{"id":1611,"date":"2026-11-04T07:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T07:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cretarent.gr\/blog\/?p=1611"},"modified":"2026-11-04T07:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T07:42:17","slug":"road-trip-villages-near-heraklion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cretarent.gr\/blog\/road-trip-villages-near-heraklion\/","title":{"rendered":"A Road Trip Through the Villages Near Heraklion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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If you have a rental car in Heraklion, you don’t always need a big destination in mind. Some of the nicest drives are the ones that take you into the countryside, through a few villages, and back to the city by the end of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area south of Heraklion is particularly good for this. Within a relatively short drive, the landscape changes from the busy city to olive groves, vineyards, hills and small villages where life moves at a different pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One route we like starts around Archanes and continues west through the foothills before looping back towards Heraklion. You can follow the whole route or simply choose two or three stops depending on how much time you have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start in Archanes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Archanes is a natural place to begin because it gives you a proper introduction to the countryside without taking you far from Heraklion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The village sits in a small valley south of the city, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. The wider area around Mount Juktas has been inhabited since prehistoric times and includes important Minoan sites, including the ancient settlement of Archanes and the cemetery at Fourni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don’t need to turn your visit into an archaeological expedition, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spend some time walking through the village, have a coffee in the square and look around the older streets. If you’re interested in history, you can add one of the archaeological sites in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archanes is also a good place to have lunch if you’re doing this as a relaxed day rather than trying to cover as much ground as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue towards Myrtia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From Archanes, head east towards Myrtia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myrtia is best known as the birthplace of writer Nikos Kazantzakis and is home to the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum. The official tourism guide for Crete also points to the nearby Neraidospilio Cave and the surrounding area around Peza, where traditional oil mills and wineries can be found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a useful stop if you want something different from another village square. The museum gives the drive a cultural reason, while the surrounding countryside makes the journey itself worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also continue towards Peza if you’d like to explore the wine-producing area around the village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take your time around Peza<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Peza sits in one of the better-known wine-growing areas around Heraklion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where you can slow the road trip down a little. Instead of planning several attractions, choose somewhere to stop, have a coffee or lunch and enjoy the countryside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wider area is closely connected with vineyards and olive cultivation, so the scenery changes noticeably depending on the season. In autumn, the countryside can feel particularly different as agricultural work becomes more visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re visiting outside the busiest summer months, this part of the route is especially pleasant. You don’t need to fill every hour with sightseeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Head west towards Tylissos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From the eastern side of the route, you can make your way back west towards Tylissos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tylissos is another village with a much older story than its quiet appearance suggests. Its archaeological site contains Minoan houses dating from the second millennium BC, with later additions and remains from subsequent periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a nice contrast with Archanes. Both areas have important Minoan connections, but neither feels like the experience of visiting Knossos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re interested in archaeology, Tylissos makes a worthwhile stop. If you’re more interested in the drive, you can simply continue through the surrounding countryside and stop in the village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also a folklore collection in Tylissos, one of several small collections around Crete that preserve objects connected with traditional rural life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make time for Krousonas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you still have time, continue towards Krousonas and the foothills of Psiloritis. This takes the road trip further into the mountains and gives you a noticeably different landscape from the vineyards around Archanes and Peza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krousonas has a long connection with traditional crafts, including weaving. The village is one of the historic weaving centres of the Psiloritis area, although the tradition is much less common today than it once was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don’t have to make Krousonas another sightseeing stop. Sometimes the best reason to go is simply to drive into the mountains, find somewhere for coffee and look around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the weather is clear, the views alone make the extra drive worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then take the road back to Heraklion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From here, you can make your way back towards Heraklion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By this point, you may have been driving for only a relatively small part of the day. Most of the time can be spent outside the car: walking around villages, sitting down for coffee, having lunch or stopping when something catches your attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s what makes this kind of road trip work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You aren’t trying to reach the other side of Crete before dinner. You’re simply using the car to connect places that would be difficult to combine without your own transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don’t have to follow the whole route<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the advantages of this area is that you can easily shorten the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a half-day:<\/strong> Archanes and the surrounding area are enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a relaxed full day:<\/strong> Add Myrtia and Peza, then continue towards Tylissos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a longer mountain drive:<\/strong> Continue towards Krousonas before returning to Heraklion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also do the route in the opposite direction. There is no need to treat it like a fixed tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why this is a good Crete road trip<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are more famous road trips in Crete. Some take you to dramatic beaches, remote villages or the far south of the island. This one is different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don’t need to spend hours driving to get somewhere spectacular. Within a relatively small area around Heraklion, you can move from archaeological sites to vineyards, traditional villages and mountain roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also gives you a chance to see a part of Crete that is easy to miss if you stay on the main coastal route. And that’s where having a rental car becomes useful. You can leave Heraklion when you want, stop when you want and decide along the way how far you feel like going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don’t even need to finish the whole route. Sometimes a coffee in Archanes, a drive through the vineyards and lunch somewhere in the countryside is enough for a very good day in Crete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue Exploring Crete<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n