A private transfer from Chania Town to Omalos covers 38.0 km (23.6 mi) in about 56 minutes and costs a fixed fare from €72 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Chania Town, or the departure run back from Omalos 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 | €72 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €102 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €210 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Omalos back to Chania Town 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 Town to Omalos: 38.0 km (23.6 mi), about 56 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 comes to the door of your hotel, apartment or address in Chania at the time on your voucher. City pickups are door-to-door, so there is no meeting point to find.
Chania's old town sits behind the Venetian harbour, and most of it is pedestrianised. Chania's harbour lanes take no traffic at all, so where a hotel sits inside that zone the driver arranges the nearest point a car can legally stop, usually a few minutes' walk away, and confirms it before the day.
Tell us the hotel name as well as the street when you book. Old town addresses are frequently unnumbered and are far easier to find by name.
Journeys east to Rethymno, Georgioupolis and the north coast join the national road within a few minutes. Journeys west and south, towards Kissamos, Falasarna, Elafonissi and Paleochora, leave on slower roads that climb through the hills.
At your accommodation's entrance, or the closest legal stopping point when the address sits inside the pedestrian zone of the old town.
Your driver calls ahead if there is any doubt about where the vehicle can wait.
Give us the pickup address and a contact number at booking. Your driver waits at the agreed time and calls if the entrance is not reachable.
Tell us as early as you can if your plans change, so the driver can be rescheduled.
Omalos is a plateau in the White Mountains south of Chania, at about 1,100 metres, and the village of the same name sits on it. Omalos is where the Samaria gorge begins: the Xyloskalo, the stepped descent at the head of the gorge, is a few kilometres beyond the village.
The plateau is enclosed by mountains and used for grazing, with very little on it besides the village and a handful of guesthouses.
Winters here are severe by Cretan standards and the road can close with snow, which is why the accommodation on the plateau is aimed at walkers in the season rather than at year-round visitors.
We drop you at the door of your guesthouse or hotel on the plateau, or at the Xyloskalo if you are starting the gorge.
Walkers usually want the gorge entrance rather than the village. Say which you need at booking, and give the intended start time, since the early departure is the point of staying up here.
The drive climbs from sea level to about 1,100 metres, 38.0 kilometres in about 56 minutes. Omalos is the plateau at the head of the Samaria gorge, so this route is booked mostly by walkers wanting to be at the Xyloskalo early.
Your driver collects you at your Chania address and takes the road south out of the city.
The climb starts almost immediately and does not stop. The road turns back on itself repeatedly through the villages on the lower slopes, and the vegetation thins as the height increases.
The plateau opens at the top, flat and enclosed by the White Mountains, with the village on one side of it. The gorge entrance lies a few kilometres beyond. Fifty-six minutes for 38 kilometres is entirely the climb, and it is slower again in the dark, which matters because gorge walkers start before dawn. From a city pickup this is the shortest approach to the gorge anyone books. Omalos is 38.0 kilometres from Chania Town against 59.0 from the airport, which for a walker leaving before first light is the difference between a manageable start and a very early one.
A public bus runs from Chania to Omalos, timed for the gorge.
It leaves very early and returns in the afternoon, which works if your plans match the timetable exactly. It also starts from the central bus station, so an early departure means being there before it, and there is one service rather than a choice of times.
The return leg is the same journey in reverse: 38.0 km (23.6 mi), about 56 min, and the same fixed fare from €72 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Omalos at the agreed time and takes you straight to Chania Town.
Omalos back to Chania is the same 38.0 kilometres in reverse, at the same fixed fare.
Most people do not come back this way. Walkers finishing the gorge come out at Agia Roumeli on the south coast and return by boat to Chora Sfakion, which is a different journey and a separate transfer.
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 Omalos we work back from what you need to reach: about 56 minutes of driving, plus any check-in time, plus a real allowance for the descent, which is slower than the map suggests.
Tell us the flight or the appointment 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 Town to Omalos 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 Town to Omalos costs a fixed €72 for an SUV carrying up to 4 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €102.
Yes. The Xyloskalo, the stepped descent at the head of the gorge, is a few kilometres beyond the village. Say at booking whether you want the village or the gorge entrance.
Walkers usually start at first light to finish in daylight. Tell us the start time you want at booking and we work the pickup back from it, allowing for the climb in the dark.
The walk ends at Agia Roumeli, which has no road. Boats run east to Chora Sfakion, and a transfer from that quay is a separate booking at 78.0 kilometres from Chania Airport.
Yes. Omalos is 38.0 kilometres from Chania Town against 59.0 from Chania Airport.
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 €72 for a Standard car to Omalos.
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.
The driver arranges the nearest legal stopping point and confirms it before the day, so nobody is left waiting on a pedestrianised lane. Give the accommodation name as well as the street when you book.
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 Town to Omalos and Omalos to Chania Town are the same journey at the same fixed €72, 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 taxi we run, from the airports and ports to the resorts and villages along both coasts.