FAQ's

If you want to find out which villas are available for your dates you can:-

1) Use the 'check availability' box on our home page by keying in your chosen arrival date, number of nights required and how many guests in your group.

2) Alternatively click on the 'general availability search' on the home page and you will be presented with a grid of availabilty for all villas month by month.

3) Availability can also be viewed on each individual villa page.

Available dates on our calendars are shown in green. It is not necessary to check availability with us but please see below regarding changeover days and lengths of stay.

Please note: we do not have any other villas available to rent other than the ones featured on our website.  

Changeover days and lengths of stay are flexible subject to existing bookings taken either side unless specified otherwise. If a booking means that the owner would be left with too many "void" days we might not be able to accept it. If this is the case we will contact you without delay to discuss alternatives.

We ring fence £250 (premier villas £500) on a debit or credit card that you have provided details of, to cover the villa owner in the case of damage to, or loss at, the villa which is not covered by insurance or to cover any extra or unusual cleaning costs eg; BBQ's. We will always contact you before we take any monies from your card.

We arrange your independent villa booking but we do not make any travel arrangements. This gives our customers the freedom to plan their own route to Crete.

Most people arrive by air, landing at one of Chania or Heraklion airports. There is also the option to arrive by ferry from mainland Greece or another island.

We will send you the location approximately 14 days before you are due to arrive. Due to being outside of the main towns there are no street names, meaning an address is not always available.

We will send you detailed directions to the villa, together with a screen shot from Google earth to help you find your way.

Keys will always be left out for you. More often than not they will be in a key safe near to the main entrance to the property. We will tell you exactly where to find the keys when we send you the villa directions, approximately 14 days before you are due to arrive at the villa.

It depends on whether the villa is occupied immediately before your arrival or not.

If not, the villa will have been prepared for you the day before your arrival and will therefore be ready right away.

If the villa is occupied, the property will have to be prepared for you and in those circumstances, we cannot guarantee it will be ready for you until 16.00 (17.00 in 2022).

There is the option to drop off luggage prior to the villa being ready, the previous guests have vacated and under the knowledge that personal belongings are left at your own risk.

If the villa is not directly occupied after your booking, then it's likely you will be able to stay on at the residence until it's time to leave for the airport.  Some property managers may charge and if this is the case, it will be payable to them locally in Crete.

Please note that if the villa is occupied you must be prepared to leave at 10.00 (9.00am in 2022).

As from 1st January 2021, the UK is classed as a 3rd country. 
UK nationals are permitted to enter Greece if they are a permanent resident in the UK, Greece or another EU/EFA state or in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand or the UAE. 
All arrivals must complete a passenger locator form (PLF) and provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test. You will be required to have a passport with at least 6 months left before it expires, and it must also be less than 10 years old. 
The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which entitled British citizens to state-provided medical treatment if you fell ill or had an accident in an EU country, will still be valid until the expiry date on the card.

Firstly, we will move the payment of your final balance to a date closer to your departure date but no later than 14 days before your planned arrival at the villa.

If you have already paid your final balance when restrictions are imposed, we will refund that balance payment.

Secondly, if we expect international travel to be restricted (borders closed for example) on your departure date we will offer to move your deposit to another date / booking later in 2021 or 2022 at the same villa, subject to availability. Prices for the new dates will apply.

If your flight is disrupted due to airlines re-scheduling, we will do all we can to assist you in changing your dates (a few days either side of your original arrival and/or departure) to fit in with the revised date offered by the airline or re-booking with another airline, subject to villa availability.

In those circumstances we will not charge you a booking amendment fee.

Crete Escapes Ltd is a company registered in the UK. We are a small family run business working directly with a number of private villa owners who have entrusted the letting of their property to us.

For your financial protection, we are an approved booking agent with International Passenger Protection (IPP).

IPP have plugged a gap in the travel industry. Initially set up to provide cover for scheduled airline failure, they now also provide cover for certain end suppliers and booking agents (us) who have passed their stringent entry tests. This means that you, the consumer can, for a small premium, take out an insurance policy to cover all components of your holiday against the financial failure of approved airlines, approved booking agents and certain "end" suppliers. 

For further details visit www.ipplondon.co.uk and to buy a policy visit www.protectmyholiday.com.

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 provides protection for monies you pay to us using a credit card; providing you pay at least £100 of the total rental costs on your credit card, then all monies paid to us in respect of the same transaction (rental) are covered by Section 75. Desposits will typically exceed £100. Typically deposits will exceed £100.

For further details view Which.

Due to the rural location of most of our villas car hire is recommended. Some villas are listed as 'car hire not essential' due to their short walking distance to amenities however you may still wish to do so for your convenience eg; shopping, disposing of rubbish etc. 

Provided you have rented a car with one of the companies we recommended, it doesn't matter what time the flight arrives, a representative from the car hire company will be there to meet you or will email other instructions to you about where to collect the keys.

Payment is made when you collect the car in Crete, whether this is at the airport immediately upon arrival or at the villa itself. No deposit is required. The full rental is payable on collection of the car in Crete.

You can pay in cash or with a card. Car hire prices quoted on this website and on the price, lists featured are in euro.

Yes, at most villas you will be able to book a cot and a high chair. You will find these items listed under the "amentities" tab on the individual villa's webpage. If not listed then they aren't available at that villa. Please request one or both at the time of making the villa booking. Please note that equipment will most likely have been bought locally and you should not therefore expect the same type of cot or high chair that you might be used to in the UK.

No, you need to bring your own cot linen.

If you are susceptible to mosquito bites we would always advocate taking adequate protection with you. We don't list plug in mosquito killers as an amenity as these can so easily disappear. Our advice is to be on the safe side and take one with you or buy in resort.

In the first instance please contact the property manager (or villa owner in some cases). We will have given you their contact details on the directions to the villa. You should also find them repeated in the guest information book in the villa. Most problems or complaints can be resolved quickly and efficiently but only if you tell the property manager or villa owner when the problem arises.