HelMSIC Exchanges

You can access Crete by air or by boat.

There are three airports in Crete

Heraklion and Chania are international airports, Sitia airport is currently receiving domestic flights only (charter flights are expected to start in the future).

There are regular buses between Heraklion airport and Eleftherias square (the centre); tickets should be bought before boarding and cost 1 euros to the centre. A taxi into the town takes 10-15 minutes and costs 12-14 euros.

[There is an official charge, included in the above estimates, when a taxi takes you to or from an airport or port. Luggage can be charged extra].

Parking: Has paid parking, just across the road, opposite the airport entrance.

Airport facilities: Cash/ATM machines for cash advances and withdrawals, exchange booth. Coffee and snacks are available, as well as a sit-down cafe/restaurant. "Duty-free" shop and giftshops. Left luggage.

Tel: 2810-397129, 397136 (info 24hrs).

At Chania airport there are only a few, infrequent, buses - a taxi is the best option if you are not renting a car. A taxi into the town takes 20 minutes and costs 14-16 euros.

Parking: There is paid (quite expensive) parking, running in front of the airport building. Long term (lower cost) parking is available a few hundred metres before the airport gates. The long term rental place offers pick up when you arrive service, taking you with their van to the parking lot.

Airport facilities: Cash/ATM machine for cash advances and withdrawal. Coffee and snacks are available. "Duty-free" shop and giftshops.

Tel: 28210-63245, 83800.

by taxi or car. 5-10 minutes to town.

Parking: You can park at the airport without a fee.

Airport facilities: None.

Tel: 28430-24424, 22671.

Charter flights are few in the winter, but there are many from end of March/April to the end of October. Charter flights to Chania and Heraklion from most European countries operate in this peak period, summer sun attracts! The number of charter flights to Heraklion is greater than to Chania. When the new airport at Sitia is upgraded in the future, some direct flights will then make access to the east of Crete that much easier.

To help you in your search of direct charter flights to Crete, we give you below a list of websites that offer these, with online booking.

WeGoLo.com ~ Find flights to Crete, Greece and other destinations.

Avro.co.uk ~ Offering only Monarch flights - but there are many

Flightline.co.uk ~ Flights to most destinations from the UK.

Alternativeairlines.com ~ Flights from anywhere to Crete, including scheduled, charter and low cost airlines.

Justtheflight.co.uk ~ Flights from the UK and from Ireland to Crete - good system and clear booking layout...wide variety of flights.

Charterflights.co.uk ~ Again a good booking system and good flight selection.

Cheapestflights.co.uk ~ Also easy to use and selection is good.

Airlinedestinations.co.uk ~ Shows flights from all UK airports, listing flights by airport region.

Thomsonfly.com ~ Heraklion to Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, Glasgow, London Gatwick, London Luton, Manchester, Newcastle. Chania to London Gatwick, Manchester.

Jet2.com ~ Budget airline flies direct from Leeds/Bradford airport to Heraklion.

Budgetair.ie ~ Flights from Ireland (Cork, Dublin, Shannon) to Heraklion.

EasyJet flying directly from the UK to Crete.

EasyJet has acquired the British Airways subsidiary GBAirways, and is now operating direct flights from the UK to Heraklion (March to October). There are 4-7 scheduled flights a week from London Gatwick to Heraklion and 2 flights a week (Tuesday, Friday) from Manchester to Heraklion. Operates normally from 30 March to 25 October. You can book these online on their website.

Charter flights are also available to Crete from most other European countries, Russia, Israel and elsewhere - in some cases these can be obtained from local travel agents and online via various websites in each country.

(Most of these flights are available only in the summer, i.e. end of March/April to end of October)

Transavia ~ Flights from Netherlands (Amsterdam) to Heraklion.

Arkia ~ Sundor and Arkia flights from Israel to Heraklion.

Travemaker.co.il ~ El Al flights from Israel to Heraklion.

Air Berlin ~ Flights from Germany & Austria to Heraklion and Chania.

Condor ~ Flights from Germany to Heraklion and Chania.

German Wings ~ Flights from Germany (Cologne/Bonn) to Heraklion ("low-cost" airline).

