A private transfer from Heraklion Airport to Platanias in Rethymno covers 76.9 km (47.8 mi) in about 1 hr 2 min and costs a fixed fare from €82 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Heraklion Airport, or the departure run back from Platanias - Rethymno 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 | €82 |
|
SUV | Skoda Karoq | up to 4 | 4 | €92 |
|
Premium | Mercedes E Class, Skoda Kodiaq, Jeep Compass | up to 4 | 4 | €100 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €125 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €170 |
|
Bus | Coach Bus | up to 52 | 30 | €405 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Platanias - Rethymno 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 Platanias - Rethymno: 76.9 km (47.8 mi), about 1 hr 2 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.
Platanias is a beach settlement immediately east of Rethymno, on the long sand strip that runs from the city towards Sfakaki. Platanias in Rethymno should not be confused with the larger Platanias west of Chania: the two share a name and sit on opposite sides of the island.
The strip here is hotels, apartments and tavernas set between the beach and the old coast road, with the national road behind them.
Rethymno's old town is close enough to walk to along the seafront for anyone staying at the western end, which is the main reason people pick this stretch over the resorts further east.
We drop you at the door of your hotel, apartment or villa anywhere along the strip.
Addresses here are usually given by hotel name rather than street number, and the strip runs for several kilometres. Give the accommodation name at booking so the driver takes the right turning off the coast road.
The drive runs west along the north coast for 76.9 kilometres and takes about 1 hr 2 min. Platanias sits on the beach strip east of Rethymno, so this route reaches it before the city rather than after, and the transfer is shorter than the one to Rethymno town itself.
The car joins the national road at the edge of Heraklion and passes the city on its seaward side, with Ammoudara marking the end of the built-up area.
The coast follows: the cliffs above Agia Pelagia, the valley at Fodele, then the inland section behind the headlands where Bali and Panormos sit below their own turnings, out of sight from the road.
Skaleta returns the road to the shore, and the beach strip begins. Sfakaki, Adelianos Kampos and Platanias run together along the same sand, and the exit for Platanias comes before the Rethymno bypass, which is why the drive ends a few minutes sooner than a town address would take. The four settlements on this beach are effectively one strip with four names, and the practical differences are small: how far you are from Rethymno's old town, and whether the hotel sits on the beach road or behind the national road. Platanias is the closest of them to the city.
The KTEL intercity coach passes on the national road above the strip but does not serve it.
Reaching a hotel here by public transport means the coach to Rethymno, then a local bus or taxi back east along the beach road. That is two changes after first getting from the airport into Heraklion's bus station.
Your driver takes you to the door of your accommodation in Platanias - Rethymno. 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 Platanias - Rethymno 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: 76.9 km (47.8 mi), about 1 hr 2 min, and the same fixed fare from €82 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Platanias - Rethymno at the agreed time and takes you straight to Heraklion Airport.
Platanias back to Heraklion Airport is the same 76.9 kilometres in reverse, at the same fixed fare.
The strip feeds onto the national road through a small number of junctions, so an early departure is quicker from here than from an address inside Rethymno.
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 Platanias we work back from your flight: about 1 hr 2 min of driving, plus the check-in and security time your airline asks for, plus a buffer for the Heraklion approach.
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 Platanias - Rethymno 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 Platanias costs a fixed €82 for a Standard car carrying up to 3 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €125.
No. Two places on Crete carry the name, and this route serves the one on the beach strip east of Rethymno. The Platanias west of Chania is a separate destination on the other side of the island.
Yes, slightly. Platanias is 76.9 kilometres from Heraklion Airport against 80.5 to Rethymno town, because the strip is reached before the city on this road.
Adelianos Kampos is the next stretch of the same beach, at 75.0 kilometres from Heraklion Airport. It is booked as its own transfer.
Platanias. Adelianos Kampos, Sfakaki and Skaleta follow it eastward along the same sand.
From the western end, along the seafront, comfortably. Further east it becomes a long walk in the heat and most guests take the bus or a taxi for an evening in the old town.
Most of them sit between the beach and the old coast road, with the national road behind. The car leaves the national road and comes in on the old one, which is where the entrances are.
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 €82 for a Standard car to Platanias - Rethymno.
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 Platanias - Rethymno and Platanias - Rethymno to Heraklion Airport are the same journey at the same fixed €82, 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 taxi in Crete we run, from the airports and ports to the resorts and villages along both coasts.