How do I get to Crete?

Heraklion International Airport, still called Nikos Kazantzakis (HER), sits 5 km east of Heraklion's center and handles roughly 75% of Crete's air traffic. Chania International, Ioannis Daskalogiannis (CHQ), lies 14 km east of Chania town and runs mainly seasonal European routes from April through October. HER is currently mid-upgrade, and summer crowds at passport control can mean 30-40 minutes in a hot, stuffy arrivals hall with limited air conditioning. A new airport at Kastelli, 39 km southeast of Heraklion, has been under construction since 2022 and might replace HER around 2027-2028, though timelines have shifted before.

No airline flies nonstop from North America to Crete. Your best routing from the US East Coast goes through Athens on Aegean Airlines or Olympic Air. United and Delta fly JFK-ATH direct in about 10 hours, then Aegean connects to HER in 45 minutes. Total travel time runs 14-16 hours door-to-door. Round-trip fares from New York typically land between $800 and $1,400, with the Athens-Crete leg adding $80-150. From the West Coast, add a second connection and 4-5 more hours. May and early June tend to have the lowest fares. The December holiday window and July-August peak can push round-trips past $1,600. That said, a route through London or Amsterdam on budget carriers sometimes drops the total by $200-300 if you don't mind a longer layover.

From London, direct flights to HER run about 4 hours on easyJet, Ryanair, TUI, and Jet2. Summer round-trips cost £150-350. Shoulder months like April and late October drop to £100-200. From Manchester and Birmingham, Jet2 and TUI operate seasonal directs at similar prices. Transavia from Amsterdam, Eurowings from Düsseldorf, and Volotea from Lyon all serve HER or CHQ between May and September, with fares at €100-250 round-trip. Aegean runs year-round ATH-HER service, with 8-10 daily flights in summer and 4-5 in winter. Sky Express, Crete's regional carrier based at HER, also connects to Thessaloniki, Rhodes, and several Cycladic islands for €50-120 one-way. If you're island-hopping through Greece, Sky Express is likely your most practical link.

The overnight ferry from Piraeus to Heraklion takes about 9 hours and costs €35-60 for a deck seat, or €55-90 for a cabin. Minoan Lines and ANEK Lines run daily departures year-round, typically leaving Piraeus around 21:00 and arriving at Heraklion port by 06:00. The ships are large enough that the crossing stays calm most nights, and you wake up to the smell of coffee from the onboard cafe as the Cretan coastline fills the windows. Ferries also run from Piraeus to Souda Bay near Chania, same duration, same operators. Book through ferries.gr or direct with the lines. July and August sell out cabin berths 2-3 weeks ahead. One thing to plan for. A 06:00 arrival means your hotel room likely won't be ready. Drop bags at the port's left-luggage kiosk and walk 800 meters into Heraklion's harbor for a Greek coffee at one of the cafes along 25th of August Street. The morning air still has that cool edge before the summer heat builds, and the Venetian fortress of Koules sits at the harbor mouth.