A Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip links two Venetian towns and a freshwater lake on one long ride across northern Crete. Days out in other parts of the country are on our tours in Greece page.
This page covers what the trip is, how long it lasts, the towns of Rethymno and Chania, Lake Kournas, the landscape on the road and the questions travellers ask.
What is a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip?
A Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip fills one whole day and crosses Crete’s north by air-conditioned coach. One operator lists three stops. They are the towns of Rethymno and Chania and the freshwater Lake Kournas, with time of your own at each.
The Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip starts on the Heraklion side of Crete in the operator pages. One operator says the coach drives back to Heraklion in the evening. Another collects guests at hotels in resorts between Malia and the Heraklion area. A third includes hotel transfers in an air-conditioned coach or people carrier.
Wikipedia calls Rethymno a Cretan city that heads the Rethymno regional unit as its capital. The same source puts Chania in north west Crete as capital of the unit that carries its name. It names Lake Kournas as the only freshwater lake on Crete.
Operators do not agree on where the day begins. One operator page starts at Rethymno, and another starts in Chania. A third operator adds that traffic or local conditions can alter the order of stops. A Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip covers the same three places in an order set by the operator.
One operator says you get time of your own in every destination, and lunch at the lake is optional. At the lake, that operator lists a swim, a walk round the shore or a ride in a pedal boat. Another operator describes the day as a way to see western Crete without the driving, the navigation or the parking.
A third operator calls its Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip a shared tour. You travel with other guests, not as a private group. The first operator lists tour leaders in English, German, French, Polish and Italian, depending on availability.
How long is a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip?
Operators give different lengths for a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip. One page lists 11 hours. A second leaves at 20 minutes past 7 in the morning and returns around 8 in the evening. A third gives four lengths between about 10 and about 14 hours.
The first operator page states a duration of 11 hours. Its returning time is a window of one hour that opens 30 minutes past 7 in the evening. The second operator starts from Hersonissos. From its early departure to its evening return, the day spans a little over 12 and a half hours.
The third operator splits the Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip into four options. With pick-up in Heraklion and Ammoudara the day takes about 10 hours. The Analipsi to Kokkini Hani option takes about 10.5 hours. The Malia to Anissaras option takes about 12 hours. The longest option, about 14 hours, serves Elounda and Agios Nikolaos.
The third operator says the itinerary is the same in all four options. Only the pick-up area, the start time and the total length change. Its page adds that the longest option has an earlier start. The figures therefore differ between operators, and they differ again inside one operator.
The second operator’s timetable lists the hotel pick-up round between half past 7 and half past 9 in the morning. It lists around 2 hours in Chania, 1.5 hours at the lake and 1.5 to 2 hours in Rethymno. Added together, the three stops fill between 5 and 5.5 hours of the Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip.
The second operator explains why the day is long. For the starting resorts, western Crete lies across the island, and the one-way drive takes time. The pick-up round across the resort towns adds more. The timetable also holds a 30-minute coffee stop at 10 minutes to 10 in the morning. Wikipedia places Chania about 70 km west of Rethymno.
What is Rethymno on a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip?
A Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip visits Rethymno for its Venetian old town and its Fortezza. Rethymno is a Cretan city and serves as capital to Rethymno regional unit. Wikipedia says Venetian builders put up nearly the whole old town of today.
Venice shaped the town that a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip visits. Wikipedia says the Venetians planned Rethymno as a trade stop between Heraklion and Chania. Under their rule it ranked third in importance among the cities of Crete, after those two. Wikipedia counts its old town among the well-preserved old towns of the island.
Wikipedia lists buildings from the sixteenth century, arched doorways, stone staircases, Byzantine remains, the small Venetian harbour and narrow streets. One operator adds Ottoman minarets, wooden balconies and small shops to that picture. An information office of Greece’s culture ministry works from the Venetian Loggia.
On a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip, one operator lists a walk from the Venetian harbour and lighthouse. The walk enters the lanes that circle the Rimondi fountain as well as the Neratze Mosque. Wikivoyage says an aristocratic family built the fountain. Wikipedia says the Municipal Odeon, an arts centre, now fills the mosque.
The Fortezza rises above the town. Wikipedia says the Venetians built the citadel in the sixteenth century on a hill called Paleokastro, meaning Old Castle. The wall circuit measures 1,307 metres, and Wikipedia says the public can enter. The Archaeological Museum of Rethymno occupies the Ottoman ravelin that guards the main gate.
Operators describe the stop as a walk. One lists coffee by the harbour, craft shops and a visit to the Fortezza. Another sends you along the narrow streets and the Venetian harbour. So the Rethymno part of a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip is a stroll through Venetian lanes.
What is Chania on a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip?
A Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip visits Chania for its Venetian harbour and old town. Chania sits on the island’s north-western shore, and the Chania regional unit names it as its capital. One operator calls it the Venice of Crete.
Wikipedia says the Venetians founded Canea, the modern Chania, in the thirteenth century, on the site of ancient Kydonia. Stronger fortifications gave the city the form it still has. In the last years before union with Greece, Chania became the capital of the Cretan State. In nineteen seventy-one the island’s capital changed to Heraklion.
The Chania stop of a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip centres on the old harbour. One operator describes a crescent-shaped Venetian harbour lined with pastel houses, tavernas and cafes. The same operator places the old lighthouse at the tip of the breakwater. Wikipedia lists the Chania Lighthouse as a landmark there.
A mosque from the Ottoman years stands on the harbour. One operator names the building the Mosque of the Janissaries. The operator adds that it is one of the oldest Ottoman buildings on the island. Wikivoyage gives the same building the name Küçük Hasan Pasha Mosque. Wikipedia says it now serves as an exhibition hall.
