Photo by Moritz Feldmann via PexelsWhat to do in Rethymno when it rains
Rain on Crete is concentrated in the winter half of the year and usually passes quickly, but it does happen in spring and autumn and it can take out a beach day. The useful response is not a list of indoor attractions — it is knowing which of your planned days moves indoors without losing anything.
The short answer
Move the inland day forward. Melidoni Cave is unaffected by weather, the Margarites pottery workshops are under cover, and Arkadi Monastery has arcades and a museum. In town, the Fortezza is a poor rainy-day choice but the museums and the covered lanes are not.
| Option | Where | Weather-proof? | Half or full day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melidoni Cave | Inland, east | Entirely | Half |
| Margarites workshops | Inland, east | Mostly — short lanes between | Half |
| Arkadi Monastery and museum | Inland, south-east | Partly — arcades and museum | Half |
| Rethymno museums and old town | In town | Partly — covered lanes | Half |
| Heraklion Archaeological Museum | East | Entirely | Full |
| A long lunch in the foothills | Inland | Entirely | As long as you like |
First, do not write the day off
Cretan rain in spring and autumn tends to arrive in bands rather than settling in for the day. A wet morning frequently becomes a bright afternoon, and the light after rain is the best of the year for the old town.
It also does not fall evenly. The north coast and the south coast run separate weather, and a wet Rethymno does not mean a wet Plakias. If a swim is what you want, it is worth asking rather than assuming.
The genuinely weather-proof day
Melidoni Cave and Margarites is the strongest option, and not as a consolation prize. The cave is underground and completely unaffected by what is happening above it. The pottery workshops are indoors, and rain is a good day to be in one, because nobody else is.
Add a long lunch in the foothills and you have a full day that is better in the rain than it would have been in 38-degree heat.
Why this works
- The cave is unaffected by weather of any kind
- Workshops are under cover and quieter when it rains
- Village lanes between stops are short
- A long Cretan lunch is improved by bad weather, not spoiled
Arkadi, with a caveat
Arkadi has arcaded ranges to shelter under and a small museum, so a shower does not ruin it. The walled complex is partly open ground, though, so persistent rain does take something away.
The related stop, Patsos Gorge, is the one to reconsider. Wet stone on the gorge path is slippery, and after heavy rain the stream is higher. It is a spring pleasure rather than a wet-day one.
In town
Rethymno’s old quarter holds up better in the rain than most, because the lanes are narrow and there are awnings and overhangs for much of the way. The museums are the obvious indoor stop, and the town has the advantage that you can retreat into a café and wait for the band to pass.
The Fortezza is the thing to skip. It is largely open ground on an exposed headland, and in rain there is nothing to shelter under and little to see.
The long-drive option
If the forecast is genuinely bad for the whole day, this is when the Heraklion Archaeological Museum earns its place. It is indoors, it is the best collection on the island, and the drive is not weather-dependent.
Whether it is worth the distance depends on the rest of your week. If you were going to do Knossos anyway, a wet day is a reason to reverse the usual order and do the museum first.
Choose this when
- The forecast has taken out a planned beach day
- It is spring or autumn and the weather is unsettled
- You would rather rearrange than sit it out
Choose something else when
- The rain is passing and you can simply move the swim to the afternoon
- The south coast is clear — cross the island instead of going indoors
Questions people actually ask
Does it rain much in Crete?
Rain is concentrated in the winter half of the year. Summer is reliably dry, and spring and autumn are mostly fine with occasional bands of rain that pass through rather than settle. A completely washed-out day between May and September is unusual.
What is the best rainy-day activity near Rethymno?
Melidoni Cave paired with the pottery workshops at Margarites. The cave is underground and entirely weather-proof, the workshops are indoors and quieter in bad weather, and a long lunch in the foothills finishes the day.
Is it worth going to the south coast if it is raining in Rethymno?
Sometimes, genuinely. The two coasts run separate weather and a wet north coast does not mean a wet south coast. It is worth asking before you abandon the idea.
Are the museums in Rethymno any good?
They are modest in scale and worth an hour or two rather than a day. If you want a serious museum visit, the Heraklion Archaeological Museum is in a different category and justifies the drive on a bad day.
Should we still do Arkadi in the rain?
It works, with arcades and a museum to shelter in, though some of the complex is open ground. The gorge at Patsos is the part to reconsider — wet stone on that path is slippery.
Bookable days on this theme
Places covered here
Getting there
Sources and last checked
- First-party route knowledge — Which stops hold up in wet weather comes from running these routes year round.
- Weather patterns — General seasonal description only. Check a current forecast for your dates.
Written by Rethymno Excursions. Published 18 September 2026, last checked 18 September 2026. If something here has gone out of date, tell us and we will fix it.