Collect your car at the harbour, the edge of the old town, or your hotel, then take your time over the Fortezza, Preveli Palm Beach, Arkadi Monastery and the mountain villages. Local partners, prices with nothing hidden, and flexible ways to pay.
Collect your car at the harbour, the edge of the old town, or your hotel, then take your time over the Fortezza, Preveli Palm Beach, Arkadi Monastery and the mountain villages. Local partners, prices with nothing hidden, and flexible ways to pay.
Local rates, zero surprises
Prices come straight from our local partners, and nothing extra appears at pick-up.
Flexible handover
Harbour, the edge of the old town, hotels, villas — we meet you wherever suits you.
No credit card or deposit required
With Premium Insurance you pay on arrival by cash, debit card or prepaid card, and nothing is held as a deposit.
Insurance built for mixed roads
Cover that holds up on coast roads, in tight village parking and on the winding climbs to monasteries and beaches.
Fleet for coast and hills
Something compact for town, an SUV for the south-coast hairpins, an automatic if you’d rather not do hill starts.
The old town, the south-coast beaches and a mountain monastery all sit within an easy drive.
Venetian lanes, the lighthouse and cafés along the water. Park outside the walls and walk in.
A river meets the sea beside a palm grove. Come early — that’s when there’s still parking and shade.
A historic monastery with a long view over the hills, and easy to pair with the villages nearby.
Clear water on the south coast, and tavernas that are in no hurry.
Day loops out to the beaches, the monasteries and the pottery villages.
50–70 min one way
Through the gorge to Plakias, a stop at Preveli, then back up through Spili.
25–40 min one way
Arkadi first, then the pottery workshops and lunch in Margarites.
60–70 min one way
Walk the old harbour and eat well, then come back to a quieter Rethymno for the evening.
60–80 min one way
Knossos and the Archaeological Museum, with dinner back in Rethymno.
Park outside the walls
Leave the car in one of the car parks around the old town and walk the last 5–10 minutes. The lanes inside are tighter than they look.
Preveli rewards an early start
Get there before 10:00. Parking is easier, and the walk down to the beach is far cooler.
Take the gorges slowly
In Kourtaliotiko or Kotsifou, keep right, slow down for the bends, and use the pull-outs to let locals by.
Carry some cash
Most places take cards, but small tavernas and beach kiosks often prefer cash.
Watch the wind
The south coast can get gusty. Ease off the speed on the exposed stretches.
No tolls
None of these routes have tolls. Do allow extra time, though — the scenic ones are slow.
You can. Pick Premium Insurance at checkout and pay when you arrive, by cash, debit card or prepaid card — nothing is blocked as a deposit, and no credit card is needed. On the search page, the ‘No Deposit’ filter shows you every car that qualifies.
Yes. One-way drop-off works almost anywhere on Crete: collect the car in Rethymno and leave it at Heraklion Airport (HER), Chania Airport (CHQ), Agios Nikolaos or another location. Set different pick-up and drop-off points when you search and you’ll see every combination available.
At Rethymno harbour, on the edge of the old town, or at most hotels and villas — add your address in the booking notes. Rethymno has no airport, so you fly into Heraklion (HER, ~75–90 min) or Chania (CHQ, ~50–60 min). We can bring the car to either airport on request.
Easy enough, as long as you don’t try to drive in. The old town is mostly pedestrian, so use the public car parks just outside the Venetian walls — the one near the Fortezza and the harbour parking are the handiest. Summer evenings fill up fast, so come before 19:00 or expect a short walk from a side street.
The road to the upper car park is paved the whole way, so a compact car manages it — no 4x4 needed. From there a marked trail drops to the beach: steep and rocky, so wear proper shoes. Arrive before 10:00 for a parking space, and head back before dark; the path has no lighting.
For the north coast road and trips into town, an economy or compact car is plenty. Heading south to Plakias, Agios Pavlos or Preveli, the roads are paved but narrow and twisting, so a smaller car is genuinely easier. A small SUV earns its keep mainly on the longer mountain drives to villages like Spili or Argyroupoli.
Chania is about 50–60 minutes west on the E75 and Heraklion roughly 75–90 minutes east. Plakias takes 45–55 minutes over the mountain road, Preveli around 50–60, and Agios Nikolaos about 2 hours east. The north coast motorway moves quickly; the southern and mountain routes are slower, and the better drives.
Two days covers the essentials — the old town and the Fortezza, Preveli beach, and one south-coast village. A third day gives you the Amari Valley, Spili or Argyroupoli. If Elafonissi or Knossos are on your list, four or five days lets you do it without watching the clock.
Booking takes a few minutes, the insurance is your choice, and we bring the car to where you’re staying.
