A private transfer from Heraklion Port to Karteros covers 7.7 km (4.8 mi) in about 14 minutes and costs a fixed fare from €36 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Heraklion Port, or the departure run back from Karteros 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 | €36 |
|
SUV | Skoda Karoq | up to 4 | 4 | €40 |
|
Premium | Mercedes E Class, Skoda Kodiaq, Jeep Compass | up to 4 | 4 | €45 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €55 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €80 |
|
Bus | Coach Bus | up to 52 | 30 | €150 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Karteros back to Heraklion Port 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 Port to Karteros: 7.7 km (4.8 mi), about 14 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 in front of the Passenger Terminal at Heraklion Port, holding a banner with your name and the company name on it. Ferry arrivals cluster, so the terminal forecourt fills quickly; the banner is what makes your car findable in it.
Heraklion Port sits inside the city, a few minutes from the centre and about 4 kilometres from the airport. Heraklion Port is the island's main ferry gateway, taking the overnight sailings from Piraeus as well as the routes from Santorini, Mykonos, Paros and Naxos.
Overnight ferries from Piraeus dock early in the morning, which is the port's busiest window and the one where on-demand taxis are hardest to find. A pre-booked car is already waiting when the ramp goes down.
Cruise calls berth at the same port area and follow the same procedure.
In front of the Passenger Terminal, where your driver waits with a banner showing your name and ours.
Stay at the terminal rather than walking out to the road. The port approach is one-way and busy at docking time, and the vehicle cannot stop on it.
Give us your ferry or cruise line and arrival time at booking. We track sailing arrivals as well as flights, so a late docking moves the pickup rather than costing you the transfer.
Tell us as early as you can if your sailing is cancelled or diverted to another port, so the driver can be reassigned.
Karteros is a beach immediately east of Heraklion, at the mouth of a gorge that runs down to the sea. Karteros is one of the two beaches the city uses itself, alongside Amnissos next door, which gives it a different character from the resorts further east: busiest at weekends, quieter mid-week in high season.
The beach is sand and shingle, backed by tavernas along the coast road rather than by hotels.
Its position is the practical point. Heraklion Airport is 5.8 kilometres away, closer than any resort, and the city centre is a short drive west.
We drop you at the door of your accommodation, on the coast road or in the streets behind it.
Karteros is small and its addresses are usually given by property name rather than number. Give that name at booking as well as the area.
The car leaves the port gate and turns east along the shore, 7.7 kilometres in about 14 minutes. Karteros is the first beach past the city on this side, at the mouth of a gorge that runs down to the sea.
The road east of the harbour joins the national road within a couple of minutes and the city is behind you almost immediately.
Karteros and Amnissos share this stretch and both are beaches Heraklion uses itself rather than resorts. That shows in the rhythm of the place: crowded on a Sunday, near empty on a Wednesday in the same week of August.
For a dawn arrival that pattern works in your favour. A boat docking at six puts you on a beach that will not fill for another five hours, on a stretch of coast where the tavernas open onto the sand rather than onto a strip. Distances from the quay to the near beaches are short enough that the fare is effectively flat: Ammoudara 6.1 kilometres, Karteros 7.7, Amnissos 9.0 and Kokkini Hani 13.4 all sit within a quarter of an hour of the terminal. The gorge behind the beach carries a road up to the villages on the slopes above Heraklion, and the walk in from the coast is short. On a cruise call that makes this one of the few stops near the quay with something to do besides swim.
The coastal bus towards the eastern resorts stops near Karteros but runs from Heraklion's bus station, not the quay.
After a night on the boat that means the walk into the city first, then a wait for a departure, to cover 7.7 kilometres. The bus also sets you on the main road above rather than at the beach.
Your driver takes you to the door of your accommodation in Karteros. 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 Karteros 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: 7.7 km (4.8 mi), about 14 min, and the same fixed fare from €36 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Karteros at the agreed time and takes you straight to Heraklion Port.
Karteros back to the port is the same 7.7 kilometres at the same fixed price.
The run is short enough that traffic rarely changes it, so a departure from here needs the smallest margin of any route we sell from this quay.
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.
Fourteen minutes of driving plus whatever terminal time your ferry line requires, and very little else.
Send the operator and sailing time with your booking and the pickup is calculated against boarding.
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 Port to Karteros 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 Port to Karteros costs a fixed €36 for a Standard car carrying up to 3 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €55.
No. Karteros is one of the beaches Heraklion uses itself, which is why it fills at weekends rather than through the week.
Amnissos is 9.0 kilometres from this port against 7.7 to Karteros, on the same stretch of shore.
A gorge running inland, with the road following it up towards the villages behind the coast.
Ammoudara at 6.1 kilometres, west of the city. Karteros at 7.7 and Amnissos at 9.0 are the nearest to the east.
A gorge runs inland behind it with a road and a short walk up into it, which is unusual this close to the port.
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 €36 for a Standard car to Karteros.
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 ferry operator and sailing time when you book. We track arrivals, so a late docking moves the pickup rather than costing you the transfer.
In front of the passenger terminal, where the driver waits with a banner showing your name and ours. Ferry passengers all reach the quay at once, which is what the banner is for.
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 Port to Karteros and Karteros to Heraklion Port are the same journey at the same fixed €36, 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.