Crete - getting around
 

We will be staying at a hotel in the center of Crete. We don't expect to use the car every day to go to towns on the coast, but may make 1 or 2 trips during the week. I could have the hotel arrange to pick us up at the airport and rent a car or scooter on the days we want to go to the coast - or is it better to just rent a car for the week?

What you mean by "the centre of Crete" where you are staying, which town it is? What do you plan to visit from there for sure?

Having lived on the island myself, I can only answer the practical aspect knowing all that. For the economical costs; if every other day without car you will rent a scooter it will be more expensive for sure. There are great weekly rates for car hire that equal a three day hire.

Do note that not every place along the coast is suitable to visit by scooter, so for the best advice really the town you are staying and plans where to go are a must know to help out better if a scooter can do the trick.

Crete has quite a good local bus service with a modern A/C fleet.
The local and regional bus services are run by regional collectives known as Kino Tamio Eispraxeon Leoforon or KTEL.

What this boils down to is that many of the coaches are owned by the driver and his family who obviously have a vested interest in providing the best possible service.

http://bus-service-crete.com/timetable.php?lg=2

I couldn't imagine not having a car on Crete. It's a huge island and relying on a bus would be quite a hassle and severely limiting. It's probably cheaper to rent for the week instead of renting here and there on certain days plus paying for the hotel pickup.

The OP gave the impression that they would only use the car a couple of days during the week which seemed to me to be a waste.
Although admittedly without knowing what the location is it's hard to offer suggestions.
Crete's excellent bus service is ideal for day trips plus it means everyone can enjoy the good food and wine without having to worry about driving home.Car-free holidays are far less stressful in my experience ^

Maybe true, but:

- Its allowed (and perfectly normal!) to drink some glasses of wine with food and still drive. Though I wouldnt recommend getting tipsy and over the limit in a rental, if one is not used to Greek roads and driving style.

- While I like the KTEL network and it works fine for a trip from lets say Chania to Rethymnon, or for the Samaria gorge, you won't be able to see the many great beaches or other sights scattered around the island with it. Even to the most famous beaches (like Elafonisi) there is just a daily bus from Chania for example, forcing you to spend the whole day there before you can return. Car gives more freedom when you want to go, and you can combine multiple sights a day.

It's the opposite for me, but to each his own. Worrying about bus times and routes and watching something really interesting whiz by from the bus window and wishing I could stop is more stressful IMHO. But I understand that others have a different point of view.

When you're a fan of the unplanned long,boozy lunch in a nice taverna sheltering from the heat of the day which morphs into an afternoon of drinking and merriment which brings you nicely into a few drinks before dinner mode, car-free is definitely the way to go.

But it depends on where you are and the company you're with I suppose. Mrs Clint Bint is never happy when I announce it's her turn to drive after such a lunch ...

Staying near Avdou. Would like to go to Heraklion one day. Another coast town afternoon/evening, not sure where yet.

Probably best to rent a car.

We arrived by ferry into Heraklion and stayed in Elounda for four nights. The hotel transfer was $90 each way, but we got a good deal from Avis $130 for the week. We didn't use the car every day, but it was very helpful in visiting Zeus's Cave, the Lasithi (?) Plain, an Olive Oil farm tour and Knossis Palace (though this last one could be done quite easily via bus). We preferred not having to adhere to a specific schedule, having the freedom to stop and walk around. Plus, when we flew out of HER, no need to pay an additional $90 for the hotel transfer. Finally, with the motorway, we found driving on the island quite easy.

Don't forget to check the parking availability and cost at your hotel before making a decision, but I would want to have a rental car for the entire stay at my disposal.

No Cretan hotel would ever charge you for parking your car at the hotel. In contrast, this is one of the shocking experiences a Greek gets when parking his/her car in certain (thank God, not all) hotels in the US.

Parking is free. We will be renting a car!

I checked the price for a rental car for the week. Found a mini / manual for $126 with Olympic car rentals. I can drive stick.

Any issues with this rental company?

I used Google Flights to get my airfare roundtrip ORD-ATH ($740), we bought the tickets 2 days ago. (Flight is now ~$1200.) That leaves ATH-HER round trip. Aegean seems to be cheapest airline. I got the HER-ATH leg for $63. For the ATH-HER leg, flight is about $120.

We are about 2 months out from the trip. This flight is Sat night. We have limited flights to choose from as we land at ATH about 14:30. 16:10 and 17:50 are the A3 flights, 16:10 slightly cheaper than 17:50.

Do you think this leg will drop in price in a few weeks?

Flying out of ATH on Sat. is often expensive, especially on some dates (e.g. X'mas). When do you fly? With that really high price for the outgoing segment, I'd wait a while. Of course, I doubt that it will ever become much cheaper... :(

Have you thought of flying to Chania instead? It may be cheaper that particular day and you could also fly Ryanair (yakh, I know).

The main issue for me is that I haven't heard of them. I've found over the years that paying a bit extra for Avis or Hertz is well worth it. No hassles, especially if you sign up for their programs and use an American Express card or some other card that provides international rental insurance.

Know what ?

Ryanair!

Great airline.
Have a read of this,old cock.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/co...-31521321.html

Yes, great for flying from A to B for a very low price. But I'm thinking of what goes with it. But let's leave that discussion for a different thread in a different forum. :)

Chania would be a 2.5 hr drive to the hotel, I don't think it would be worth it.

We decided to book the flight. Of course, the flight cost has dropped a bit now (89 euro vs 106). I doubt this airline gives refunds?

