Rethymno old town tours: walking, e-bike and Segway
Old town classicRethymno: Guided Walking Tour in the Old Town Area
Best valueRethymno: e-Bike Tour on the Old City
Highest ratedRethymno: Old Town Segway Tour
The walking tour: slowest, and the most detail
Two hours, €50, with a certified guide who grew up in Rethymno. It meets outside the Church of the Four Martyrs on Four Martyrs Square and runs in order: the square, the Guora Gate, the old town, then up to the Fortezza with guided time and free time, ending on the ring road below the walls, which in season is a good place to be at sunset. On the way it passes the Great Gate, the Rimondi Fountain, the Venetian Loggia, the Neratze Mosque with the tallest minaret in the city, the ornate Venetian doorways and the harbour with the Egyptian lighthouse. Transport from and to the meeting point is included; food, drink and tips are not. Fortress admission is not included either.
It rates 4.7 from 8 reviews, and the recurring theme in them is heat and guides adapting to it. Hannah wrote that her guide altered the tour for her father, who needed a rest halfway through. Erika called it “very nice and informative”. It is not suitable for people with mobility impairments or for hearing-impaired visitors. My longer read on it is in the walking tour review.
The e-bike tour: cheapest, and it covers the waterfront
Two hours, €45, with an English-speaking live guide. Bicycle, helmet and reflective vest are included, and so is hotel pick-up and drop-off, with departure and return at Sofokli Venizelou 4. You meet on the main waterfront street opposite the marina and you are asked to arrive ten minutes early. The route runs from Unknown Soldier Square along the coastal road to the Venetian harbour and the Egyptian lighthouse, then the Rimondi Fountain, the Neratze Mosque, the Catholic Church of St Francis and the Guora Gate, then climbs to the Fortezza overlooking the Cretan Sea, and comes back past the seafood tavernas, the 16th-century Loggia, Arkadiou Street and the Kara Musa Pasha mosque.
It rates 4.8 from 15 reviews and it is the cheapest guided option in Rethymno. The electric assist is the point: it flattens the climb to the fortress hill, which on foot in August is the part people regret. It is not suitable for pregnant women or people with mobility impairments. More detail in the e-bike tour review.
The Segway tour: best reviewed, with rules
Three hours, €65, and the strongest record of any tour that starts in Rethymno: 4.9 from 42 reviews. Guiding is in English and Greek, and the price includes safety training and a supervised test drive, which is extra time on top of the three hours, plus helmets and hotel pickup and drop-off. You meet at Sofokli Venizelou 4. The route goes from the start to a viewpoint, the Neratze Mosque, the Fortezza for a photo stop and a scenic drive, then the old town with guided and free time, and back. Ralf called the route “beautiful and varied”; Bjorn remembered the guide talking about Crete and Greek culture rather than dates.
Read the restrictions before you book this one. They are the single most common reason people end up on the wrong tour.
Who the Segway tour works for
- Riders from 6 years old and up
- Riders between the minimum weight of 35–40 kg and 117 kg
- People who want three hours rather than two, training time included
- Anyone who wants hotel pickup and drop-off in Rethymno
Who cannot take it
- Children under 6 years old, who are not permitted at all
- Anyone over 117 kg
- Anyone under the 35–40 kg minimum weight
- Pregnant women
- Food, drinks and tips, which are not in the price
The e-bike tour has its own exclusions — pregnant women and people with mobility impairments — and the walking tour excludes people with mobility impairments and hearing-impaired visitors. If any of that applies, the two-hour walk at your own pace with a map is a legitimate answer; I have listed the landmarks in order in what to do in Rethymno old town. My full notes on the Segway are in the Segway tour review.
The three, side by side
| Rethymno: Guided Walking Tour in the Old Town Area | Best valueRethymno: e-Bike Tour on the Old City | Rethymno: Old Town Segway Tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | €50 | €45 | €65 |
| Length | 2 hrs | 2 hrs | 3 hrs plus training |
| Rating | 4.7 · 8 reviews | 4.8 · 15 reviews | 4.9 · 42 reviews |
| Hotel pickup | No, meeting point | Yes | Yes |
| Reaches the Fortezza | Guided plus free time | Climbs to it | Photo stop |
| Fortezza ticket | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Age or weight limits | None stated | Not for pregnant women | 6+, 35–117 kg |
| Best for | Detail and questions | Ground covered per euro | Three hours, well run |
| View → | Book this → | View → |
If you are doing the fortress properly as well, do the old town tour first and the Fortezza after. The town is shaded by its own streets and works at any hour; the hill has almost no shade and is worst between midday and 16:00 in July and August.
If it is the inside of the fortress you actually want explained, none of these three is the right purchase — that is a different tour, and it includes the gate ticket. It is compared against walking in alone on the guided Fortezza tours page, and all six Rethymno tours sit together on the full comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a weight limit on the Rethymno Segway tour?
Yes, and it is strict. Riders must be under 117 kg and over the minimum weight of 35 to 40 kg. Children under 6 years old are not permitted, and the tour is not suitable for pregnant women. The two-hour walking tour has no weight limit, so it is the usual fallback.
Do the old town tours include entry to the Fortezza?
No. The walking, e-bike and Segway tours all reach the fortress hill, but you pay the roughly €5 adult ticket at the gate yourself, in cash or card, on the day. Only one tour in Rethymno includes admission, and it is covered on the guided Fortezza tours page.
Which old town tour is best if I only have one morning?
The e-bike tour. Two hours, €45, hotel pick-up and drop-off, and it covers the coastal road and the marina end as well as the Venetian streets, which the walking tour does not reach in the same time. The electric assist also takes the sting out of the climb toward the fortress.
Can I just walk the old town myself?
Yes. It is small: you can cross its full extent in under an hour without stopping, which is exactly why two hours with a guide covers it properly rather than rushing. Walk it alone for the streets, book a guide for the layers. The named landmarks in walking order are on the old town page.