Car Rental in Crete — delivered free to Heraklion Airport

How do you rent a car in Crete?

Looking for reliable car hire in Crete? PaulCar.gr is a family-run car rental company based in Heraklion, offering modern automatic and manual cars with transparent pricing. Unlike large chains, we deliver your rental car for free to Heraklion Airport, the port of Heraklion, or directly to your hotel — no waiting at counters, no paperwork queues, no surprises on the bill.

How does car hire at Heraklion Airport (HER) work?

Landing at Heraklion International Airport "Nikos Kazantzakis"? We meet you at arrivals with your car ready. Booking takes two minutes online, and cancellation is free. Hire a car at Heraklion Airport with no deposit and no credit card requirement — pay on arrival with cash or card.

Where can you go with a hire car in Crete?

With unlimited kilometers on every rental, you're free to explore all of Crete: the palace of Knossos, the beaches of Elafonisi and Balos, the old towns of Chania and Rethymno, the Lasithi plateau and the palm forest of Vai. A hire car is the best way to discover the island at your own pace.

What people ask before renting a car in Crete

Do you actually need a car in Crete?

Crete is 260 km end to end, and the bus network follows the north coast. Heraklion town, Knossos and a handful of the larger resorts are reachable without a car. Almost everything else is not: Balos, the Lasithi plateau, the whole south coast, a village taverna at nine in the evening. If you are staying in one resort for a week and want the beach and nothing else, you can manage. For any other kind of trip the car is not an extra — it is what makes the island reachable.

How much does it cost to hire a car in Crete?

Ours run from €39 to €63 a day, and that is the whole figure — insurance, unlimited kilometres, a second driver and delivery are already inside it. What makes comparison hard is that low headline prices usually are not the price: a €9 a day quote becomes something else once the excess waiver, the second driver and the airport surcharge are added, and a deposit of several hundred euro sits blocked on your card until the car comes back. Compare what you pay at the counter, not the number in the advert.

Automatic or manual in Crete?

Seven of our sixteen cars are automatic, and they are the first to go in summer. On the national road along the north coast either is easy. The reason to want an automatic is everything else — the climb up to Lasithi, the hairpins down to the south coast, and hill starts in the older streets of Heraklion. If you drive an automatic at home, book one here early rather than hope one is left.

How far ahead should you book?

Cancellation is free, so booking early costs nothing and holds the car. Booking late can cost: inside 48 hours of pickup a €40 last-minute fee applies, and in July and August the automatics go first. Waiting gains you nothing — the only thing that changes is what is still available.

What do you need to collect the car?

A driving licence valid in Greece and held for at least a year, your passport or ID card, and the booking. No credit card, and nothing blocked on any card. A licence issued outside the EU is accepted at pickup, but Greek traffic law requires a valid International Driving Permit alongside it — get one before you travel, because it is issued by your own country and not in Greece.

Is driving in Crete difficult?

The north-coast national road is wide, fast and straightforward. Away from it, expect narrow lanes, goats on the tarmac, and drivers who pull onto the hard shoulder to let you past — that is normal courtesy here, not an insult. Mountain roads are well surfaced but slow; reckon on half again the time your map suggests. Fuel stations are frequent along the north coast and sparse in the south and the mountains, so fill up before a long day inland.