Top Options When Travelling to Crete

Planning a summer holiday to Crete? Well, the good news is that travelling to Crete isn’t just easy, it’s also extremely worthwhile! This is a beautiful island with plenty of diverse attractions to enjoy once you're here. So, for those travelling to Crete, here are some tips to help get you there.

Air travel

This is the way most tourists arrive. It’s also been revolutionised over recent years by the advent of so many low-cost airlines - but in passing, don’t forget that the holiday charter airlines sometimes also have some very good offers if they happen to have some empty seats on a flight. It’s always worth checking, though that’s more likely to be an option outside of the peak holiday weeks. There are three airports on Crete: Heraklion and Chania are by far the largest but there’s a smaller international airport at Sitia. They’re all used by tourists travelling to Crete on international or internal Greek air services.

By Sea

For thousands of years this was the only way to get to the island and the sea has played a huge part in the islands history and development. A really romantic way to arrive on the island is by ferry from Piraeus – the port of Athens. Transfers from the airport to Piraeus are easy and ferries depart for Chania or Heraklion regularly. It takes about 6-8 hours, so a good way to do it is overnight. On the downside, the ferries arrive in at around 6am – so not ideal if you love a lie-in!

There are also ferries from Agios Nikolaos and Sitia to other Greek islands, such as Rhodes. Times and routes tend to vary, so consult the latest details shortly before you plan to travel. Oddly, in spite of the proximity, there are only infrequent ferry services between the island and Egypt. They sometimes start up but don’t seem to last long.However, some Mediterranean cruise ships (usually Cypriot) stop here then go on to Egypt, or vice-versa. If you make enquiries, and if they have spare cabins, you’ll probably be able to get aboard. Keep in mind, though, that sea journeys from Egypt may be highly unpredictable in terms of timetables and availability; in view of the current situation in Egypt, it would be sensible to get travel advice from the Foreign Office beforehand.

It might also be worth considering some of the cruise ships that operate from the south of France or Italy touring around, sometimes stopping at the island. However, they are certainly not an option if you’re in a hurry or want to maximise the amount of time you spend on the island itself!

Overland

Obviously, you’re going to need a pretty amazing car to make this happen all the way but it’s a slight variation on the theme of ferries from Athens. You could drive overland to Piraeus through Romania and Bulgaria, and then catch the ferry. It is a big drive though – but nonetheless doable, and quite picturesque. Driving used to be a more viable option in the days when Yugoslavia still existed, but today parts of the Balkans might still not be entirely safe so check before using the shorter and more convenient route.

All things told, you have quite a few options when it comes to travelling to Crete. But however you get there, you will certainly not be disappointed by what you find.

Lukas Johannes is a driver for Shuttle Direct. If you’re travelling to Crete, Shuttle Direct can provide pre-booked shuttles to this and all major destinations all over Europe. Wherever you travel, Shuttle Direct can make sure that you don’t miss your car on your holiday abroad.