A private transfer from Heraklion Port to Kournas covers 105.0 km (65.2 mi) in about 1 hr 47 min and costs a fixed fare from €115 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Heraklion Port, 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 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 Kournas: 105.0 km (65.2 mi), about 1 hr 47 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.
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 car leaves the port gate for the national road and covers 105.0 kilometres in about 1 hr 47 min, the last few of them climbing off the coast to the lake.
The first ninety minutes are the north coast. Ammoudara, Agia Pelagia and Lygaria pass early, then Fodele, Bali and Panormos take the headlands, and Rethymno comes at 77.8 kilometres from the quay.
West of Rethymno the road runs to the Almyros and the Georgioupolis beach, and the turning inland is signposted from there.
The last stretch is what this route is really about, and it does not look like much on a distance table. Kavros, on the coast below, is 104.0 kilometres from the port and Kournas is 105.0 — one kilometre more. The quoted time is 17 minutes longer and the Standard fare €10 higher, at €115 against €105, because that final kilometre is a narrow road climbing into the hills rather than national road.
The lake sits in a bowl below the village, enclosed by hills on three sides with no building around most of its shore. It is the only natural freshwater lake on Crete, and its level and colour shift through the year as the springs feeding it rise and fall.
Kournas has two arrival points and they are not the same place. The village is agricultural and sits above; the lake shore with its tavernas and pedal boats is a couple of kilometres down a narrow road. Say which one you need at booking, and give the property name if you are staying rather than visiting.
There is no useful public route to Kournas from the port.
The Heraklion to Chania coach stops at Georgioupolis on the national road below, and the lake is a climb from there on foot or by local taxi. After an overnight crossing, that is the city bus station, a coach and a second vehicle before you reach the water.
The return leg is the same journey in reverse: 105.0 km (65.2 mi), about 1 hr 47 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 Port.
Kournas back to Heraklion Port covers the same 105.0 kilometres at the same fixed price.
The descent to the coast opens the return and the national road carries the rest of it. A pickup from the village is set a few minutes earlier than one from the lake shore, since the narrow road takes the time it takes.
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.
Allow about 1 hr 47 min of driving, the boarding time your ferry or cruise line asks for, and extra minutes for the hill road at the start.
Send the operator and sailing when you book. The pickup is calculated from boarding and printed 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 Port 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 Port to Kournas costs a fixed €115 for a Standard car carrying up to 3 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €152.
The kilometre is a climb on a narrow hill road rather than national road. Kavros on the coast is 104.0 kilometres from the port at about 1 hr 30 min, and Kournas is 105.0 at about 1 hr 47 min.
Two separate points a couple of kilometres apart on the same narrow road. Say which you want at booking, since the driver takes a different turning for each.
It is the only natural freshwater lake on the island, ringed by hills with almost nothing built around it. Pedal boats and tavernas work one shore in summer and the rest is left alone.
Book the return leg as its own transfer with a time on it. The fare is fixed per vehicle in each direction rather than charged for waiting.
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 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 Kournas and Kournas to Heraklion Port 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 Crete taxi we run, from the airports and ports to the resorts and villages along both coasts.