Sitia Car Rental Terms — Insurance, Deposits, Age Rules & Documents for 2026 1. Sitia Car Rental Insurance Explained 2. Deposits & No-Deposit Options 3. Age Requirements 4. Documents You Need 5. Fuel Policy 6. One-Way Rentals 7. What to Check Before Driving Away 8. Frequently Asked Questions Sitia Car Rental Terms — Insurance, Deposits, Age Rules & Documents for 2026 Before you sign a Sitia rental contract, these are the answers that actually matter: what insurance covers versus excludes, how much deposit will be blocked on your card, which age rules apply for SUVs, the documents to bring, and the fuel policy. This guide covers local Sitia pickups (JSH), Heraklion Airport collections (HER), no-deposit offers and automatic car rentals, with the clauses to double-check before you drive east to Vai Palm Beach or west on the E75/BOAK. 1. Sitia Car Rental Insurance Explained Choosing the right rental car insurance Crete option matters more than chasing the lowest headline rate. Greek rentals always include third-party liability (TPL), but the real comparison is between collision damage waiver (CDW), super CDW (SCDW), full damage waiver (FDW), and the excess, deductible, or franchise in the contract. If you searched Sitia car rental insurance, this is the part to read slowly. Insurance Level Coverage Scope Excess Amount Daily Cost Best For CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) Collision damage only Included in base rate Paved routes around Sitia, Toplou Monastery, and JSH SCDW (Super CDW) CDW + reduced excess liability +€8 - €12/day Travellers who want lower exposure without full cover FDW (Full Damage Waiver) Broadest cover, usually zero excess +€10 - €20/day Longer paved drives toward Zakros Palace, Kato Zakros, Mochlos, Ierapetra, or Agios Nikolaos Standard CDW exclusions: Standard CDW excludes tyres, wheels, rims, glass, mirrors, the underbody, interior damage, and lost keys. Lost keys in eastern Crete often cost €50-100 to replace. Off-road rule: Any unpaved road, gravel road, dirt track, or off-road section voids all insurance, even FDW. That matters near informal turn-offs by Itanos, remote trailheads near the Gorge of the Dead, or beach access outside the paved road to Xerokambos. 2. Deposits & No-Deposit Options Your car rental deposit Crete terms depend on the supplier, car class, and insurance package. Multinational brands usually place a preauthorization or pre-auth hold on your card as a security deposit, while local agencies are often more flexible. Agency Type Deposit Policy Payment Method Multinational Brands €290 to €1,000 preauthorization hold Credit card usually required; release often takes 5-10 days after return Local Independent Brands Zero deposit or low deposit, often with FDW Cash or debit card often accepted If you want to skip the hold, look for no deposit car rental suppliers in Sitia such as Apollon Rent A Car, Sitia Rent A Car, Monza, Karpadu, and RentCarInCrete. Sitia Rent A Car also states that no credit card is needed. On any booking aggregator, check the supplier rating, franchise amount, and whether free cancellation still applies after counter upgrades. 3. Age Requirements Age rules affect both eligibility and price. They also affect availability because about 70-80% of the Sitia fleet is manual, so younger drivers have fewer choices if they want automatic car rental Sitia stock. Driver Age Vehicle Eligibility Under 21 Not permitted to rent Basic economy cars only About €5/day young-driver fee, often capped near €35 per rental before 24% VAT Standard vehicle classes Usually none All classes, including SUVs and premium models Usually none Most suppliers require a licence held for at least 12 months. Luxury or high-value vehicles often require 2 full years. 4. Documents You Need Greek counters usually want original documents, not screenshots. Bring your physical licence, passport or ID, and a payment card if a deposit applies. Greek Law 4850/2021 removed the International Driving Permit (IDP) requirement for licence holders from the EU/EEA, UK, US, Canada, and Australia. License Origin International Driving Permit (IDP) Required? EU / EEA No. Domestic licence is accepted directly. UK, US, Canada, Australia No. Greek Law 4850/2021 recognizes these licences for short visits. Non-Latin Script Licenses Yes. An IDP is usually required alongside the domestic licence. For Heraklion Airport to Sitia arrivals, the usual Heraklion to Sitia drive time is about 2 hours for roughly 130 km.