Was there about 20 years ago so can't be much help I'm afraid.

Hired a car so managed to get about a bit; the main costal road was good back then but the interior mountain roads were a bit scary. Stopped to ask directions from a couple of guys in the mountains and one of them pulled a knife on us then just laughed and walked away. Don't know why - just a rough pair or maybe some dislike of foreigners at that time. That was the only bad experience otherwise everyone was very friendly. We were there at Easter and joined in the celebrations at a little village church (actually got invited into someone's house for tea and Greek cakes afterwards). Lots of great little fishing villages and small towns with good open-air restaurants surrounding the bays (remember the red mullet was especially good :-) The Palace of Knossos is worth a visit but that was the only historical site we managed to get to.

Have a great time!