A private transfer from Heraklion Airport to Kournas covers 108.0 km (67.1 mi) in about 1 hr 34 min and costs a fixed fare from €115 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Heraklion 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Standard | Skoda Octavia, VW ID.3 | up to 3 | 3 | €115 |
|
SUV | Skoda Karoq | up to 4 | 4 | €124 |
|
Premium | Mercedes E Class, Skoda Kodiaq, Jeep Compass | up to 4 | 4 | €136 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €152 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €268 |
|
Bus | Coach Bus | up to 52 | 30 | €598 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Kournas back to Heraklion 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 Heraklion Airport (HER) to Kournas: 108.0 km (67.1 mi), about 1 hr 34 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 Heraklion Airport, holding a sign with your name on it. Your transfer starts there rather than at a taxi rank, so there is no queue to join and no fare to agree on the spot.
Heraklion International Airport (HER) is Crete's main gateway and handled 4,039,249 international arrivals in 2025. Heraklion International Airport concentrates its arrivals into one short terminal, which keeps the walk from baggage reclaim to the meeting area brief even at peak season.
The driver confirms your name and destination, loads your luggage, and leaves from the airport car park. Nothing is settled on the day when you have paid online, and the fare on your voucher does not change.
The airport sits on the coast road immediately east of Heraklion city, which puts every eastern resort on a direct run without crossing town. Westbound journeys join the same national road in the opposite direction.
Inside the arrivals hall, past baggage reclaim, at the transfers meeting area. Your driver holds a name sign that matches the booking.
Look for the sign rather than a taxi rank or a car park level. The phone number on your voucher reaches a person who can locate your driver, if the sign is not where you expect it.
Give us your flight number at booking. Your pickup is then scheduled against that flight rather than against a clock time, and the driver is told to arrive later when the flight lands late.
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 west along the north coast and then climbs inland, 108.0 kilometres in about 1 hr 34 min, to the hills above the shore beside the only natural freshwater lake on Crete.
The coast road covers the first hour and a quarter: past Heraklion, the cliffs above Agia Pelagia, the inland stretch behind Bali and Panormos, then the beach strip into Rethymno at 80.5 kilometres.
West of the city the road runs on through Atsipopoulo and Gerani to Georgioupolis and Kavros, at the mouth of the Almyros.
The last eight kilometres are the expensive ones in both currencies. Kavros, down on the coast, is 100.0 kilometres from this terminal, takes about 1 hr 21 min and costs €105 for a Standard car. Kournas is 108.0, takes about 1 hr 34 and costs €115. Eight kilometres of hill road add thirteen minutes and ten euros, and there is no faster way up.
The climb is short and slow, and the lake appears below in a bowl ringed by hills, with the village above it on the slope a couple of kilometres further on.
Those two points are separate and the road between them is narrow. Arriving at the wrong one means going back down to start again, which is why the drop-off is worth naming at booking.
Accommodation here is village rooms and houses rather than hotels, so there is no reception to ask for and no sign to look for. The property name and the owner's directions are what the driver works from.
From Chania Airport the same lake is 54.5 kilometres, so anyone whose flights are still open should weigh the western airport for this corner of the island.
No bus reaches the lake or the village.
The intercity coach from Heraklion stops at Georgioupolis on the main road below, which leaves a climb of several kilometres uphill with no pavement, and the first leg starts from the city's bus station rather than the airport. There is also no taxi rank at the lake for the return.
The return leg is the same journey in reverse: 108.0 km (67.1 mi), about 1 hr 34 min, and the same fixed fare from €115 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Kournas at the agreed time and takes you straight to Heraklion Airport.
Kournas back to Heraklion Airport is the same 108.0 kilometres at the same fixed fare.
The descent to the coast road is quick, but the Rethymno bypass and the Heraklion approach both follow, so an early flight means a pickup well before dawn.
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.
About 1 hr 34 min of driving, the check-in and security time your airline asks for, and margins for the hill road, the Rethymno bypass and the Heraklion approach.
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 Heraklion 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 Heraklion Airport to Kournas costs a fixed €115 for a Standard car carrying up to 3 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €152.
Kavros is 100.0 kilometres from this airport at €105 and about 1 hr 21 min. Kournas is 108.0 at €115 and about 1 hr 34. The difference is eight kilometres of hill road.
Considerably. The lake is 54.5 kilometres from Chania Airport against 108.0 from Heraklion.
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.
Pedal boats and tavernas work one shore in summer and the rest of it is left alone, with no building around most of the water. The setting is what the trip is for.
Agricultural and inland, a couple of kilometres above the lake on a narrow road. It is a working village rather than a resort, which is why accommodation here is rooms and houses.
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 €115 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. Heraklion Airport to Kournas and Kournas to Heraklion Airport are the same journey at the same fixed €115, 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 private transfers in Crete we run, from the airports and ports to the resorts and villages along both coasts.