A private transfer from Chania Airport to Elafonissi covers 91.7 km (57.0 mi) in about 1 hr 47 min and costs a fixed fare from €135 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Chania Airport, or the departure run back from Elafonissi 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 | €135 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €169 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €259 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Elafonissi 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 Elafonissi: 91.7 km (57.0 mi), about 1 hr 47 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.
Elafonissi is a beach and a small island at the south-western tip of Crete, joined to the mainland by a shallow sandbar that can be waded at most times. Elafonissi is known for the pink tint in parts of its sand, which comes from crushed shell fragments, and for water shallow enough to stand in a long way out.
The site is a protected area with no development on it. Facilities are limited to seasonal kiosks and a car park at the end of the road.
Getting there is the constraint. The approach is a long mountain road from either the north coast or the south, and the last section is slow.
We drop you at the car park at the end of the road, which is as far as any vehicle goes.
Elafonissi has no accommodation and no village. Tell us at booking whether you want the driver to wait or to return at a set time, since there is no taxi rank here.
The drive crosses to the south-western tip of the island, 91.7 kilometres in about 1 hr 47 min. Elafonissi is a protected beach with no village and no accommodation, so this is a day trip rather than an arrival transfer.
The car leaves Akrotiri, passes Chania and takes the coast road west as far as Tavronitis.
The road south leaves from there into the hills, climbing through the Selino district.
The last section is mountain road and it is slow. It comes down to the coast at the sandbar that joins the island to the mainland, wadeable at most times, with the pink tint in parts of the sand that the beach is known for.
Facilities are a car park at the end of the road and seasonal kiosks. There is nothing else, and no taxi rank, which is the practical point about arranging the return before you set off. The approach is the whole difficulty with this beach. Two mountain roads reach it, one from the north coast and one from the south, and both are slow enough that most visitors underestimate the day. Leaving early is worth more here than anywhere else in the west.
A seasonal bus runs to Elafonissi from Chania in the summer months.
One service out in the morning and one back in the afternoon fixes your whole day around it, and reaching it from the airport means going into the city first. Outside the season it does not run at all.
The return leg is the same journey in reverse: 91.7 km (57.0 mi), about 1 hr 47 min, and the same fixed fare from €135 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Elafonissi at the agreed time and takes you straight to Chania Airport.
Elafonissi back to Chania Airport is the same 91.7 kilometres at the same fixed fare.
There is no way to arrange a car at the beach, so a return is booked in advance or the driver waits. Say which at booking.
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.
One hour forty-seven of driving, the check-in time your airline asks for, and a real margin for the mountain road.
If you are going for the day, tell us whether the car should wait or come back at a set time.
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 Elafonissi 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 Elafonissi costs a fixed €135 for an SUV carrying up to 4 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €169.
No. It is a protected area with no village and no hotels, only a car park and seasonal kiosks.
Say so at booking. There is no taxi rank and no way to arrange a car on the spot.
Crushed shell fragments mixed into it, which shows most strongly in patches rather than across the whole beach.
Around an hour and three quarters each way from this airport, on mountain road. Most visitors underestimate it.
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 €135 for a Standard car to Elafonissi.
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 Elafonissi and Elafonissi to Chania Airport are the same journey at the same fixed €135, 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 Crete transfers we run, from the airports and ports to the resorts and villages along both coasts.