Rent a Car in Crete

Crete is 250 kilometres long and takes most of a day to cross by public transport — if the buses even go where you want. The island's north coast has the main towns, the resorts and the fast E75 highway; the south coast has the beaches that define Crete for most visitors: Elafonissi, Balos, Matala and dozens of smaller coves with no direct bus connection. Knossos is easy enough to reach from Heraklion by taxi, but the Samaria Gorge, the Lasithi Plateau, the gorge villages of the interior and the western tip of the island are car territory.

With a hire car you're not tied to the resort or the afternoon bus schedule. You can pick up at Heraklion or Chania airport and start immediately, reach Balos before the boat trips arrive, drive the mountain road through Sfakia at your own pace and still make it back for dinner. Crete rewards slow, exploratory driving more than almost any other Mediterranean island.