A Weekend in Crete: 3-Day Itinerary From Heraklion, Knossos and Rethymno (Winter Hours and Prices)

Short answer: for a weekend in Crete, stay in Heraklion and don't try to see the whole island. Day one: an evening in the old town. Day two: Knossos Palace at 08:00 (about €20), then the Archaeological Museum, which closes at 15:30 in winter. Day three: a day trip to Rethymno by KTEL bus, about an hour and a half each way, if your flight home is in the evening. You don't need a car: the airport is about 5 km from the city, and a city bus also goes to Knossos.

A weekend in Crete works best when you stay in Heraklion and don't try to see the whole island. The flight from Tel Aviv is short, the airport is about 5 km from the city, and Knossos, the Archaeological Museum and the old town are all a short ride away. This itinerary is built for Thursday to Saturday night, with travel times and opening hours we've checked, and it's tailored to the winter season (November to March). At the end there's also what changes in summer.

Why Heraklion and not Chania?

Because from Heraklion everything is close, and from Chania almost nothing is on a short weekend. Crete is a big island: on the intercity bus (KTEL) the ride from Heraklion to Chania takes about 2 hours 45 minutes each way, so a day trip to Chania on a short weekend is mostly sitting on a bus.

Heraklion gives the best ratio of time to content: you land close to the city, the two most important Minoan sites (the palace at Knossos and the museum) are a short ride away, and Rethymno, a beautiful Venetian town, is about an hour and a half by bus. Chania deserves a separate trip, with nights in the town itself.

How long is the flight, and how do you get from the airport to the city?

A direct flight from Tel Aviv to Heraklion (HER) takes about 1 hour 50 minutes. Several airlines have flown the route in the past, among them El Al, Arkia, Israir, Bluebird and Aegean, but the winter schedule changes from year to year. Check each airline's website to see whether the route runs on your dates before you book a hotel. A comparison of airlines and routes to Greece is in the guide to flights to Greece.

The airport is about 5 km east of the city, and the ride takes 15–20 minutes. Here's how to do it without hassle:

1. After passport control: turn on your eSIM data in the baggage hall, so you can see when the next bus leaves.
2. Ticket: buy one at a kiosk or machine before boarding. In October 2026 a ticket cost about €1.50–1.60 in advance, and about €2 from the driver.
3. Bus: the city bus (Astiko Irakleiou) runs from the airport to the center roughly every 15–30 minutes during the day. After 22:00 frequency drops sharply.
4. Landing late? Take a taxi from the rank outside the terminal, and make sure the meter is on or agree a price before you set off.

Where should you stay in Heraklion?

For a short weekend, look for a place inside the old town, between Lions Square (Eleftheriou Venizelou Square) and the Venetian harbor. Friday's whole route starts from there, the bus stop for Knossos is close, and restaurants are within walking distance.

In winter, choose a city hotel over a beach resort. Many resort hotels on the island's north coast close from November to March, and from those that stay open the trip to town is long. When booking, check the hotel's opening dates: many list "seasonal" in small print.

What does the whole itinerary look like?

Here's the schedule in brief. Each day is detailed below the table.

Thursday: landing and an evening in the old town

After check-in, head out for a short evening walk. There's no need to plan much: all the spots are a few minutes from each other.

• Morosini Fountain on Lions Square: the Venetian fountain in the city center, a meeting point with cafés all around.
• 25th August Street: the main street running down from the square to the harbor, with the Venetian Loggia and the Church of Agios Titos along the way.
• The Venetian harbor and Koules Fortress: in the evening you see the fortress from outside, and you can walk along the breakwater.

Dinner at one of the tavernas in the old town, then an early night: on Friday you start at 08:00.

What to eat in Crete: dakos (barley rusk with grated tomato, cheese and olive oil), kalitsounia (small pastries filled with soft cheese and herbs), and for breakfast bougatsa with mizithra cheese. At the end of the meal many tavernas serve a glass of tsikoudia (Cretan raki) and fruit on the house. It's a local custom, so don't be surprised when it arrives without you ordering it.

Friday: Knossos Palace, the Archaeological Museum and the harbor

This is the most important day of the trip, and its order is built around winter opening hours. The museum closes early, so all the sites need to be behind you by mid-afternoon.

08:00 | Knossos Palace. The Minoan palace is about 5 km south of the city, and you get there by city bus (line 2, check the current timetable on the Astiko Irakleiou website) or taxi. In the morning there are no organized groups yet, and it's the best time to visit.