EasyJet ~ Flights from Germany (Berlin) to Heraklion.

Aegean Airlines ~ scheduled flights Italy (Rome) and Germany (Düsseldorf, Munich) to Heraklion.

NeosAir ~ Flights from Italy (Rome, Milan, Verona, Bologna) to Heraklion and Chania.

Luxair ~ Flights from Luxembourg to Heraklion and Chania.

Sterling ~ Flights from Scandinavia (Sweden-Stockholm, Denmark-Copenhagen, Norway-Oslo) to Chania.

Scandinavian ~ Flights from Norway (Oslo) to Chania.

Norwegian Air Shuttle ~ Flights from Norway (Oslo) to Heraklion ("low-cost" airline).

Wizzair ~ Flights from Hungary (Budapest) and Poland (Katowice) to Heraklion ("low-cost" airline).

Belair ~ (site in German & French) Flights from Switzerland to Heraklion (Airlines: Belair, Edelweiss air, Swiss).

SmartWings ~ Flights from Czech Republic (Prague) to Heraklion and Chania ("low-cost" airline).

Alternativeairlines.com ~ Flights from anywhere to Crete, including scheduled, charter and low cost airlines.

 

Flying to Crete via Athens

All flights to and from Athens arrive and depart from "Eleftherios Venizelos" Athens airport at Spata, to the north-east of Athens.

And the Athens airport website with useful information about airlines, real-time arrivals/departures, parking. Tel. 210- 3530000.

 

Athens - Flights to/from the UK:

EasyJet: Bookable online, the further in advance, the cheaper it is.

2 flights every day from Luton airport and 1 flight every day from Gatwick

British Airways and Olympic Air: Both have regular scheduled flights every day.

EasyJet ~ Berlin (Schoenefeld) to Athens

German Wings ~ Flights from Germany (Cologne/Bonn) to Athens (and Heraklion).

Aegean Airlines flies from Athens to the UK (London Gatwick), Germany (Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Hannover) & Italy (Rome, Milan, Venice, Naples, Genoa, Trieste, Turin, Catania, Lamezia, Bari) and Netherlands (Amsterdam), France (Paris), Belgium (Brussels), Portugal (Lisbon), Bulgaria (Sofia), Romania (Bucharest), Egypt (Cairo).

Virgin Express (or Brussels Airlines) flies Brussels to Athens

EasyJet flies daily Paris to Athens

Centralwings ~ Flights from Poland (Krakow) to Athens.

Europebyair.com - Especially good for non-European residents*, offers FlightPass, allowing low-cost air travel within Europe. Now also offers flight queries and bookings worldwide.

* USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South America, Japan, South Africa, Israel residents.

See also Alternativeairlines.com for flights from anywhere to Crete.

Delta Airlines:

Daily direct flights Atlanta (ATL) to Athens & New York (Newark - EWR) to Athens

Continental Airlines:

Flights New York (Newark - EWR) to Athens

US Airways:

Flights New York & Philadelphia to Athens

Of course, Olympic Air also flies Athens to USA (New York) and Canada (Montreal).

 

By boat:

 

Ferryboat from Piraeus

There is a regular ferryboat service from the port of Piraeus to Heraklion and Chania.

 

The main company is Anek lines a company created in the 60s by Cretans who wanted better and safer service to and from the mainland of Greece. and runs daily between Piraeus, Chania, Rethymnon and Heraklion. Another company, Minoan Lines sails every day to Heraklion. Rethymnon Lines run ferries to Rethymnon in the summer. And there is also SuperFast Ferries company.

 

Ferryboat from Italy

Several shipping companies connect Italy (Venice, Trieste, Ancona, Bari, Brindisi) with the mainland of Greece (Patras and Igoumenitsa). The fastest service to Patras is provided by SuperFast Ferries. It is slightly more expensive than other companies. It is preferable to book your passage in advance in the summer season

 

Ferryboat from the Peloponnese and the Cyclades

ANEN Lines run a service connecting the South Peloponnese (Gythion, Neapolis or Kalamata) to Kastelli (45 km west of Chania).

From April to October you can also get boats from Santorini (and other Cycladic islands) to Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos.