A private transfer from Chania Airport to Aptera covers 23.7 km (14.7 mi) in about 30 minutes and costs a fixed fare from €45 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Chania Airport, or the departure run back from Aptera at the same fixed fare.
Fares are per vehicle, not per person, and cover the whole car, so a family of four pays once. The price you see is the price confirmed on your voucher; it does not change with traffic, time of day, or a delayed flight.
| Vehicle | Typical models | Passengers | Bags | Fare | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SUV | Skoda Karoq | up to 4 | 4 | €45 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €73 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €146 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Aptera back to Chania Airport costs the same as the arrival leg. Child and booster seats are added at booking, at no extra charge.
The line is the road a driver actually takes from Chania Airport (CHQ) to Aptera: 23.7 km (14.7 mi), about 30 min door to door. Pickup and drop-off are marked at the coordinates the booking engine quotes against, not at the centre of the nearest town.
Your driver meets you inside the arrivals hall at Chania Airport, holding a sign with your name and the company name on it. Your transfer starts there rather than at a taxi rank, so there is no queue and no fare to agree on the spot.
Chania International Airport (CHQ) sits on the Akrotiri peninsula, on high ground east of the city. Chania International Airport handled 1,574,043 international arrivals in 2025, which makes it the island's second gateway after Heraklion and the natural entry point for western Crete.
The airport's position matters for what happens next. The road down from Akrotiri joins the national road just east of Chania, so Rethymno, Georgioupolis and the whole north coast run east without entering the city, while Platanias, Kissamos and the west coast run through or around it.
Chania Airport is a single-terminal airport, so the walk from baggage reclaim to the meeting point is short even when several flights land together.
Inside the arrivals hall, at the exit, where your driver waits with a name board.
Look for the board rather than heading for the taxi rank. If your flight arrives late at night, the driver is still there: the pickup is set against the flight, not the schedule.
Give us your flight number at booking. Your pickup is scheduled against that flight, and we track it, so a delayed landing moves the pickup rather than costing you the transfer.
Tell us as early as you can when a flight is cancelled or rerouted, so the driver can be reassigned.
Aptera is an archaeological site on a plateau above Souda Bay, east of Chania, with a small modern settlement beside it. Aptera was a Greek city that continued through the Roman period, and what survives is unusually varied: Roman cisterns, a small theatre, stretches of city wall, and a Turkish fort on the edge of the plateau.
The position is the point of the place. The plateau looks straight down the length of Souda Bay, and the whole inlet is visible from the site.
There is very little accommodation here. Most visits are made from Chania or from the Apokoronas villages below.
We drop you at the site entrance or at your accommodation in the settlement beside it.
The road up to the plateau is narrow and the site has fixed opening hours. Tell us at booking whether you want the site or an address nearby, and check the hours if you are arriving late in the day.
The drive crosses Akrotiri, joins the national road above Souda and climbs to the plateau, 23.7 kilometres in about 30 minutes. Aptera is not a resort but an archaeological site with a small settlement beside it, so this route ends on high ground rather than at a beach.
The first part runs off the peninsula with Souda Bay opening on the right, a deep inlet with the naval harbour at its head.
The climb begins east of Souda. The road up to the plateau is narrow and turns back on itself, gaining height quickly above the water.
The site occupies the top. Roman cisterns, a small theatre, stretches of the ancient city wall and a Turkish fort on the plateau edge are spread across open ground, and the whole length of Souda Bay is visible from it. The position is why the city was built here and why the fort was added two thousand years later.
No public service reaches the plateau.
The Apokoronas bus passes below on the national road, leaving a steep climb of several kilometres on a road with no pavement. Reaching that bus from the airport also means a change in Chania first, so the public option is not a practical one for this site.
Your driver takes you to the door of your accommodation in Aptera. There is no central drop-off point and no walk with your luggage at the end. These are properties in the resort we transfer guests to regularly; if yours is not listed, it is still covered, so enter the name when you book.
Villas, apartments and private addresses in Aptera are served the same way. Add the address at booking and the fare stays as quoted.
The return leg is the same journey in reverse: 23.7 km (14.7 mi), about 30 min, and the same fixed fare from €45 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Aptera at the agreed time and takes you straight to Chania Airport.
Aptera back to Chania Airport is the same 23.7 kilometres in reverse, at the same fixed fare.
The descent from the plateau is slow, so a pickup here is set a few minutes earlier than the distance to the national road suggests.
Book both directions together and the return is held at the same fare. Switch the form at the top of this page to Departure, or select a return when you book.
For a departure from Aptera we work back from your flight: about 30 minutes of driving, plus the check-in and security time your airline asks for, plus an allowance for the descent from the plateau.
Give us the flight number at booking and the exact pickup time is confirmed on your voucher.
The fare covers the whole vehicle rather than each seat, so 4 people pay the same as 1. The price on your voucher is the price you pay, with no booking fee and no card surcharge.
Your driver waits in the arrivals hall holding a sign with your name on it. You walk out of baggage reclaim straight to the car, without joining a taxi rank or agreeing a fare on the spot.
Child seats cost nothing extra. Reserve the seat in the booking form and state the child's age, so the correct seat is fitted before the driver sets off.
Cancel at least 24 hours before your pickup time and you pay nothing. Plans change; the booking does not lock you in.
The vehicle carries your party and nobody else. It runs from the pickup point to your exact address, with no intermediate stops and no waiting for other passengers.
Your pickup is set against your flight number, not a clock time. Transfers run at any hour, which covers night landings and pre-dawn departures.
Every booking is confirmed by a person and carries a voucher showing your route, vehicle, pickup time and fare.
These are the questions guests ask most often about the Chania Airport to Aptera transfer, answered with this route's own distance, duration and fares.
Anything not covered here is answered when we confirm the booking.
A private transfer from Chania Airport to Aptera costs a fixed €45 for an SUV carrying up to 4 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €73.
It can be. Tell us at booking whether you want the site entrance or an address in the settlement beside it, and check the site's opening hours if you are arriving late in the day.
Roman cisterns, a small theatre, stretches of the ancient city wall and a Turkish fort on the plateau edge, all above Souda Bay. The cisterns are the best preserved of them.
Kalyves is a separate transfer at 28.1 kilometres from the airport, on the coast directly below the plateau. Book the leg you need rather than paying for Aptera and continuing.
Per vehicle. The fare covers the car and everyone in it, up to that vehicle's passenger and luggage limit. Two people and four people pay the same €45 for a Standard car to Aptera.
Yes, at no extra charge. Reserve the seat in the booking form and state the child's age so the correct infant, child or booster seat is fitted before the driver sets off.
Give us your flight number when you book. We track the flight and move the pickup to match the actual landing time, so a delay does not cost you the transfer.
Inside the arrivals hall, at the exit, where the driver waits with a board showing your name. You do not need to find a taxi rank or a car park level.
Yes. Cancel at least 24 hours before your pickup time and there is no charge.
Pay by card online when you book, or in euros in cash to the driver. There is no card surcharge and no booking fee either way.
You receive a confirmation email with your route, vehicle, pickup time and fare on it. Check the details and tell us if anything is wrong. An automated receipt on its own is not the confirmation. The emailed voucher is.
Yes. Chania Airport to Aptera and Aptera to Chania Airport are the same journey at the same fixed €45, and both directions are booked from this page. Select a return when you book and the price is held for both legs.
Those routes are priced the same way as this one: a fixed fare per vehicle, confirmed before you travel. The same applies to every private transfers in Crete we run, from the airports and ports to the resorts and villages along both coasts.