E-scooters in Rethymno: renting a Hoppy, Greece’s helmet law, and the town’s public spaces for shared scooters

Which e-scooter app works in Rethymno?

At 4:57 pm on Monday 2 November 2026, Greek time, the Rethymno map showed about 85 Hoppy scooters free to rent at that moment. The map shows the nearest scooter and the walk to it, and a button opens the app.

You unlock a scooter with your phone and pay in the app. Check the price and the minimum age in the app before you unlock, and read where you may end the ride.

New to shared scooters? See how to rent an e-scooter.

Rethymno’s public spaces for shared scooters, 2025–2026

The Municipality of Rethymno posts its decisions on Diavgeia, the state’s transparency site. Among them are these on public spaces for shared e-scooters:

• Spring 2025: an auction. On 29 April 2025 the Municipal Committee set the terms of an auction to lease public spaces for a system of shared bikes and scooters (decision 299/2025). The summary notice of 2 May 2025 (protocol 15004) offered 29 public spaces for shared bikes and e-scooters.
• 16 May 2025: the award. The Municipal Committee approved the record of that auction and awarded its result (decision 422/2025, posted on 26 May 2025).
• 18 May 2026: an extension request. The Municipal Council examined a request from HOPPY MOBILITY ΜΟΝΟΠΡΟΣΩΠΗ Ι.Κ.Ε., a single-member private company, to extend its contract granting public spaces for an e-scooter sharing system (act 194/2026, posted on 22 May 2026).

The decisions are in Greek. For a ride, the practical rule is simple: ride by national law, end a ride only where the app allows, and read its map before you park.

National law applies on every ride. The Highway Code sets the age, helmet, speed, parking limits and fines for every rider in Rethymno, as in every Greek town.

Can you ride an e-scooter in Rethymno? Age, helmet and licence

Yes, and you need no driving licence. The rules below come from the Highway Code (KOK, law 5209/2025, published in the Government Gazette, ΦΕΚ Α΄ 100, on 13 June 2025) as amended by law 5322/2026, published in the Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ Α΄ 117) and in force since 24 July 2026.

• Age: 17 or over. Riding younger is a €150 fine. The app may set a higher age.
• Helmet: compulsory at any age, adults included: an approved helmet, fastened, or €30. Bring your own.
• ID: carry a passport or ID card when you ride. The operator’s insurance certificate can stay in the app.
• Passengers: one rider only (€150).
• Phone and headphones: no phone in your hand and no headphones while riding: €350 and 30 days’ licence removal.
• After dark: wear reflective clothing or gear (€30).

Since July 2026 third-party insurance has been compulsory for every e-scooter; on a shared scooter it’s the operator’s.

Where can you ride an e-scooter in Rethymno?

Greek law treats an e-scooter rather like a bicycle, with three rules that matter most in a town:

• Cycle lane first. Where a road has a cycle lane, you must ride in it (€30 if you don’t).
• No fast roads. E-scooters are banned on any road where the limit is over 50 km/h (€350); a 50 km/h road is allowed. Where a big road’s signs show a limit over 50 km/h, take a quieter parallel street.
• No pavements, squares or pedestrian streets. Riding on them costs €350 and 30 days’ licence removal. Get off and walk the scooter across a square or along a pedestrian street.

The top speed is 25 km/h: €30 for riding up to 35 km/h, €150 above that.

As for cyclists, the Highway Code asks you to ride in single file, never two or more abreast, and to keep both hands on the handlebar unless you are giving a signal. Don’t let another vehicle tow you, and don’t carry anything that gets in the way of riding. Each is a €30 fine. Where you are in pedestrians’ way or putting them at risk, the law says to get off and walk the scooter.

Where the law does let you ride among people on foot, keep to their pace, don’t bother them and give way to them.

Where can you park a rental e-scooter in Rethymno?

End your ride only where the app allows: its map shows where a ride may end.

National law adds limits wherever you stop:

Greece’s e-scooter rules and fines in one table

These are the national rules that apply in Rethymno, as in Heraklion, Thessaloniki, Athens, Rhodes and Kos.

The Highway Code’s fines are national, so the same offence costs the same in Rethymno as in Heraklion or on Rhodes. The July 2026 law raised several of them, set the minimum age at 17 and made third-party insurance compulsory.

Drinking, heat and night rides

• Alcohol. The limit is the drivers’ one, 0.5 g/l in the blood or 0.25 mg/l in breath, and the fine starts at €350. After an evening out, walk or take a taxi.
• Heat. On a hot Cretan day, ride early or late, carry water, and remember that the helmet rule still applies.
• At night. Wear something reflective, as the law requires, and keep to lit streets you know.

The airport bus and the port

For longer trips between towns, take the bus: the law keeps e-scooters off every road with a limit over 50 km/h.

Flying into Chania? Chania Airport’s page on public buses (read on 2 November 2026) says buses run between the airport and the cities of Chania, Rethymno and other destinations. The stop is across from the Departures area, on the east side of the terminal, and you buy your ticket from the driver.

The port. Heading for a boat? End the ride where the app allows before the quay and walk: the law bans parking in port zones where passengers board.

Elsewhere on Crete and the islands

Heading to Heraklion? See our Heraklion guide, where the same national rules apply. Our map also covers Chania; check the map and the app again in each town.

Island-hopping? Hoppy scooters are on our map on Rhodes and Kos as well: see our Rhodes and Kos guides, where the same Highway Code applies.

Did you know?

• The everyday word. Greek law files e-scooters under Ε.Π.Η.Ο., short for Ελαφρύ Προσωπικό Ηλεκτρικό Όχημα, a light personal electric vehicle. Rethymno’s titles on shared scooters, in 2025 and 2026, use πατίνια, the everyday Greek word for scooters: the title of act 194/2026 ends with «συστήματος διαμοιρασμού ηλεκτρικών πατινιών», “of an e-scooter sharing system”.
• Smartwatches count. The Highway Code’s ban on using a phone while riding also covers smartwatches, and any device used to film or live-stream from the rider’s position, unless it is fixed in a holder.
• Signal with your arm. If your scooter has no indicators, Greek law asks you to give a hand signal before you change direction, just as on a bicycle.