Chania Airport to Malia Transfers

A private transfer from Chania Airport to Malia covers 180.0 km (111.8 mi) in about 2 hr 32 min and costs a fixed fare from €240 per vehicle, not per person.

One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Chania Airport, or the departure run back from Malia at the same fixed fare.

Your fixed price for this route from €240 per vehicle
Free Cancellation Door-to-Door Service 24/7 Customer Support
Fares

Chania Airport to Malia transfer prices

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
Standard transfer vehicle, Skoda Octavia, VW ID.3 Standard Skoda Octavia, VW ID.3 up to 3 3 €240
SUV transfer vehicle, Skoda Karoq SUV Skoda Karoq up to 4 4 €248
Premium transfer vehicle, Mercedes E Class, Skoda Kodiaq, Jeep Compass Premium Mercedes E Class, Skoda Kodiaq, Jeep Compass up to 4 4 €255
Minivan transfer vehicle, Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito Minivan Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito up to 8 8 €287
Minibus transfer vehicle, Mercedes Sprinter Minibus Mercedes Sprinter up to 18 18 €384

The same fare applies in both directions: Malia back to Chania Airport costs the same as the arrival leg. Child and booster seats are added at booking, at no extra charge.

Where you are going

Chania Airport to Malia on the map

The line is the road a driver actually takes from Chania Airport (CHQ) to Malia: 180.0 km (111.8 mi), about 2 hr 32 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.

Airport pickup

Your pickup at Chania Airport

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.

Where we meet you

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.

Flight delays and waiting time

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.

Heraklion

Arriving in Malia

Malia is a resort town on the north coast east of Chersonissos, known for two things that sit about a kilometre apart: the nightlife strip, and the Minoan palace. Malia's beach is one of the longest stretches of sand on this coast, running east from the town towards the dunes at Potamos.

The old village sits inland from the beach and is a different place entirely, with a square, a church and tavernas that have nothing to do with the strip. Visitors who book Malia for the archaeology and the beach rather than the bars generally stay in the village or at the quieter eastern end.

The Minoan Palace of Malia lies about 3 kilometres east of the town and is the third largest palace complex on the island, after Knossos and Phaistos.

Good to know about Malia
  • One of the longest sand beaches on the north coast, running east towards the dunes
  • The nightlife strip and the old village are separate places, roughly a kilometre apart
  • The Minoan Palace of Malia is around 3 km east, the island's third largest
  • Sissi and Milatos, quieter fishing villages, are a short drive further east
Drop-off in Malia

We drop you at the door of your hotel, apartment or villa, whether that is on the beach road, in the old village or out towards Potamos.

The main strip is busy and partly pedestrianised at night. Where the entrance is not reachable, the driver stops at the closest legal point and tells you where that is in advance.

Route

The drive from Chania Airport to Malia

The drive crosses the island east, 180.0 kilometres in about 2 hr 32 min, and ends at the resort town beyond Stalida.

Malia is the cheaper of the two despite being the further, which is worth pointing out rather than leaving to be discovered. Stalida sits 2 kilometres back at 178.0 kilometres and costs €264 for a Standard car; Malia is 180.0 and costs €240.

The car leaves Akrotiri for the national road east of Chania. Souda Bay, the Apokoronas slope and Georgioupolis fill the first hour, and Rethymno arrives at 70.3 kilometres.

The Milopotamos headlands follow at Panormos and Bali, Fodele comes at 121.0 kilometres, and the cliffs above Agia Pelagia drop to Ammoudara at 139.0. Heraklion passes on the bypass, then Kokkini Hani, Gouves, Chersonissos and Stalida along the eastern coast.

Which Malia you have booked matters more than the crossing does, because the town holds two places with little in common. The beach road and the strip run along the sand; the old village sits inland with a square, a church and tavernas, about a kilometre away and a wholly different proposition after dark.

The beach is one of the longest stretches of sand on this coast and runs east from the town towards the dunes at Potamos, and the Minoan palace lies about 3 kilometres east, the third largest on Crete after Knossos and Phaistos.

AMMOS Beach Hotel, Akrogiali Beach Hotel, High Beach, Matheo and Armonia are among the properties along the shore and behind it. The strip is partly pedestrianised at night, so where the entrance is not reachable your driver stops at the closest legal point and tells you which in advance.

How else could you make this trip?

The KTEL coach from Chania to Heraklion takes close to three hours, and the eastern coastal service runs on through Chersonissos and Stalida to Malia.

That is the airport to Chania's bus station, then two coaches with a change, then a set-down on the main road above the town. The connection holds together; it costs the day the car covers in 2 hr 32 min.

At a glance
  • 180.0 km (111.8 mi) door to door
  • About 2 hr 32 min with normal traffic
  • Direct, no changes, no other passengers
  • Fixed from €240 per vehicle
Door to door

Hotels and resorts we serve in Malia and more

Your driver takes you to the door of your accommodation in Malia. 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.

  • Hermes
  • Sunshine Boutique
  • Solimar Ruby Hotel
  • Matheo
  • Villa Mare Monte
  • High Beach
  • Club Calimera Sirens Beach resort
  • AMMOS Beach Hotel
  • Akrogiali Beach Hotel
  • Armonia
  • Kalypso
  • Kernos Beach
  • Paradise
  • Villa Malia
  • Ikaros Beach Luxury Resort & SPA
  • Kyknos Beach
  • Cretan Malia Park
  • Hotel Malia Bay
  • and every other hotel in Malia

Villas, apartments and private addresses in Malia are served the same way. Add the address at booking and the fare stays as quoted.

Going home

Malia to Chania Airport: departure transfers

The return leg is the same journey in reverse: 180.0 km (111.8 mi), about 2 hr 32 min, and the same fixed fare from €240 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Malia at the agreed time and takes you straight to Chania Airport.

Malia back to Chania Airport covers the same 180.0 kilometres at the same fixed price.

The first ten minutes are resort road through Stalida and Chersonissos, the least predictable part of the return in high season, and the Akrotiri climb waits at the far end. An early flight means leaving Malia before the strip wakes up.

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.

When should the pickup be?

Allow about 2 hr 32 min of driving, the check-in and security time your airline asks for, and margins for the strip, the two bypasses and the climb to the terminal.

Give us the flight number at booking. On a run of this length the pickup is calculated rather than estimated, and the time is printed on your voucher.

What you get

Why book this transfer with Best Crete Transfer

Fixed price per vehicle

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.

Meet and greet by name

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 and booster seats included

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.

Free cancellation

Cancel at least 24 hours before your pickup time and you pay nothing. Plans change; the booking does not lock you in.

Direct door-to-door routing

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.

Flight-timed pickups, 24 hours a day

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.

FAQ

Chania Airport to Malia transfers: common questions

These are the questions guests ask most often about the Chania Airport to Malia 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 Malia costs a fixed €240 for a Standard car carrying up to 3 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €287.