The West Crete holidays guide

Car, moped and motorcycle rental

The business in cars, motorcycles and mopeds rental is booming and almost any place with a tourist population will have car rental offices. Hiring a car is a very nice way to visit what is after all a pretty large island.
We cannot give you much of a price idea, without going into complicated tables because rental prices will vary according to the type of vehicle, the duration of rental and the season. Compared to rental prices in other European countries, renting a car in Greece isn't cheap, nor is it expensive.

It is generally more expensive to use large car rental operators such as Hertz and Avis. Search for "car rental Crete" on the internet and you will find quite a few sites, most with wide variations in price so it is really worth your while shopping around.
At the time of writing this, only a few Cretan rental business offer online bookings and price estimates. A number of European travel agents do offer this facility so that you can check the price of renting a car in Crete (from Germany for example) and get an idea. Most rental companies will deliver and collect the cars at the airports.

If you plan to rent a vehicle once you are on Crete shop around: prices can vary considerably. Outside of the July and August months and especially if you want to hire for a week or more you can bargain and get excellent deals. When you are comparing prices between different car rental agencies, make sure that you are comparing prices for the same vehicle class. length of rental and range of services (in general - but by no means always - unlimited mileage, comprehensive insurance and breakdown recovery). Check the mechanical condition of the fleet - this is especially important if you want to rent a two-wheeler.
Children's safety seats are provided when needed.
When offered a helmet for a two-wheeler make sure that it fits you. If you don't know how to do this you shouldn't be riding a bike anyway.

If you are considering driving on Crete, whether with a rented vehicle or your own, have a look at this page on driving customs.