A private transfer from Chania Airport to Plakias covers 86.0 km (53.4 mi) in about 1 hr 43 min and costs a fixed fare from €152 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Chania Airport, or the departure run back from Plakias 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 | €152 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €180 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €253 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Plakias 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 Plakias: 86.0 km (53.4 mi), about 1 hr 43 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.
Plakias is a resort on the south coast of the Rethymno region, set on a wide bay backed by mountains, with one long sand beach running the width of it. Plakias is reached from the north coast through the Kourtaliotiko gorge, a steep-sided ravine that the road descends for several kilometres before the sea appears.
The resort is low-rise and strung along the bay, with the tavernas and shops on the front and the accommodation behind and above them.
Several smaller beaches sit within a few kilometres, and the palm-lined river valley at Preveli, with its monastery above, lies to the east.
We drop you at the door of your hotel, apartment or villa, on the front or on the slopes behind it.
Plakias spreads further back from the beach than it looks from the bay. Give the property name at booking, since many of the roads inland from the front are unnamed.
The drive crosses to the south coast of the Rethymno region, 86.0 kilometres in about 1 hr 43 min. Plakias is reached over the mountains rather than along any shore.
The national road east covers the first stage through Apokoronas and Georgioupolis.
The turn south comes before Rethymno, and the road climbs into the hills that separate the two coasts.
The descent runs through the Kourtaliotiko gorge, a narrow ravine the road follows for several kilometres before the valley opens towards the sea.
Plakias appears at the end of it on a wide bay with mountains directly behind and one long sand beach across the width. From this airport the drive is 86.0 kilometres against 114.0 from Heraklion Airport, so for the southern Rethymno coast the western airport is the shorter arrival. Southern Rethymno has a different climate from the north coast, and the mountains between them are the reason. Crossing from one shore to the other in under two hours is the appeal of this route rather than the distance itself. The gorge road is the only practical way down to this coast from the north, which is worth knowing if the forecast is poor. There is no alternative route to fall back on, and the descent is where the time goes rather than the distance.
The public route needs two coaches and good timing.
Airport bus into Chania, intercity coach to Rethymno, then the southbound service to Plakias, which runs only a few times a day. Three legs and two waits, with the last connection the one that fails.
Your driver takes you to the door of your accommodation in Plakias. 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 Plakias 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: 86.0 km (53.4 mi), about 1 hr 43 min, and the same fixed fare from €152 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Plakias at the agreed time and takes you straight to Chania Airport.
Plakias back to Chania Airport is the same 86.0 kilometres at the same fixed price.
Northbound the gorge is a climb, and early flights mean driving it in the dark for much of the year, which the pickup time allows for.
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-three of driving, the check-in and security time your airline asks for, and a genuine margin for the gorge.
Give us the flight number at booking and the exact pickup 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 Plakias 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 Plakias costs a fixed €152 for an SUV carrying up to 4 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €180.
Chania, at 86.0 kilometres against 114.0 from Heraklion Airport.
A surfaced road with a steady descent and bends, followed for several kilometres. Slower than the national road, which the timing allows for.
Preveli with its palm-lined river valley to the east, and the coves at Damnoni and Souda within a few kilometres.
Often. The mountains separate the two shores, and Plakias is frequently clear when the north coast is not.
Not a practical one. The Kourtaliotiko is the route, which is why the timing on this page allows for it rather than assuming highway speed.
Damnoni, Souda and a string of smaller ones, each with its own short road down from the plateau. They are where guests go when the main beach catches the wind.
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 €152 for a Standard car to Plakias.
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 Plakias and Plakias to Chania Airport are the same journey at the same fixed €152, 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.