Transport
The city centre is 5 km away: about €15 by taxi or €2 on city bus line 1. Hersonissos and Malia are 30–45 minutes east by taxi or transfer; the KTEL station by the port serves Rethymno, Chania and the south coast.
Read more: TransportGuide to Heraklion Airport
Heraklion Airport “Nikos Kazantzakis” (HER) is only 5 km east of the city centre at Nea Alikarnassos, so close that the final approach passes over the port. It is the third-busiest airport in Greece and the busiest on Crete, with around eight million passengers a year, nearly all of them between April and October, when it becomes the main gateway to the resorts of Hersonissos, Malia, Elounda and the south coast.
The terminal dates from the 1970s and is famously cramped for the traffic it handles, which is why a new airport is being built at Kastelli, 35 km inland, to take over towards the end of the decade. Until then: one building, arrivals on the ground floor, departures upstairs, and long queues on summer Saturdays.
Parking
The car park is opposite the terminal, from about €3 an hour and around €10 a day. It is small for the airport’s traffic and fills in August; private car parks in Nea Alikarnassos are the fallback for a week or more.
Read more: ParkingCar rental
The rental desks are in the arrivals hall and the cars in lots across the road; local companies meet you outside. Crete is 260 km long with a mountain spine, so most visitors rent for the whole stay. Book early for July and August.
Read more: Car rentalLocal tips
- Heraklion’s departures hall is the smallest in Greece for its traffic. On summer Saturdays be at the airport three hours before a non-Schengen (UK) flight and two and a half before any other; once through security there is little seating, so do not rush the shops.
- The ferry port is ten minutes away by taxi and the overnight boats to Piraeus leave around 21:00–22:00, so an afternoon arrival connects comfortably; a morning flight does not, unless you take the fast daytime ferry.
- The final approach over the harbour is the best view of Heraklion you will get: sit on the left side flying in from the west, the right side from the east.
- The taxi rank empties on Saturday changeover afternoons. If your hotel is in Hersonissos or Malia, pre-book; the price is the same and the wait is zero.
- Knossos is 20 minutes from the airport by taxi, closer than most hotels: a late-afternoon arrival with an evening flight home the next day can still fit the palace in.
See also
Prices and timetables are indicative and change seasonally. Confirm before you travel.