Give the palace about two hours. A full ticket to Knossos cost about €20 in October 2026. Young people under 18 from outside the EU get in free, but you have to show a passport at the ticket office, so bring your children's passports.

Don't miss at Knossos:

• The Throne Room: an original stone chair with stone benches along the walls, considered the oldest throne in Europe.
• The frescoes: the palace displays replicas, such as the "Prince of the Lilies" and the bull fresco at the north entrance. The originals are in the museum, and you'll see them two hours later.
• Arthur Evans' reconstructions: the colorful parts and red columns are reconstructions from the early 20th century, partly in concrete. It helps to know this so you can tell what's original and what isn't.

11:00 | Back to the city. Bus or taxi back to the center.

11:30 | Heraklion Archaeological Museum. This is where the original finds from Knossos are, so visiting after the palace makes sense: you already know where everything came from. Look for the original frescoes, including the bull-leaping fresco, the "Snake Goddess" figurines and the Phaistos Disc, a clay disc with a script that has never been deciphered.

Winter hours (1 November to 31 March) are 08:30–15:30, and on Wednesday 10:00–17:00. Last entry is 20 minutes before closing. Plan at least an hour and a half. The museum ticket is separate from the Knossos ticket, so don't assume one ticket covers both.

14:00 | Lunch and the market street. 1866 Street is the city's old market street, with stalls of cheese, honey, spices and Cretan olive oil. It's the place to buy food gifts to take home. Well-sealed olive oil and honey can go in your suitcase, but not in your hand luggage if they're over 100 ml.

16:00 | The harbor and sunset. A walk along the breakwater of the Venetian harbor. If you want to end the day somewhere quieter, climb to the Martinengo Bastion on the city walls, where Nikos Kazantzakis, the author of "Zorba the Greek", is buried. His famous line is carved on the gravestone: "I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free." In December and January the sun sets around 17:00–17:30, so don't be late.

Keeping Shabbat? The Chabad Greece website (chabad.gr) has a page for the Chabad house in Crete–Heraklion. Get in touch in advance about Shabbat meals and before you settle your Saturday plans.

Saturday: a day trip to Rethymno, or a relaxed morning in Heraklion?

The time of your flight home decides Saturday. An evening flight leaves time for Rethymno. A midday flight or earlier means staying in Heraklion.

Evening flight: a day trip to Rethymno

Rethymno is about 80 km to the west. KTEL buses leave Heraklion's intercity bus station usually once an hour, and the ride takes about an hour and a half. A ticket costs roughly €8–9 each way. It's cheaper at the station ticket office than from the driver, and the current price is on ktelherlas.gr.

• 09:00 Bus to Rethymno.
• 10:30 The old town: Venetian and Ottoman alleys, the Rimondi Fountain and the small Venetian harbor with its lighthouse.
• 12:00 The Fortezza, the Venetian fortress above the town, with a sea view. Winter hours vary between sources, so check before you climb up.
• 14:00 Lunch, then the bus back to Heraklion.

Leave at least three hours between getting back to Heraklion and your flight: the ride to the airport, security and the queue at passport control. If you have suitcases, leave them at your hotel's reception and collect them on the way to the airport.

Midday flight: a morning in Heraklion

If your flight is early, don't start an intercity trip. A morning in the old town, coffee on Lions Square and a walk on the walls, then on to the airport. If you haven't seen inside Koules Fortress yet, you can visit it in the morning: it's right on the harbor, and a visit takes less than an hour.

Crete in summer: what changes?

From April to October opening hours are longer, and the museum is open until 20:00. That lets you split Friday: Knossos in the morning, a rest in the midday heat, and the museum in the afternoon.

In season, boats also run to Spinalonga, the former leper-colony island off Elounda. On the 2026 schedules they leave Elounda until the end of October. It's a full-day trip in the east of the island, and it only works with a rental car and if you give up Rethymno.

Mistakes to avoid

• Starting with the museum: in winter it closes at 15:30. If you start there and go to Knossos afterwards, you reach the palace at peak hours, and without the context of the finds.
• Arriving at Knossos at 11:00: that's when the organized tour buses arrive, and in summer the cruise-ship crowds too. At opening time the site is almost empty.
• Buying tickets from third-party sites: they charge extra for the same ticket. The official ticket is sold on the Hellenic Heritage website (hhticket.gr) and at the ticket office.
• Renting a car "just in case": on this itinerary the car would sit unused most of the time. Parking in the old town is hard, and there's a bus to Knossos.
• Planning Chania as "one more stop": five and a half hours on a bus there and back leaves no time for the town itself.
• Getting to the airport at the last minute: the Schengen EES system adds time at passport control, on departure too.