Behind the harbour, a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip reaches the old town. Wikipedia says its central part, Kasteli, stands on a small hill by the sea. People have lived there since Neolithic times. Eleftherios Venizelos Square serves as the old town’s main square. The Topanas alleys hold old buildings, now partly hotels, restaurants, shops and bars.
One operator lists narrow streets with Venetian and Ottoman houses, leather and ceramic shops and the covered municipal market. Another operator calls the market cross-shaped. Wikipedia dates the indoor market to nineteen thirteen and puts it on the border of the old town. Operators list walking, a seafront stroll, lunch and shopping for the stop.
What is Lake Kournas on a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip?
Lake Kournas lies in Chania regional unit, 47 kilometres from Chania town. It sits near the edge of Rethymno regional unit, says Wikipedia. On a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip, operators list swimming, pedal boats and meals there.
A Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip takes its name from a lake that Wikipedia calls relatively large. A nature preserve sits on the southwest side, and the shoreline measures 3.5 kilometres. The village of Kournas stands on a rise over the lake, at an altitude of 200 metres.
One operator says it is the sole natural lake of fresh water on the island. Wikipedia’s article on Crete names two freshwater lakes, Lake Kournas and Lake Agia, and places both in Chania regional unit. A rural road links the north shore with the hills to the west, per Wikipedia.
On a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip, one operator lists swimming, pedal boats and a waterside lunch. Another operator lists a walk round the lake, an optional lunch, a swim and a pedal boat tour. Wikipedia counts tavernas along one stretch of shore, plus shops that rent pedalos.
The lake lies near the resort village of Georgioupoli. Wikipedia places the village about 23 kilometres west of Rethymno and 39 kilometres east of Chania. It says visitors reach the lake from there by walking, cycling or taking the tourist train. One operator describes the water as turquoise, another as calm and clear.
For a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip, two operator texts mention turtles. One tells visitors to look out for the local turtles. The other says you can spot freshwater turtles if you are lucky. Wikipedia says eels once lived in the lake, while today it is known more for terrapins and visitors.
Which landscapes does a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip cross?
Operators describe a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip as a drive west on Crete’s north coast. The sea off that coast is the Sea of Crete, and one operator places Lake Kournas below the White Mountains.
A Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip uses the north coast highway, says one operator. That operator puts Rethymno about 80 kilometres from Heraklion and Chania about 140 kilometres. Wikipedia names the highway that joins the four major cities of Crete the A90 motorway.
The timetable of another operator sets aside an hour for the drive from Chania to the lake. It gives half an hour for the drive from the lake to Rethymno. Wikipedia counts Rethymno, Chania and Heraklion among the harbour towns facing that sea.
One operator says a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip passes the Ida range on the way west. The range holds Psiloritis, the highest mountain of Crete. Wikipedia gives the Idi Range, or Psiloritis, a height of two thousand four hundred and fifty-six metres. It names Psiloritis among the tallest mountains in Rethymno regional unit.
The White Mountains, or Lefka Ori, rise in Chania regional unit in western Crete. Wikipedia explains that the pale summits gave the range its name. The rock is mainly limestone, and the highest summit, Pachnes, stands at two thousand four hundred and fifty-three metres. One operator puts the lake among their foothills.
Georgioupoli, near the lake, lies on Almiros Bay in the municipality of Apokoronas, says Wikipedia. A Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip crosses part of Crete. Wikipedia calls Crete the biggest island of Greece. It names four bigger Mediterranean islands: Sardinia, Sicily, Corsica and Cyprus. The island is 260 kilometres long and 60 kilometres wide at its widest point.
What else do travellers ask about a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip?
Where does a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip collect travellers, and which hotel areas do the operators list?
The default option of one operator collects travellers from hotels in Heraklion and Ammoudara and includes the return drop-off. Its other options cover Malia, Stalida, Hersonissos and Anissaras, plus Analipsi to Kokkini Hani and Elounda with Agios Nikolaos.
Another operator, from Hersonissos, lists Karteros and Agia Pelagia as hotel transfer areas and sends the pick-up point by mail. The first operator confirms the exact time after the reservation and asks travellers to be ready 10 minutes early.
What do travellers wear and bring for a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip of walking and swimming?
One operator lists comfortable shoes for walking around the old towns of Rethymno and Chania, plus a hat and sunscreen. It adds water, then swimwear and a towel in summer for the stop at Lake Kournas, where swimming is possible.
Another operator, from Hersonissos, lists shoes, a hat, sunscreen, water, swimwear and a towel, and adds a camera and charger. A third operator lists comfortable, breathable clothes and states that it is not responsible for weather conditions or traffic.
What is not included in a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip, and what is extra on the day?
One operator says food, drinks and entry tickets are extra, for example the entry to the Fortezza or to museums. It tells travellers to take cash for drinks and purchases, and to choose their own lunch in Chania and Rethymno.
Another operator, from Hersonissos, lists meals, personal expenses and optional activities such as boat rental at the lake as exclusions. A third operator includes a lunch box: water, juice, a chocolate croissant and toast with cheese and turkey.
Who suits a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip, and who is better off choosing another outing?
A Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip is a shared tour, not a private one, says one operator. That operator says it does not suit travellers who do not want a long day on the road.
It also lists people with serious mobility problems, since the old towns on the route have cobbled and uneven streets. It names travellers without a car and nature lovers as a good fit, and says children can join.
What is the summer weather like on a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip, and what about the lake swim?
Wikipedia places the low-lying areas of Crete in the Mediterranean climate, with frequently sunny and dry weather in summer. It describes hot daytime air and pleasantly warm nights, and rain, if any, falls in showers or thunderstorms.
On the coast, it adds, temperatures are moderated by a relatively cooler sea and a sea breeze. On a Rethymno Chania and Kournas Lake day trip, one operator says the lake water is pleasant on hot days.