A private transfer from Heraklion Airport to Malia covers 32.1 km (19.9 mi) in about 27 minutes and costs a fixed fare from €45 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Heraklion Airport, or the departure run back from Malia 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 | €45 |
|
SUV | Skoda Karoq | up to 4 | 4 | €50 |
|
Premium | Mercedes E Class, Skoda Kodiaq, Jeep Compass | up to 4 | 4 | €55 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €65 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €110 |
|
Bus | Coach Bus | up to 52 | 30 | €225 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Malia back to Heraklion Airport costs the same as the arrival leg. Child and booster seats are added at booking, at no extra charge.
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.
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.
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.
The drive runs east on the VOAK, the national road along the north coast, and stays on it almost the whole way. It leaves the airport perimeter directly, so Heraklion itself is never crossed.
The road passes the exits for Gouves, Anissaras and Chersonissos in turn, sitting above the sea on the right for most of the run. After Chersonissos the built-up coast thins briefly before Stalida and then Malia appear, effectively continuous with each other along the shore.
Where you are dropped changes the last few minutes noticeably. The beach road and the strip sit below the national road; the old village is inland and uphill from both; and the hotels out towards Potamos are at the far eastern end, past the turning for the Minoan palace. They are all a similar distance from the airport but reached by different turns.
About 27 minutes is the normal figure. Allow longer for a mid-afternoon arrival in July or August, when this stretch carries the heaviest holiday traffic on the island.
The Minoan palace turning is the marker for the far end of town. It leaves the national road about 3 kilometres east of the centre, past the point where the hotels give way to the dunes and the beach at Potamos, and anything booked out there is a few minutes further than the strip even though the address still says Malia.
Late arrivals are straightforward on this route. Heraklion takes flights well past midnight, and 32.1 kilometres of empty national road at that hour is the easiest driving of the day, so a 01:00 landing still has you at the hotel inside half an hour.
The KTEL coastal bus runs frequently between Heraklion and Malia and is the cheapest way to cover the route.
It does not serve the airport, so you would reach Heraklion bus station first, take the coastal service, then walk from the main road down to the beach area or up into the village. The bus also sets you down on the main road rather than at your accommodation, which is the part that tends to hurt in August heat with a suitcase.
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.
Villas, apartments and private addresses in Malia 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: 32.1 km (19.9 mi), about 27 min, and the same fixed fare from €45 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Malia at the agreed time and takes you straight to Heraklion Airport.
Malia back to Heraklion Airport is the same 32.1 kilometres in reverse, at the same fixed fare.
Westbound traffic towards Heraklion builds through the morning, so departure pickups between about 07:00 and 09:00 are set a little earlier than the drive time alone suggests.
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 Malia we work back from your flight: about 27 minutes of driving, plus the check-in and security time your airline asks for, plus a buffer for morning traffic on the coast road.
Give us the flight number 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 Heraklion 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 Heraklion Airport to Malia costs a fixed €45 for a Standard car carrying up to 3 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €65, and the fare is per vehicle rather than per person.
About 27 min for the 32.1 km (19.9 mi) route in normal traffic. Peak summer afternoons on the Gouves to Chersonissos stretch are the part that slows.
Not directly. The KTEL coastal bus covers Heraklion to Malia frequently, but it starts from Heraklion bus station rather than the airport and sets you down on the main road rather than at your hotel.
Yes. The village, the beach road and the hotels out towards Potamos are all served at the same fare. Give the accommodation name when you book so the driver takes the right turning.
Slightly. Stalida is 29.9 kilometres from Heraklion Airport against 32.1 kilometres to Malia, and the two run into each other along the same shore, so the drive differs by about 2 minutes rather than anything you would notice.
The palace sits about 3 kilometres east of the town on its own turning off the national road. Give it as the drop-off address when you book, so the driver takes that exit rather than the one for the resort.
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 €45 for a Standard car to Malia.
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 Malia and Malia to Heraklion Airport are the same journey at the same fixed €45, 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.