Heraklion Airport → Hersonissos, Stalis & Malia

How it works

You book before you travel, give your flight number, and the price is fixed for the whole car rather than per person. Licensed Crete operators publish these as a fixed list: on the list we checked, Hersonissos was €44 one way over 27 to 28 km in a stated 28 to 29 minutes, and Malia €52 over 39 to 40 km in a stated 30 minutes, with a small discount if you book the return at the same time. Stalis sits between the two and is usually priced with its neighbours, so confirm which village you are actually staying in when you book.

Good to know

• •Split four ways, €44 to Hersonissos is €11 each. The bus costs about €6 a head. On this route the gap is small enough that luggage, not money, should decide it.
• •Say up front if you need child seats. Greek law requires them and supply is not guaranteed on the day.
• •Hotels along this strip are spread over several kilometres and many sit on side roads off the main coast road. Give the full hotel name and address rather than just the village.

How it works

The official rank sits just outside the arrivals terminal and licensed cars queue there around the clock. This is a short, well-worn run that every Heraklion driver does several times a day, so it is one of the more predictable taxi journeys on the island. Agree the total in euro before the bags go in, and use the published fixed fares as your reference point.

Good to know

• •Carry cash. Many Crete taxi drivers still do not take cards.
• •Malia is roughly twelve kilometres further than Hersonissos, so expect the fare to reflect that. If a driver quotes the same for both, check which one they have understood.

How it works

There is no direct bus from the airport to the resort strip. You take a blue urban KTEL bus from the stop outside the terminal into Heraklion, which costs about €2 and takes roughly 20 minutes, then change at Station A, the central bus station on the port avenue, onto a KTEL Heraklio-Lasithi coach heading east. The good news is the frequency: on the operator's own timetable, coaches to Hersonissos and Malia leave roughly every half hour from 06:00 right through to midnight, seven days a week. The onward journey takes about 45 minutes to an hour.

Good to know

• •Some travel sites say eastbound coaches also call at the airport. They do not. KTEL Heraklio-Lasithi lists seven stations in Crete on its own site, Heraklion, Agios Nikolaos, Ierapetra, Kastelli, Neapoli, Moires and Sitia, and the airport is not one of them. Its timetables run from Central Bus Station A for the same reason. Plan for the change.
• •The same coaches serve all three villages in a row, Hersonissos then Stalis then Malia, so tell the driver where you want to get off rather than assuming the last stop is yours.
• •The airport stop is not directly in front of the doors. Coming out of the main terminal, turn right and follow the road as it curves left.

How it works

You collect at the airport and drive east on the national road along the coast, which is a straightforward half hour. Be honest with yourself about whether you need it: this strip is well served by buses and everything on it is walkable, so a car earns its keep only if you intend to get out and see the rest of the island. If you do, it is genuinely the best way, because the interior of Lasithi is poorly served by public transport.

Good to know

• •We are not quoting a daily rate, because an honest one does not exist: it swings with season, category and how far ahead you book. Price it for your own dates.
• •Compare the total against the bus before committing. Two people doing three day trips will often spend less on three taxi or bus days than on a week of hire plus fuel and parking.