Heraklion to Chania
 

Hello all,

We are planning to stop by Rethymno for a few hours on the way from Heraklion to Chania, and as of now we are planning to travel by public bus. I was wondering if there are any places or lockers where we can store our luggage for the time we are in Rethymno?

or is it more feasible to rent a car? we are travelling on a budget though. any suggestions will be appreciated!

thanks in advance.

I did this journey recently myself. The buses are comfortable and run at least every hour. The times are on www.cretetravel.com. There is a left-luggage office at Rethimnon bus station (and at Iraklion and Hania bus stations). The old part of Rethimnon is a short walk from the bus station and is well worth seeing.

that's good news - it's making our trip planning easier! do you mind sharing where you stayed in both Heraklion and Chania?

Many hotels are closed at this time of year, and those that are open are not busy, so finding accommodation was easy. I travelled overnight from Pireas to Iraklion with ANEK Lines, spent the morning there (my companion went to see Knossos but I'd seen it before), then we took a bus to Rethimnon for lunch, and on to Hania in the afternoon. We stayed in the 'El Greco' hotel near the old harbour. The next day, we went by bus to Paleohora on the south coast, then overnight back to Pireas.

Just wondering if you booked El Greco in advance? if you did, how? i can't seem to find their website...

thanks for sharing!

I never book hotels in advance as it's not necessary out of season. I'd rather see the hotel and the rooms before committing myself. The only potential problem in Hania is that some of the bars around the old harbour are open until the early hours and play loud music, so you need to check the position of the hotel rooms carefully.

If it helps at all, we stayed in Chania last year at Palazzo di Pietro, a small Venetian townhouse only a few blocks from the harbor. The hotel is tiny with only a handful of rooms, but all of them have been lovingly renovated by the young owner's family. We had a wonderful stay there, and I'd highly recommend it!

I understand Geoff's reluctance to book ahead off-season, but OP did not say they were travelling off-season.

I have stayed in both the places named, they are side-by-side on Theotokoupolou Street,a charming no-cars lane, near the harbor but quiet (not near noisy bars) and both with front balconies that have a view of the sea to the left).

El Greco is larger, costs more (60E? per double in May?);breakfast is included.
Pension di Pietra, for our upcoming stay in May is 42E per double,(just 4-5 rooms)... no breakfast, but a cute cafe a few yards away opens 7:30.
Another charmning place just around the corner that has kitchenettes is Iason Studios, at similar rates to Pietra.

Links are as follows: El GReco --
http://www.elgreco.gr/catalog.asp?id=218&lang=en

P di Pietra -- has no e-mail, lyou have to fax them but there's a link to show what it looks like:
http://www.chania-guide.gr/dn/dyn/templ1en.jsp?id=45

Iason studios books thru an agency but prices are not higher than going direct:

http://www.imagine-crete-hotels-villas.c
om/imagine-hotels.asp?lang=en&id=182

You have not said how long you have in Crete... this will be my 4th time, and i have always rented a car with my travel companions... you can get a tiny "panda" car off season very reasonably...and get a pick up in one city and drop off in another, if your transportation plans require it. It DOES enable you to see more...i.e. Rethymno in my estimation (many will contest this) is much more touricized than Chania -- we stopped to explore the Fortezza (worth a visit!) but the touristy/crowded Old City area made us eager to leave...and having a car, we could.

Since you seem to be using the internet why not google "Crete Car Rentals cheap". Use a local (Crete) agency like Autoway---get prices online, and then in Heraklion walk down 23 Avgoustou Street where all the agencies are, and use your Internet knowledge to get a good rate.

In 2003 we got a mini station wagon for 270E a week including all insurance -- we'll pay more now of course, but you should be able to get a 2-person car for that in 2007. Good luck!!

Thanks for all the suggestions! they are all very helpful. I will certainly try the hotels suggested.

traveljan and others, have you seen/heard of the Neli Studio in Chania?

I think I ran across Neli Studio on Trip Advisor, wasn't it over close to the Chania Market building??? Seems to me people liked it, there was a church next door with bells that chimed the hour all night.. unless I've mistaken the place