A private transfer from Chania Airport to Kournas covers 54.5 km (33.9 mi) in about 58 minutes and costs a fixed fare from €79 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Chania Airport, or the departure run back from Kournas 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 | €79 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €107 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €169 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Kournas 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 Kournas: 54.5 km (33.9 mi), about 58 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.
Kournas is a village in the hills above the north coast, beside the only natural freshwater lake on Crete. Lake Kournas sits in a bowl below the village, ringed by hills, and its water level and colour change through the year as the springs feeding it rise and fall.
The village itself is inland and agricultural, a few kilometres up from Kavros and Georgioupolis on the coast.
Pedal boats work the lake in summer and tavernas line one shore, but there is no development around the rest of it, which is what keeps the setting intact.
We drop you at the door of your accommodation in the village or at the lake shore.
The village and the lake are separate points a couple of kilometres apart on a narrow road. Say which you need at booking, and give the property name if it is accommodation.
The drive runs east along the coast and then climbs inland, 54.5 kilometres in about 58 minutes. Kournas sits in the hills above the shore beside the only natural freshwater lake on Crete.
The car leaves Akrotiri, joins the national road above Souda and runs along the edge of Apokoronas past the turnings for Kalyves and Vamos.
Georgioupolis and Kavros come at the mouth of the Almyros, and the turning inland is signposted shortly after.
The climb is short but slow. The lake appears below in a bowl ringed by hills, and the village sits above it on the slope a couple of kilometres further on.
Those two points are separate and the road between them is narrow, so saying which you need at booking avoids arriving at the wrong one and having to go back down. The lake sits above Kavros and Georgioupolis, which are 50.2 and 48.4 kilometres from this airport, so the detour inland adds only a few kilometres to a journey most people are making anyway. That is why it is often booked as a stop rather than a destination. Two roads climb to the lake and only one is signposted from the national road. The other comes up from the village side, is narrower, and is the reason a driver who has not been before can lose several minutes at the top.
No bus reaches the lake or the village.
The intercity coach stops at Georgioupolis on the main road below, which leaves a climb of several kilometres uphill with no pavement. There is also no taxi rank at the lake for the return.
The return leg is the same journey in reverse: 54.5 km (33.9 mi), about 58 min, and the same fixed fare from €79 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Kournas at the agreed time and takes you straight to Chania Airport.
Kournas back to Chania Airport is the same 54.5 kilometres at the same fixed fare.
The descent to the coast road is quick, so a return needs less allowance than the outward climb, though the Chania approach is slower westbound in the morning.
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.
Fifty-eight minutes of driving, the check-in time your airline asks for, and an allowance for the climb.
If you are visiting for the day rather than staying, say at booking whether the car should wait or return 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 Kournas 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 Kournas costs a fixed €79 for an SUV carrying up to 4 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €107.
They are a couple of kilometres apart on a narrow road. Say which you need at booking.
Tell us at booking. There is no taxi rank at the lake and no way to arrange a car on the spot.
It is the only natural freshwater lake on Crete, in a bowl enclosed by hills with almost nothing built around it.
A few kilometres inland and uphill from Georgioupolis, which is 48.4 kilometres from this airport.
Two roads reach it and only one is signposted from the national road, which is why the drop-off point is worth agreeing at booking.
Its level and colour do. The springs that feed it rise and fall with the season, so the shoreline in April is not the shoreline in September, and the water shifts between green and deep blue.
Tavernas along the accessible shore and pedal boats in summer. The rest of the shoreline has nothing built on it at all, which is what keeps the setting intact.
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 €79 for a Standard car to Kournas.
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 Kournas and Kournas to Chania Airport are the same journey at the same fixed €79, 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.