The city
The city of Rethymno is considered one of the most beautiful cities of Crete and Greece in general. Long beaches and a picturesque old town are its main characteristics. You can take a walk along the seaside or get carried away in the meanders of the old town, admiring the architecture which is a mixture of the Greek-Venetian and Turkish civilizations that are tangled up after centuries of co-existence. The Archaeological museum, the Venetian castle “Fortezza” and the minarets in the old town are some of the points of interest really worthwhile visiting among your breaks! Or just relax under the sun in one of the wonderful beaches around Rethymno. Here are some useful links to get an idea:
http://www.ancient.eu/crete/
http://www.visitgreece.gr/el/destinations/rethymno
http://www.cretetravel.com/guide/rethymno/
http://www.greeka.com/crete/rethymno/rethymno-tourism.htm
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/greece/crete/rethymno

General info: http://www.crete-kreta.com/rethymnon-prefecture
City info: http://www.rethymno.gr
Best things to do:  https://www.incrediblecrete.gr/

To Crete

By plane: Rethymno is situated between the two biggest cities of Crete and has no airport. It is 78 km from  Heraklion (or Iraclio, the capital of the island), and 65 km away from Chania (or Hania).

In order to reach Crete (and then Rethymno) you can fly directly to the airports of Heraklion (http://www.heraklion-airport.info/) or Chania (http://www.chania-airport.com/). All major airlines as well as low cost companies and charters fly both to both airports.

Especially during the summer you can find direct flights from all over Europe. Ryanair flies to Chania and Easyjet, Volotea, Airberlin, Vueling to Heraklion, both of them with direct flights from many European cities. Aegean airlines is the Greek company that also serves the island with inland and international flights.

If you do not find a direct/charter flight, you can always choose to fly to Athens (https://www.aia.gr/traveler/) and then reach Crete either by air (Aegean Airlines & Ryanair fly daily to Heraklion and Chania) or

By sea: with the ferry from the port of Piraeus  (ANEK and MINOAN lines travel daily to Crete, to the ports of Heraklion and Chania).

To Rethymno

From the airport: you can come to Rethymno by taxi (you can find one directly at the airport, 1 h drive, 70-80€), bus (1h 15 min from the central bus station, buses depart every hour, ticket around 7€) or rented car (approx. 1 h drive, there are various car rental companies outside the airport).  The central bus station in both cities is located in the city centre, so to arrive there from the airport you need to take a taxi (10 minutes drive, the fare around 10€) or a city bus (20 minutes drive, around 2€) and then take the bus to Rethymno.

Here are some useful links for you:

 – Direct flights to Crete: www.skyscanner.com

 – Ferries from Athens port to Crete: http://www.ferries.gr/

 – Bus timetable from Chania airport: http://www.chania.gr/archive/souda/www.souda.gr/en/our-space/how-you-reach-to-city/by-car.html

 – Bus timetable from Heraklion airport: http://www.cretetravel.com/travel_tips/crete-bus-schedules-heraklion-iraklion/

 – Bus timetable from the central stations of Heraklion and Chania, duration 1h 15min: http://www.ktelherlas.gr/

 – Car rental: //www.europcar.com/location/greece/heraklion/crete-heraklion-airport

 – Taxi (1 h, 70-80€): http://taxiservicerethymno.gr/en/

DIRECT low cost flights to CRETE (travel for less than 20€, one way)

Please check the official airline sites for exact dates, prices vary according to dates/companies/airport

Low Cost Flights to ATHENS

Please check traveling options to Crete by plane or sea

With Ryanair to CHANIA from:

Rome Fiumicino, Milano Bergamo, Venezia Treviso, Bologna, Pisa
Bruxelles
Marseille MP2
Frankfurt Int
Frankfurt Hahn
Memmingen
Düsseldorf Weeze
Bremen
Bilund
East Midlands, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, London Stansted, Manchester T3, Birmingham T2, Bristol
Dublin T1
Vilnius
Eidhoven
Warsaw
Wroklau
Katowice
Krakow
Stockholm Skavsta
Pafos

Direct flights from 71 airports to Heraklion & Chania

 


With Easyjet to HERAKLION from:

Berlin (all)
Geneva
Edinburg
Lyon
London (Gatwick & Lutton)
Manchester
Milan (all)
Bordeaux
Bristol
Nice
Paris Charles De Gaul
Scotland


With Volotea to HERAKLION from:
Marseille, Toulouse
Venice, Verona, Bari, Napoli, Palermo


With Wizzair to HERAKLION from:
Budapest


With Transavia to HERAKLION from:
Groningen, Netherlands
Nantes, France
Amsterdam (Schiphol), Netherlands
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Lyon, France
Paris (Orly South), France
Rotterdam/The Hague, Netherlands


With Rynair from:

Aqaba Jordan
Sofia
Karlsruhe/Baden Baden
Ibiza, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona El Prat, Lanzarote, Malaga, Madrid T1, Zaragoza
Cagliari, Catania, Lamezia, Palermo, Pescara, Brindisi, Roma Ciampino, Trapani
Malta
Budapest T2B
Gdansk, Vzesouf, Lodz, Poznan
Bucharest
Bratislava
Prague
Lappeenranta

 


With Easyjet from:

Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg