Things to do in Rethymno
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Rethymno
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best weather, warm sea, gorges open and crowds below peak.
Peak heat and prices, meltemi wind on the north coast, dawn starts for gorge walks.
Green spring, wildflowers and Orthodox Easter, with a still cool sea.
Worst for beaches, boats stop and Samaria closes, but the university Old Town stays alive for food and culture.
What's on
- Rethymno Carnival February into early March, main parade on the final weekend before Lent
Three weeks of events, costumed treasure hunt and a grand parade with thousands of participants. Book months ahead.
- Rethymno Renaissance Festival Late summer, July to September programming, dates vary by year
Open air theatre and early music in the Fortezza and Old Town venues.
- Cretan Wine Festival Early July, dates vary by year
Cretan producers pour in the Municipal Garden by the Old Town, a local and good value evening.
- Village panigyria Summer, peaking around 15 August
Saints day feasts with Cretan music, dancing and communal food in villages across the prefecture.
Best things to do in Rethymno
Rethymnon Old Town
Venetian and Ottoman lanes, tavernas and churches in a lived in quarter that rewards slow walking day and night.
Fortezza of Rethymno
Huge Venetian fortress above the harbour with the best views in town, best early or near sunset for heat and light.
Old Venetian Harbour of Rethymno
Curved harbour and lighthouse pier made for a sunset stroll and a coffee, rather than a default dinner choice.
Archaeological Museum of Rethymno
Compact museum in a Venetian church displaying local finds from Minoan to Roman times, an easy hour that grounds the Old Town.
Stagakis Cretan Lyra Workshop
Working lyra maker workshop and family museum where you can watch, hear and try the instrument that defines Cretan music.
Monastery of Arkadi
Crete's most symbolic monastery, with a Baroque church and the 1866 powder magazine story in a quiet hill setting.
Museum of Ancient Eleutherna
Modern, well labelled museum for a major ancient city, small enough to do properly in an hour near Arkadi.
Margarites
Working pottery village where you watch potters at the wheel, try a session and buy direct from the maker.
Where to stay in Rethymno
Old Town
first trip, couples, food focused stays, no car
Walk to dinner, harbour, Fortezza and the bus station, with the beach ten minutes away on foot.
Beachfront east of the Old Town
families, longer stays, drivers
Larger hotels with pools on the sand east of centre, trading Old Town atmosphere for space and parking.
Plakias
divers, hikers, second base for the south coast
Functional beach village that puts Preveli, Skinaria and Damnoni on your doorstep instead of a daily drive.
Kapsaliana
couples, decompression, countryside and food
Olive grove hamlet near Arkadi for rural luxury, best paired with Old Town nights rather than replacing them.
Think twice about
- Platanes / Adelianos Kampos resort strip
Highway backed package hotels east of town with no Old Town and no local life. A bus ride stands between you and every good dinner.
- Bali
Steep, cramped package cove resort marooned between Rethymno and Heraklion. Use it for a swim stop, not as a base.
- Harbour-front bar row, Old Town
Rooms over the busiest harbour bars take music until around 1am in season. Sleep two streets back and walk three minutes instead.
Best restaurants in Rethymno
Prima Plora
Refined seafood and sushi on rock terraces almost in the sea, Rethymno's clear splurge dinner at sunset.
1600 Raki Ba Raki
Modern Cretan meze built for sharing, with handmade pasta, slow lamb and house raki in the Old Town lanes.
Othonas taverna
The best evidenced traditional taverna in town, with slow cooked lamb, seafood and notably kind hospitality.
Avli Restaurant
Long standing fine Cretan dining in a Venetian era courtyard setting, with a serious wine cellar for its size.
Veneto Wine Restaurant
Certified Cretan fine dining in a 14th century manor, with wines from its own vineyard and polished old school service.
Hasika
Contemporary Cretan sharing plates in the Old Town, among the town's best tables.
Zefyros Fish Taverna
The harbour front fish taverna local food writing actually recommends, for catch of the day and seafood pasta.
Galini Restaurant
Seafood leaning restaurant near the Old Town with an unusually strong review signal at real volume.
Outdoor things to do in Rethymno
Samaria Gorge National Park
The classic 16 km gorge hike through the Iron Gates to a Libyan Sea swim and ferry out at Agia Roumeli.
Patsos Gorge
Shaded Amari valley gorge with a cave chapel, ladders and stream pools, the half day hike locals keep to themselves.
Kourtaliotiko Gorge
Waterfalls and cold plunge pools under vulture cliffs, or a guided river trek all the way toward Preveli.
Preveli Beach
Palm forest river meets the Libyan Sea, so you swim in salt water then in cold freshwater pools upriver.
Skinaria Beach
Small pebble bay with exceptionally clear water and rocky reefs that make it the area's best snorkelling beach.
Kalypso Dive Center & School
Dive base in a rocky fjord like inlet near Plakias, running try dives and boat dives in clear south coast water.
Evelin Dive Center
PADI five star centre with bases near Rethymno and Georgioupolis for beginners and certified divers alike.
Damnoni Beach
Organised south coast beach with clear cold water, taverna lunches behind the sand and the boats to Preveli at its jetty.
Best hotels in Rethymno
Rimondi Boutique Hotels
Luxury Old Town courtyards with pools and spa, the occasion stay that still walks to every dinner.
Kapsaliana Village Hotel
Restored olive press hamlet turned luxury rural retreat, for countryside calm and dining rather than town life.
Grecotel Creta Palace
Full scale five star beach resort in Missiria with private sand and many restaurants, recently relaunched in luxury format.
Veneto Boutique Hotel
Fourteenth century Venetian manor in the Old Town heart, historic character at a mid range price.
Pepi Boutique Hotel
Quiet small boutique hotel in a historic Old Town building, calm inside the centre and near the beach.
Kyma Suites Beach Hotel
Small suites hotel between the marina and the Old Town lanes, loved for breakfast, staff and walk everywhere location.
Jo-An Palace
Practical larger hotel by the Municipal Garden, five minutes from the Old Town with family sized rooms.
Rethymno Youth Hostel
Social, central and genuinely cheap hostel with a gathering terrace, the honest budget bed in the right place.
Is Rethymno expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €55 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €105 a person |
| Splurge | €220 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Chrysoula's Cretan Home Cooking Lessons: a few days ahead
- Klados Winery: a few days ahead
- Rethymno Sunset Catamaran Cruise: a few days ahead
- Samaria Gorge National Park: a few days ahead
- Kourtaliotiko Gorge: weeks ahead
- Preveli Beach: a few days ahead
- Kalypso Dive Center & School: a few days ahead
- Evelin Dive Center: a few days ahead
- Old Town boutique hotels sell out for July, August, Carnival and Greek Easter.
- Book Prima Plora days ahead in season and Samaria, Arkadi and Preveli tours days ahead in summer.
- Book Crete Golf Club tee times ahead and bring a handicap certificate.
Is Rethymno safe?
- Petty theft rises in Carnival and peak season crowds, secure phones and wallets at the parade and on busy buses.
- Gorge heat, cold river water and slippery rock are the real risks, start hikes early and wear proper shoes.
- Mountain roads south demand a sober, unhurried driver. Emergency number is 112.
Rethymno travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Harbour front restaurants charge for the view, walk two streets back for where the town eats.
- Confirm the per kilo price and weight before any whole fish is cooked.
- Do not plan a beach holiday on the town beach alone, the great beaches are all on the south coast.
Getting around Rethymno: public transport and more
- Walk the Old Town and harbour, a car is a liability in the lanes.
- KTEL buses run the north coast highway and headline sights well, but rent a car for the south coast and villages.
- Chania airport is just over an hour west and Heraklion about 1h15 east, both linked by KTEL bus.
Who Rethymno suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Rethymno your trip
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