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Crete Airports

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More information on Crete bus and taxi services can be found on the Local travel page.
The main airports are Athens (ATH) Thessaloniki(SKG),  Heraklion (HER)* and Chania (CHQ)*. Ninety percent of charter flights and all direct scheduled services from the UK are to Heraklion.
Sitia(JSH), in the east, is being developed but is currently suitable only for the smaller aircraft used for domestic services.
Heraklion is the more convenient airport for central and eastern Crete while Chania is better for western Crete. Rethimno is about the "break even" point; from Chania airport to go east you must drive round Souda Bay - you drive west before turning east.

HERAKLION [HER]

European Charter flights
European scheduled services
Scheduled domestic services

Heraklion airport plan, Crete

The airport is only five hundred metres from the National Highway which runs along the north coast.

To the west Rethimno is about 1 - 1½ hours and Chania (also spelt Hania and Xania) is 2 - 2½ hours. Kissamos Kastelli in the far west is 3 - 3½ hours.

To the east Malia is ¾ - 1 hour and Ag. Nikolaos about 1¼ - 1½ hours.

Generally speaking the road is better to the west than to the east.

If you are travelling into Heraklion a bus service connects the terminal with the city. Taxis and hire cars are available and many visitors with hotel reservations will have a courtesy car shuttle service provided.

Buses to other major destinations depart from the central bus station.

European Charter flights
Scheduled domestic services

CHANIA [CHQ]

By road the airport is only about 35 minutes from Xania city centre and between 35 and 50 minutes to the popular resorts of  Kalyves and Almirida.  Giorgioupolis is a little over an hour away and Rethimno about 1¼ to 1½ hours.

The airport is badly served by buses with only three daily (and not when planes arrive). Taxis are plentiful immediately outside the terminal building and the fare to central Xania or Kalyves is about 25-30 Euros.  Transfer coaches are about 50 metres from the terminal building.

Most independent travellers arrange for hire cars to be delivered to the airport. Major companies have kiosks inside the arrivals area but they are usually more expensive than any of the four local rental companies.

Chania, Crete airport plan
* With the exception of Athens, Greek airport web sites are neither informative nor up to date. Thessaloniki, Heraklion and Chania sites have not been updated since January 2006 and Sitia's is unchanged since August 2003.
Diagram of Athens, Greece International airport

ATHENS [ATH]

The Eleftherios Venizelos International airport is one of the most modern in Europe with good facilities for travellers.

It's close enough to Athens that if you have a fairly long stopover it's easy to visit the city centre for some sightseeing. The Express bus is the cheapest means of transport at about €3 each way with daytime services every twenty minutes and a journey time of about 40 minutes depending on traffic. Alternatives are taxi, metro or suburban railway all of which are located within the airport. All are relatively cheap.

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THESSALONIKI [SKG]

European Charter flights
European scheduled services
Scheduled domestic services

Full international services

GETTING TO CRETE

PRINCIPAL AIRPORTS IN GREECE

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