Heraklion Airport: frequently asked questions

Two and a half hours for an EU flight and three for a non-Schengen one (UK) on summer Saturdays; two hours is enough off season. The terminal is small and the check-in queues spill outside on changeover days.

The boards on this site update automatically with scheduled and estimated times, gates, baggage belts and status. Open a flight for its details or subscribe to alerts for a flight number.

Check the estimated time on the departures board here and confirm with the airline. EU rules give you meals after two hours of delay and possibly compensation after three hours on arrival; keep receipts and boarding passes.

Only 5 km. A taxi takes 10–15 minutes and costs about €15; city bus line 1 takes 20–30 minutes for €2 and also stops at the port and the KTEL station.

About €40 by day for the 30–35 minute drive; Malia and Stalis are around €50. Fares are fixed by the taxi association and posted at the rank; nights cost more.

Yes. City bus line 1 leaves from outside arrivals every 15–30 minutes for the port, the KTEL station and the centre, and costs €2. There is no direct bus to the resorts; change at the KTEL station.

The KTEL coaches leave from the station by the port, ten minutes from the airport by taxi or city bus, roughly hourly: about 1h 30 to Rethymno and 2h 45 to Chania. A taxi to Rethymno costs around €100; a hire car is the usual choice.

It is ten minutes away: about €15 by taxi or €2 on city bus line 1, which stops at the port gates. The overnight Piraeus ferries leave around 21:00–22:00.

In the car park opposite the terminal, from about €3 an hour or €10 a day, first 10 minutes free. It fills in August; private car parks in Nea Alikarnassos take the overflow at lower weekly rates.

No; the forecourt is drop-off only and busy with transfer coaches. Use the car park (first 10 minutes free) or park on the Nea Alikarnassos seafront and walk, after checking the live arrivals board.

Avis, Budget, Hertz, Sixt, Europcar and Enterprise have desks in the arrivals hall, and dozens of Cretan companies meet customers outside or at lots a short shuttle away. Cars are collected across the road from the terminal.

For anything beyond a single resort, yes. Crete is 260 km long, the coaches only follow the main road and the best beaches are down small roads. Book early for July and August and consider a one-way rental ending at Chania Airport.