transportation on crete

Crete is a huge island. You really need a rental car for ease of mobility.

We spent a week in Crete in 2007. We rented a car from Kosmos, picking it up in Iraklion and dropping it off at the Hania airport when we left Crete.

I lived on Crete for a semester in college and keep going back every few years--you will love it! Within Heraklion public buses are easy and there is a "knossos express" that will get you out to the site. Just like most cities, having a car there can sometimes be more of a hindrance than a help. However, if you are planning on traveling around the island definitely get a rental car unless you have a lot more time than money! There are KTEL buses that run between major cities but they are rather time consuming and I think you will be much happier with your own car--plus one of the fun things about Crete are all the "off the beaten path" places that the buses won't go (at least not easily!).

Thanks for your advice Kim, I realy appreciate it. How many days will I need to drive (a car) around and see (on average) most of the largest sites? Can you recommend any good ones? We realy like archaeological sites. Thanks again for any and all help.

Ellis

It depends on your itinerary and length of stay. We found the buses to be very efficient for us and were able to get from Heraklion to Hania, Samara Gorge, back to Heraklion and Knossos, and South to Matala. For our itinerary a car would have been a headache most of the time with only a couple benefits when we were South.

Rental car around the island, a scooter if you want to go around the large cities.
The island has a highway that goes around it and I don't see how you can do it with a scooter.