Crete
Crete
How to plan a first trip to Crete for UK travellers: which town to base in (Chania, Rethymno or Heraklion), how to reach Balos and the Samaria Gorge, real costs in pounds and whether you need a hire car.
In short
Crete at a glance
Crete is far too big to 'do' in one week — it's 260 km end to end, so the trick is to pick a base rather than try to circle the island. Most first-timers should fly into Chania (CHQ) and stay in or near its Venetian old town: it's the prettiest base, has the best tavernas, and puts Balos, Elafonissi and the Samaria Gorge within reach. Add a second base in the east (Heraklion or Rethymno) only if you've got 10 days and want Knossos and the eastern beaches too. You'll want a hire car for at least part of the trip (around £35–70/€40–80 a day in summer) — the headline beaches are not reachable by bus.
The single most useful thing to know about Crete is that it’s enormous — roughly 260 km from end to end, so the classic mistake is trying to circle it in a week. You can’t, not comfortably. The roads are mountainous and slower than the map suggests, and you’ll spend the holiday driving. The fix is to pick a base, and for a first trip that base is almost always Chania in the west: a Venetian harbour town with the prettiest old quarter on the island, the best tavernas for visitors, and the shortest reach to the things people actually fly out for.
From Chania, two days deliver the highlights. Balos is the lagoon everyone has seen photos of — get there by boat from Kissamos (around £35–40/€40–45 return, May to October) rather than risking the rough dirt track, which really wants a 4x4. The Samaria Gorge is the other set-piece: a one-way 16 km hike, all downhill, that starts on the Omalos plateau and ends at the Libyan Sea, where you catch a ferry out from Agia Roumeli. It only runs May to October, and a guided bus tour is worth it purely for taking the ferry-and-coach logistics off your hands.
The east is a separate decision. Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum — covered together by a £17/€20 ticket that’s valid for three days — are the reason to go, and they’re genuinely world-class. But Heraklion the city is workaday rather than charming, so treat it as a one- or two-night history stop, not a week. Only stretch to a second eastern base (Heraklion, or prettier Agios Nikolaos and Elounda) if you’ve got 10 days or more. And whatever you plan, aim for late May to June or September to early October: 24–28°C, a sea warm enough to swim, and Balos and Samaria without the August scrum. Statutory and safety facts inherit our Greece country guide’s GOV.UK review.
The route
A relaxed week based mainly in the west out of Chania, with the option to push east for Knossos. Drive times are real coastal-road estimates — Crete's roads are slower than the distances suggest, and the dirt track to Balos is genuinely rough.
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Days 1–2
Chania
Base in or just behind the Venetian old town. Wander the harbour, eat at the back-street tavernas rather than the harbour-front ones, and use a half-day to settle in. The airport (CHQ) is about 20 minutes out; the bus into town is around £2/€2.50, a taxi around £22–26/€25–30.
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Day 3
Balos & Gramvousa
The west's headline beach day. Either drive to Kissamos and take the boat to Balos and Gramvousa island (around £35–40/€40–45 return, May–October), or tackle the rough Balos dirt track yourself — a 4x4 is strongly advised. The boat is the stress-free option.
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Day 4
Samaria Gorge
A full day. The 16 km gorge is one-way and downhill from the Omalos plateau to the Libyan Sea (open May–October, around £4/€5 entry). Walk it, then catch the ferry from Agia Roumeli to Chora Sfakion (about £10/€12) where the bus or your tour coach waits. A guided bus tour removes all the transfer logistics.
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Day 5
Elafonissi or Rethymno
Either drive south-west to Elafonissi's pink-tinged shallows (£4/€5 parking, sunbeds around £7/€8) for a beach day, or head east to Rethymno's compact Venetian-Ottoman old town and Fortezza for a change of scene and a town beach that starts in the centre.
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Days 6–7
Heraklion & Knossos (optional east extension)
If history matters, drive east (about 2.5 hours from Chania) to see Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum — the £17/€20 combined ticket covers both for three days. Otherwise stay west and use the last two days for a quieter south-coast beach like Falassarna or a lazy Chania finish.
Where to base yourself
Pick one or two bases rather than moving every night.
Chania (Venetian old town)
££ mid-rangeThe best first base in Crete: a walkable maze of Venetian lanes around a postcard harbour, the strongest taverna scene for visitors, and the launch point for Balos, Elafonissi and Samaria. Old-town rooms can be small and noisy in summer — pick a side street off the harbour front.
Best for: First trip, west-Crete beaches, walkability
Rethymno (old town / town beach)
££ mid-rangeThe underrated middle base — a real working town with a Venetian-Ottoman old quarter, a huge Fortezza and a long sandy beach that starts right in the centre, so you don't need a car every day. Calmer and better value than Chania, and well placed for day trips both directions.
Best for: Families, couples, town-plus-beach without a daily drive
Heraklion (centre)
££ mid-rangeBase here if Knossos and the Archaeological Museum are the priority — both are on the doorstep and the airport (HER) is 15 minutes out by bus (around £1/€1.20). The city itself is more workaday than pretty, so most people treat it as a one- or two-night history stop rather than a week-long base.
Best for: Knossos, the Minoan sites, eastern beaches
Agios Nikolaos / Elounda (east)
£££ premiumThe east-coast resort end, around an hour past Heraklion. Prettier and more upmarket than its airport town, with the Spinalonga island boat trip on the doorstep. Worth it only on a longer 10-day-plus trip when you're splitting the island east and west.
Best for: Second base on a longer trip, resort comfort, Spinalonga
Getting around Crete
Crete's KTEL buses are cheap and reliable along the north-coast spine linking Chania, Rethymno and Heraklion, so you can hop between the main towns without a car. But the things people actually come for — Balos, Elafonissi, the Samaria Gorge trailhead, the south-coast beaches — are off that spine and effectively need a car or an organised tour. The honest play is to base in a town, use the bus for town-to-town transfers, and hire a car (around £35–70/€40–80 a day in summer) for the two or three days you want the beaches and the gorge. Note the Balos access road is an unpaved track best done in a 4x4 — or skip it and take the boat from Kissamos.
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