Driving it's about an hour from either airport and the main coast road is well maintained and FAST.

Watch for the police between Chania and Rethymnon/ speed traps.. Roads are good though - main highways. If you have any accident you have to report it too... but we have never had any problems driving in Crete, some of the roads inland and across the mountains are bit of a white knuckle ride but the rest is fine. Have fun!!!

Thanks guys, I appreciate that.

If you get the choice I would use Chania airport as it is smaller than Heraklion (and nicer), and apart from the lack of clear signs through Souda where you must keep your eyes peeled, the drive to Rethymnon is straight forward. The drive from the airport is around an hour and there is a fast dual carriage way from Souda onwards..

Check where you hotel is exactly in Rethymnon, as it is a large bay and our hotel turned out to be about 7 miles from Rethymnon but was still in the brochure under Rethymnon.

Petrol stations are plentiful and we found driving fairly straight forward. We had a good deal in Oct from Auto-europe (on line) - they matched a lesser known company (that I did not want to deal with) and added an extra driver for free - recommend you ring them to negotiate. Don't bother with air conditioning as it seems to me all cars in hot countries tend to have this as standard - they are just getting extra £s from you.

We stayed in Rethymno and had a great holiday. Also hired a car for a few days and found the driving Ok. Don't think I'd fancy driving around Heraklion though as it was very busy & a bit frantic with lots of gesticulating drivers---typical Med temperament!

the roads on the north part of the island are good. if you go up to the hills/mountains will get bit worst.
carefulle of the Greeks taking over in turns etc and other tourists that drive to slow or if british that by accident they forget some times and drive left and not right.
keep an eye for police as they give tickets easily and in case someone tells you not to pay coz you will go back to your home just remember that now days greek police posts the bill to you and also the tax authorities have a link so they can always find you sooner or later.
worst of all if they flash you with camera speeding. i got ones and the posting came six months after i did it. so i will have to pay around 600 Euro pluss the court expences when it take place.

Hi,

I reckon that driving on the northern coastal road of Crete is the best you will get anywhere in the Med! Once off it, treat the roads as you would any busy country road.

There is a tendency for some of the Greeks to sound their horn as they overtake you, this isnt them having a go or a mild attack of road rage, it just seems customery, the irritating thing is that some tourists tend to adopt the custom, achieves nothing other than a noisy drive!

Because of the size of Crete there is a tendency for tourists to venture further than they ordiniarily might, no problem if they are in a car but if they are on a quad, scooter or motor cycle and, probably unqualified and full of confidence (or drink) after poodling around small resorts they can create havoc on a fast road. The 2 wheeled riders will be your biggest hazard, I suspect the tourists, locals and unfamiliararity with the roads will not be a problem, tourists on quads, scooters and motor cycles on the other hand ............................................................