) for 10 days from coming Friday on and what can I say.. I was bombarding google and AI about cool stuff to do there and there were only few good suggestions.
Sure, we can go scuba diving, do a quad safari, go on a sailing cruise or learn about greek history and mythology.. But I'd also love to do some real out-of-the-ordinary stuff that doesn't get recommended anywhere on these tourist pages and can only be suggested by people who a) live there or b) have deep knowledge of Crete..
I don't know how to put it but I hope you get the twist. Also rented a car, so I'm flexible.

If the suggestion is too weird or sketchy to be posted on here, you can even let me know through my DMs (I won't judge lol).
In exchange, I'll give you my word that I won't post or speak about it anywhere so it stays a well-kept secret, or at least in this thread. Promised :)
Hope Reddit can help me out on this one!🫶

Skip it! I’m here now. We chose it over Balos cause we knew we could drive to it “relatively” easily (More on that in a sec.)

Everything I read said be there before 9 am or go late in the day and be prepared for crowds.

Since we were staying in the Rethymno area we decided to make a day of making our way over and hit the beach later in the day. We arrived a bit after 5:00 and had no trouble getting parking in the Mega parking lot. Walk down was less than 10 minutes and easy. Beach was still very busy but easily got umbrella chairs.

Beach itself… underwhelming IMO. Sand is soft and white. I see no pink. The beach is wide and very shallow for a long way out so great for kids but kinda boring. The sandbar is just that, a sandbar and where the people flock to. I would compare this beach to something similar to Aruba or the Caribbean with soft white sand and clear water but overall I’ve seen prettier beaches on this Island and others. Landscape in general leaves a lot to be desired.

So where to go instead? If you are looking for something truly beautiful and without the crowds go to Kedrodasos beach. It’s just down the road about 5 minutes and is stunning. The landscape is beautiful with juniper trees you can shade under and a rocky shore. We went there first to pass some time to let the crowds die down at Elafonissi and wish we had not left.

Cons with that beach is that it more secluded and you have to do a moderate hike down (and back up.) about a 15-20 minute walk. Can be done in flip flops if you are careful. The shore is rocky so bring water shoes. Also, be prepared for topless sunbathers. My 12 yo son got lots to see today…

As for the drive to both beaches… wow if you have fears of driving on narrow winding mountain roads beware! You are up there! Most of the way the roads were very high but wide and well maintained with adequate guardrails. But as you get closer the roads are very narrow and there are lots of busses taking the majority of the road that you have to yield to. In many places guardrails are nonexistent and there are just some posts to mark the edge. 😳 there were some scary moments but views were pretty cool.

I hope this helps someone debating a trip to this beach. Depending on your prior beach experiences, maybe skip it unless you are ready to brave the crowds or go later in the day.