Emergency now
112One number, free, in every language, from any phone: 112. It routes to fire, police, ambulance and sea rescue. For a duty pharmacy at night or on Sunday, see below.
Which bus?
The KTEL network covers the island, but timetables change with the season. The most-asked routes, with verified fares and frequencies:
Is it open?
There's no legal shop-opening schedule in Greece anymore. The useful memo: Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, many close at 2-3pm and don't reopen; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, open into the evening. Markets (laïki) rotate town by town, one fixed day a week.
Which beach today?
The wind rule: when the meltemi blows from the north (common in summer), leave the north coast and head south (Libyan Sea) — Preveli, Plakias, Loutro, Matala stay swimmable. When it's calm, the north and west (Balos, Elafonisi, Falassarna) are perfect, but arrive before 10am.
Staying connected
eSIM or local SIM: what actually works, coverage in the gorges and mountain villages, and why the advertised “unlimited” is often capped at a few GB a day.
Duty pharmacy
At night, on Sundays and public holidays, a duty pharmacy rotates in every town. How to find it, and what you can get without a prescription:
Pharmacies & emergencies in CreteCrete this month
What's open, what's closing, the sea, the wind and this month's festivals — the up-to-date page:
Crete in October