Tips that save time

• Tickets: official entry tickets for Knossos, the museum and Koules Fortress are sold on the Hellenic Heritage website (hhticket.gr). Prices and hours change by season, so check there rather than on blogs. A digital ticket on your phone saves the queue at the ticket office.
• Free entry days: on 28 October (a national holiday in Greece), and on the first Sunday of every month from November to March, entry to state sites is free. Expect bigger crowds.
• Rental car: you don't need one on this itinerary. If you do rent, read what you need regarding your license in what to know before you travel to Greece.
• Weather: in November the sea around Crete is still about 20–21°C, but evenings are cool. December to February has more rainy days, so bring a light coat and layers. Full details in the post on Greece in October and November.
• Cash: cards are accepted almost everywhere in the city, but at kiosks, stalls on 1866 Street and some small tavernas it's worth having a few small notes.
• Apps: must-have apps for a trip to Greece.

How does an eSIM help on a weekend in Crete?

On a three-day weekend every hour counts, and your phone does most of the work: the bus timetable from the airport, the digital ticket for Knossos, navigating Rethymno's alleys and checking the time of the bus back. With an eSIM for Greece installed at home and activated on landing, you're connected in the baggage hall, without hunting for Wi-Fi or turning on roaming on your Israeli line. In Greece our plans run on the Vodafone and Nova networks, with 5G in the cities. When exactly to install is covered in when to install and activate an eSIM, and if you're not sure your phone supports it, check the compatibility page.

What to check before you book (for Israeli passport holders)

• Travel warning: check the warning level for Greece on the Israeli National Security Council website (gov.il, "travel warnings"). An active warning can also affect your travel insurance cover.
• Passport: Greece is in Schengen. Your passport must be valid for at least three months after you leave the Schengen area, and every child needs their own passport. A passport for a child under 16 is valid for only 5 years, so check everyone's.
• Border control: the Schengen EES system takes a photo and fingerprints on your first entry. The queue can be longer than before, another reason not to arrive at the airport right before your flight.
• Exit restriction: if you have an open debt with the Israeli Enforcement and Collection Authority, check in your personal area on my.gov.il that there's no exit ban. This applies to adults too, and is usually discovered at passport control.
• Travel insurance: your health fund doesn't cover medical treatment abroad. Buy insurance before you leave, and save the assistance company's number from your policy on your phone.
• Emergencies: the Israeli Foreign Ministry's situation room is available 24/7 at +972-2-5303155 and on WhatsApp at +972-50-507-3969.

Frequently asked questions

Is a weekend enough to see Crete?

Not the whole island, but enough to see Heraklion, Knossos and the museum, plus one more town like Rethymno. Crete is too big to cross in three days, so it's better to choose one base.

Can you see Knossos and the museum on the same day?

Yes, and that's also the recommended order: Knossos at opening time, then the museum. In winter the museum closes at 15:30 (17:00 on Wednesday), so it's important to start early.

How much does entry to Knossos cost?

In October 2026 a full ticket cost about €20, and the museum ticket is sold separately. Young people under 18 from outside the EU get in free with a passport, and on the first Sunday of the month from November to March entry is free for everyone.

Do you need a rental car for a weekend in Heraklion?

No. The airport, Knossos and the old town are connected by city bus and short taxi rides, and there's an intercity bus to Rethymno about once an hour. A car is useful if you want to reach beaches or Spinalonga.

Can you do a day trip to Chania from Heraklion?

You can, but by bus it's about 2 hours 45 minutes each way. On a short weekend it's better to skip it, or spend a night in Chania.

Is it worth flying to Crete in winter?

Yes, if your goal is the city, sites and food rather than beaches. Heraklion is lively all year, the sites are less crowded, and daytime temperatures from December to February are usually 15–17°C. Many beach resorts are closed, so it's better to stay in town.

How early should you be at Heraklion airport for your flight home?

Leave a generous margin. The ride from the city to the airport is short, but there's security and passport control on leaving Schengen. Check your airline's guidance on arrival time.