Transportation guide for Heraklion, Greece

Arriving at Heraklion

BY AIR

Heraklion international airport N. Kazantzakis is the largest airport of Crete and the second busiest airport in Greece, partly because Crete is a very popular tourist destination during summer. There are several daily flights between Athens and Heraklion (50 minutes), Thessaloniki and Heraklion (75 minutes) and Rhodes and Heraklion all year long. During the summer, there are also flights between Heraklion and Santorini, Mykonos and Paros. The above flights are served by Olympic Airlines and Aegean Airlines. In addition, during high season there are numerous charter flights from other European countries, especially from the UK, Germany, Italy, Russia and Romania. You can book your air tickets from fantasticgreece.com. The airport is situated about 5 km east of Heraklion city. You can use the public bus (2€) or a taxi (10€).

BY FERRY

Heraklion pot is a major commercial center in southern Greece. There is at least one ship per day from Athens to Heraklion (Piraeus port) and the trip lasts approximately 10 hours. Heraklion is also connected by ferries to Santorini and Rhodes, but the routes are less frequent. In some cases, during high season, there are also ferries to and from Cyprus, Israel and Italy. You can book your ferry tickets to Heraklion from fantasticgreece.com. You can take a public bus or a taxi (10€) from the port to Heraklion city.

Getting around Heraklion

BY BUS

Public buses serve the whole island of Crete, even the villages but not the most heraklion map isolated ones. The buses (called KTEL) are cheap and the routes are rather frequent. Most of the times you can by a ticket on the bus.

BY CAR

You can easily rent a car in Crete by using our car rental service and pick it up either in Heraklion city or at the airport. You should be careful if using a moped, as in some cases the roads going through mountains can get narrow and dangerous.

BY TAXI

Taxis from Heraklion can take you at any place on the island, as everything can be accessed within a day's round trip. The cost is reasonable, especially if you share the taxi with one or two other people. You can ask for the price of your journey when getting on the taxi since most routes have a pre-determined cost.

BY BOAT

There are many boats in Heraklion which offer day trips to isles minutes away from Crete, to secluded beaches or even to other Greek islands like Santorini.