The High Mountains of Crete. Loraine Wilson

pedestrian route up to the centre of town – turn right at the top of the steps.

      Note Mainline buses heading for Rethymnon and Chania also pick up passengers at the roadside bus stop just outside the Chania Gate. Also, if travelling to Rethymnon or Chania from Mires on the Messara, you can alight at a main road stop on the outskirts of Heraklion and then cross the busy road to pick up the next mainline service going west. This saves having to go right into Heraklion. Enquire about this when you buy your ticket, and again with the bus conductor, who will be familiar with this procedure.

      Rethymnon (and bus station)

      Rethymnon (‘Reth-theem-no’) old town is very compact. The bus station is about 15mins’ walking distance from the dock. A Venetian walled citadel, the Fortezza, dominates the town. Keeping this on your right, make your way southwest across town. The bus station, already relocated from a more central position, is once again too small and an extension, or perhaps another relocation, may happen. For a supermarket, its windows somewhat confusingly blanked out, on the main road, take a flight of steps at the back of the building.

      Note Although the afternoon bus to Anoyeia stops to pick up passengers at Plateia Iroon (at the eastern end of the old town), the early morning departure for the Milopotamos valley (Anoyeia) does not, as it is a school bus.

      Arriving in the evening

      Flights may arrive after the last KTEL buses to trailhead destinations have left, and after town shops have closed. Immediate taxi transfers to the countryside save time, but mountain trekkers and campers arriving late will need to bring cash with them and start from villages with supermarkets (see individual route notes), or bring their own food supplies. Informal accommodation in mountain villages closes up at about 2200. In general, from Chania Airport allow 1hr 30mins for taxi journeys to Omalos or Askifou, and 2hrs 30mins to Anopolis. From Heraklion Airport allow 1hr 30mins for a taxi transfer to Zaros, and 1hr for Anoyeia. (Note There is no accommodation at Knossos village on the outskirts of Heraklion. Site opening hours April–October are 0800–2000. The site is usually very busy with tour groups as from 0830.)

      A shepherd and EOS members at Katsiveli

      There are several websites with accommodation information and for reservations. Former youth hostels are now independent hostels or ‘budget’ hotels (see Appendix D). In Chania there are two hotels beside the bus station, but most town centre accommodation, along with restaurants, bars, tourist shops and snack bars, is found in and around the old harbour area, a 10–15min walk from the bus station. There is a town campsite along the coast west of town near Platanas (accessible via a town bus route from the bus station – ask the driver for ‘Chania camping’).

      In Heraklion mid- or budget-priced accommodation is also some distance from the bus station. Hotel Rea (tel. [phone]), in a street just behind the Historical Museum, is offered as a suggestion. Rethymnon old quarter, a semi-pedestrian precinct around the harbour, has rooming houses (and all other amenities). Unfortunately, late-night scooter riders tend not to respect its pedestrian-precinct status.

      Lost luggage

      What really matters on any walking trip are your boots and socks – always travel with them, or wear them on the plane. If you have to replace lost equipment, Chania and Heraklion have ‘outdoor’ shops but choices will be limited.

Getting to the trailhead

      Public transport

      KTEL (referred to in Crete as ‘K’tel’), the Greek Public Bus Association, operates an extensive network nationwide. The KTEL livery is cream and turquoise. New buses in the fleet display a variety of cream and turquoise styles, together with advertisements for ANEK or MINOAN ferryboat lines. Learn to recognise them if you can because there are lots of ‘touristico’ private tour buses that look similar from a distance.

      Town bus stations have information kiosks and English is widely spoken. Latest timetable sheets (the schedule can change weekly) are available in the tourist season, and timetable monitors list departures in Greek and English. Departures are also announced in Greek and English, together with the bus number: for example ‘Heraklion – bus no. 78’. Left luggage stores are rather informally run, so do not leave obvious ‘valuables’. Opening hours are likely to be 0700–2000, but check. Note that staff may lock up for a few minutes at a time when they are out loading goods onto buses; unaccompanied parcel consignment is a KTEL service. You can only do this – for example with camping food supplies – if you arrange for someone (such as a well-known local) to meet the bus at the other end and collect it – and assure the staff that this is going to happen.

      Small daysacks are allowed inside the bus; other luggage is put in the hold. Tell the conductor your destination as you load it. Carry your valuables with you and (as with air travel) remove items like karabiners from your rucksack. Thefts very occasionally occur at bus stations; expensive rucksacks may be coveted by certain other travellers, so keep an eye on the hold until it is closed for departure. Monitor the unloading of bags at busy bus stops en route, especially when the hold is full – innocent mistakes do sometimes occur. Note the conditions of your travel insurance concerning luggage in transit. As a rule losses must be reported to the relevant local police station within 24hrs, a very time-consuming procedure.

      Refreshments at a village kafeneon

      Village bus

      Depending on the distance from town, weekday services doubling as school buses may operate from town bus stations rather than from specific villages. Typically, a ‘school bus’ departs about 0600 and returns from a village at about 0700, and repeats that run in the early afternoon. During school holidays a different service may operate. Ask at information kiosks for services to villages not listed on the main board – they may run, but not on every day of the week and seldom at weekends. It is wise to be early for village buses as the driver may depart when he sees that all local passengers are aboard.

      Chania bus station

      Chania bus station is just a few minutes’ walk from all other places useful to visitors. Refurbished in 2012, it has bus departure monitors, a modern cafeteria to suit the lunch-hour trade, a snack bar, a souvenir shop/newsagent, toilets and an Internet corner. Bus departures are also announced in Greek and English. Buy tickets not on the bus but at the ticket windows outside the hall, where there is also an Information kiosk. (The only return ticket issued is the KTEL special for the ‘Samaria Gorge’ round excursion.) The Left Luggage store is at the rear of the site. Due to shortage of space, pedestrian access to the bus station forecourt remains haphazard.

      Vrisses

      Secondary roads branch south over the mountains from the main north coast road that links Heraklion, Rethymnon, Chania and Kastelli. In western Crete there is an important road junction at Vrisses (‘Vree-siss’), since this is the road to Hora Sfakion and the Sfakiot south coast. The Vrisses bus stop is at a kafeneon in the main street west of the bridge, opposite a small petrol station. Vrisses supermarkets are open all week. Expect buses departing from Chania to arrive in Vrisses 40mins later, and from Rethymnon 25mins later.

      BUS ROUTES

      In western Crete the following main bus routes are particularly useful. Times listed are a guide only, since schedules could change. Services expand during the tourist season. On all runs note any Saturday and Sunday variations.

      Chania–Hora Sfakion and Anopolis

      Daily, except Orthodox Easter Sunday and Monday, and Christmas Day. Departs Chania at 1400 and, going via Vrisses, serves Askifou, Imbros, Hora Sfakion (on the south coast) and terminates at Anopolis at about 1645. This bus returns from Anopolis in the early morning (see the Anopolis section) to arrive at Chania bus station by 0900.