Car Hire Terms and Insurance Policy

Every car hired in Gouves comes with fully comprehensive insurance at £0 excess, unlimited mileage and free 24/7 roadside assistance. UK licences are accepted without an international permit, VAT at 24% is already in the price, and no young or senior driver fee is charged. The clauses below are the terms you agree to at the desk.

Insurance and Excess

Fully comprehensive insurance with £0 excess is included in every hire, not sold as an extra at the counter. Zero excess means damage to the hire car does not produce a bill, which is why no deposit is held and no credit card is required.

The cover has limits, and they matter. The company can recover the cost of damage where the car has been used in any of the following ways.

Tyres sit outside the insurance: a burst or non-repairable tyre is not covered. A repairable tyre may be repaired by the driver, and the company refunds the cost.

Driver Age and Licence

Minimum age depends on the car category, and no young driver fee or senior driver fee is charged at any age.

Every driver must have held a valid licence for at least 1 year. UK licences are accepted, along with those of the EU, the US, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Israel, Russia and Ukraine, so no international driving permit is needed for a UK holidaymaker. Licences from other countries require an International Driving Permit alongside the national one.

Additional Drivers and Child Seats

The first additional driver is registered free of charge, and up to 3 drivers may be registered on one hire. Each further driver beyond the first costs about £2.55 (€3) per day.

One child seat is supplied free, whether an infant seat, a baby seat or a booster. Each additional child seat costs about £1.70 (€2) per day, payable on arrival. A recent road map of Crete is supplied free; a GPS unit costs about £4.25 (€5) per day with a £25 (€30) minimum per hire and must be booked in advance.

Fuel Policy

Two fuel policies are offered, and the choice is made at the desk.

  1. Return as collected. The car is returned at the fuel level it was delivered with. Cars delivered at night carry a minimum of half a tank.
  2. Collect full, return empty. The first tank is paid for locally, and the car is returned as empty as possible. There is no refund for unused fuel.

Petrol cost £1.76 per litre (€2.066) and diesel £1.59 per litre (€1.8665) as at 10 July 2026. Crete has no toll roads, so fuel is the only running cost of a hire car, and mileage is unlimited on every rate.

Payment, VAT and Deposit

No security deposit is held and no credit card is required at booking or at pickup. Payment can be made by debit card or in cash when full insurance with zero excess is selected.

VAT at 24% is already included in every quoted rate, so the price shown is the price paid. This removes the £200 to £1,500 pre-authorisation hold that international airport desks routinely place on a credit card, which is the most common complaint UK travellers report about car hire in Greece.

Cancellation and Changes

Cancellations are made through the My Booking page using the email address and the 11-character confirmation number. The refund depends on how the booking was paid and how much notice is given.

Notice givenPartial prepaymentFully prepaid
More than 48 hoursDeposit refunded, about 5 business daysFull refund, about 5 business days
Within 48 hoursDeposit not refunded50% refunded
No showDeposit not refundedNo refund

Cancelling within 2 hours of confirming a booking, where the hire starts in less than 48 hours, is refunded less an administration fee of about £25 (€30). Amendments are made free of charge through the My Booking page, with a response within 12 hours; the rate is locked at the time of booking, and any underpayment is settled at pickup.

Delivery, Collection and Flight Delays

Cars are delivered to airports, ports and selected hotels, and delivery within Gouves is free. Deliveries between 22:00 and 07:00 carry a charge of about £17 (€20) payable on arrival; returning a car after hours is free.

Flight delays cost nothing. Staff are given arrival times and wait for the flight to land rather than charging a delay fee, which matters on the late Heraklion arrivals that UK charter schedules produce.

Breakdown, Accident and Roadside Assistance

Roadside assistance is free and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, provided by Interamerican Assistance. Call 1158 from within Greece, or +30 210 9461333 from abroad.

Report an accident immediately through the 24/7 helpline and do not leave the scene before reporting it. A driver who fails to provide the report is liable for the repair costs of any damage caused. Where an accident or breakdown immobilises the car, it is replaced within 24 hours.

Inspect the car before driving away and report any existing damage within 2 hours. Damage not reported within that window may be treated as an admission of responsibility.

Where the Car May and May Not Go

The car stays on Crete. Ferrying it to any other island or to the mainland is not permitted; doing so voids every insurance, and the driver becomes liable for any damage caused.

Unsurfaced and off-road driving is also outside the insurance, which is worth knowing before taking a small car up the track to Skotino Cave or across the Lasithi Plateau. The driving in Gouves page covers the road rules and the routes that need an SUV rather than a city car.

One-way hires are available, provided the arrangement is made at the start of the hire and confirmed on the agreement.

Traffic Fines, Late Returns and Extensions

Traffic fines are the driver's responsibility under Greek law. A fine not disclosed to the company at the end of the hire is charged to the driver afterwards.

Late returns carry a 1-hour grace period, so the first hour is free. The next 3 hours cost about £8.50 (€10) per hour, and beyond 3 hours a full day's rate is charged. To keep the car longer, contact the company and check availability before the hire ends.

Bookings are made against a car group rather than a named model, and a group usually contains several models. If the booked category is unavailable on the day, a larger category is supplied at no extra cost. Current rates by category and season are on the prices in Gouves page, and car hire in Gouves can be booked in about 3 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Book your car hire in Gouves

Full insurance with zero excess, unlimited mileage, free hotel delivery and no credit-card deposit.

Premium Insurance

No excess. Tyres & glass covered-always.

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Free Cancellation

Cancel up to 48 hours before pick-up.