:D Great sense of humour! :D

When we bought the tickets to Greece, we did ORD - ATH. I had checked to see what the cost would be to do ORD - HER and it was a few hundred more and the ATH-HER flights were not ideal. The flight swe wanted were even more expensive. The ORD-ATH price was great so we grabbed them and planned on buying the ATH-HER flights separately.

We are flying A3 from MUC to ATH and the hops to and from HER are on A3 as well - but my flights are obviously not linked. I can't imagine this being a issue. Flight is due to land at 2:40pm and the ATH-HER flight is at 4:10pm.

We will have 1 small bag each but will likely check them. (I'll already have a smaller carryon and don't , want the extra bag to juggle.) We start out on United - and will tell them about the extra leg that was booked after the original ticket. Is this enough time for everything? I think we'll have to get our bags and then I take them on the plane for this last leg, if United can't link them when we check in.

Any comments or concerns that I am not aware of?

I would certainly OLCI your last leg (you can do that at -48 hours), print your BP and with this in hand and hoping for an open-minded check-in agent at UA (ORD), ask for your luggage to be checked to your final destination (i.e. HER). They can do that, I recently did that flying CUN-PTY-MEX-MUC-ATH-HER on three separate tickets with three different *A airlines.

If they don't do that and your flight into ATH is delayed, you'll be screwed (you'll be screwed anyway, with or without checked luggage if very late because the last leg is on a different ticket) so checking the luggage to Crete is not a lifesaver, but it helps easing your transfer.

On the other hand, one definite advantage for not checking the bag for the domestic leg on A3 is that, depending go how many flights arrived at HER at the same time like yours, you may have to wait for long at the small and disorganised arrival hall for your stuff to be delivered (unless priority-tagged).

Other than the above, no worries. Most things in ATH go very fast. Transfer, assuming no need to check your bag, should take no more than ~30 minutes from deplaning to the new gate, even if being bussed to the terminal building. You can save yourself a little time by using the elevator up rather than the escalator (about 20 m to your left when exiting the luggage collecting area). If the luggage has been checked through to HER, though, just take the first shortcut to the upper floor (escalator, steps, elevator), before getting into the luggage area.

Hurry up! The weather is supposed to get a little worse next week ;)

Back to the car. Do I need an International Driver Permit?

No.

Agreed. We have US Drivers licences and had no problems renting without an international licence in August.

I would contact your car rental agency to ask if a International DL is needed. Legally it is..... and if you get stopped and asked for one and don't have it.... it can lead to some issues.

I have rented a car in Greece and Crete a dozen times over the last few decades and have never left home without a IDL just to play it safe. ( We were stopped by traffic police once outside Delphi and they asked for it!)

I also would not necessarily go with Avis or Hertz in Crete to rent a car. Just cause they have the big names does not mean the local branches offer great service.

There are two local companies that get VERY good consistent reviews:

http://www.athenscars-crete.gr

http://autorentals-crete.gr

I've been renting all over the world for about 20 years now and have never been asked for an IDP by the rental companies nor the police. But if you feel more comfortable with an IDP, more power to you.

And the reason for choosing Avis or Hertz has nothing to do with a big name and everything to do with corporate or credit card discounts and credit card covered insurance. Or in other words it can be a lot cheaper. And if you have elite status you get a nice upgrade and no hassles from these companies if there is an accident or some scratches.

Your right...I just checked and Greece is NOT one of the countries listed requiring an IDP. My error.

We had a very nice time in Crete. We definitely want to go back to visit more areas of the island.

We rented a car from Anna Cars. Paid cash up front. All was fine - no problems.

Question for KLouis - maybe?

In 2 different towns, I saw men with some olive(?) leaves over their ear. One man was at a table at a taverna with 2 other friend, the other 2 did not have the olive leaves. Another was a lone man at a cafe. What is that about?

Oh my, I have absolutely no idea, never seen this (in 32 years on the island). Only one thing comes to mind: This being olive harvest period, perhaps they just made a point (which one?) and they did not shake the leaves off their hair? You do get quite a few leaves falling off the tree when harvesting. But other than that... :confused:

Glad you liked your vacation. It's been the mildest and least rainy fall since I came here, though with a little more wind than what I'd have liked (fishing!).

I don't think either of these men were working with olive trees. The first guy was eating at a taverna in Gonies with 2 other men. My thought was that they were 3 businessmen that met for lunch, which seemed to turn into a longer lunch. (They were brought several litres of wine and got a little loud.) I figured, at the time, the one guy was just being silly.

A day or so later, we were in Stalida for lunch. The whole town was pretty much closed up for the season, but there was 1 bakery/cafe that was open. There were several men customers, some with friends, but there was one man sitting alone. He was also dressed business casual (polo shirt, khakis), he may have been mid 60s. He had a small handful of olive branches over an ear as well. (It was not the same guy!)

The few times I ate at restaurants not at my hotel, I noticed that customers were always all men. The only women were the waitress or cook. Women were out but shopping at a grocery store, while the men were sitting around drinking coffee and chatting.

I guess you're absolutely correct in your interpretation.

First time I was in Stalida was 36 years ago. The "town" consisted of less than ten (10!!!) houses. As you write, after the last tourist is gone, mid-November, it becomes a ghost town. A guess would be that the olive-leaves man was privately celebrating the end of the season. Or, like the one above, he was just plain silly as well...
Well, there was a time not very long ago when nowhere in Greece you would see any women in cafes. This has changed, especially in cities; granted, in villages it is still not uncommon. Still, my wife goes out with her friends "for an ouzo" once or twice a week, and so do the husbands too (I usually stay at home with the dogs!) separately from them! :)