A private transfer from Heraklion Port to Palekastro covers 146.0 km (90.7 mi) in about 2 hr 28 min and costs a fixed fare from €155 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Heraklion Port, or the departure run back from Palekastro 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 | €155 |
|
SUV | Skoda Karoq | up to 4 | 4 | €184 |
|
Premium | Mercedes E Class, Skoda Kodiaq, Jeep Compass | up to 4 | 4 | €190 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €220 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €350 |
|
Bus | Coach Bus | up to 52 | 30 | €575 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Palekastro 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 Palekastro: 146.0 km (90.7 mi), about 2 hr 28 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.
Palekastro is a village in the far east of Crete, inland of the coast between Sitia and the Vai palm forest. Palekastro is a working agricultural village with a square and tavernas, and it serves as the base for the beaches and the Minoan site nearby rather than being a resort itself.
Kouremenos beach, a few kilometres away, is the main windsurfing beach on this side of the island because of the wind that funnels down this coast in summer.
The Minoan town at Roussolakkos lies between the village and the sea, and Vai and Itanos are a short drive north.
We drop you at the door of your house, rooms or apartment in the village or out towards the beaches.
Palekastro's accommodation is split between the village and the coast a few kilometres away. Say which you need at booking and give the property name.
The car leaves the port gate for the national road east and covers 146.0 kilometres in about 2 hr 28 min to the village in the far eastern corner of Crete.
Sixteen kilometres past Sitia costs five euros. Sitia is 130.0 kilometres from the quay at €150 for a Standard car and Palekastro 146.0 at €155, so anyone planning to book the town and cover the rest another way is paying more in effort than the fare saves.
The eastern resort coast fills the first half hour, past Gouves and Chersonissos to Malia, then Sissi and Milatos before the shore empties.
Agios Nikolaos passes at 63.2 kilometres and Istron at 74.1, the road climbs into the eastern hills past the Mochlos turning at 98.3, and Sitia comes at 130.0. The last stretch crosses the neck of the island to the eastern shore.
Palekastro is a working agricultural village with a square and tavernas, not a resort, and its accommodation splits between the village itself and the coast a few kilometres away. Say which you need at booking, because the two are a drive apart rather than a walk.
Kouremenos, one of those beaches, is the main windsurfing spot in eastern Crete, and the reason is the wind that funnels down this coast through the summer. Chiona is the other, on the same short stretch of shore.
Roussolakkos, the Minoan town excavated here, lies between the village and the sea, and Vai with its palm forest and the site at Itanos are a short drive north. This corner is what people come for, and Palekastro is the only place in it with a square and a shop.
Marina Village, Hotel Hellas, Hiona Holiday Hotel, Kouremenos Beach Apartments and Thalia are among the properties across the village and the coast.
The KTEL coach reaches Sitia from Heraklion in around three and a half hours, and a local service continues east to Palekastro a few times a day.
From the quay that is the city bus station, the long coach, a change at Sitia, and a set-down in the village square with the beaches still a few kilometres off. Outside the summer the local service thins to the point where a same-day connection cannot be relied on.
Your driver takes you to the door of your accommodation in Palekastro. 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 Palekastro 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: 146.0 km (90.7 mi), about 2 hr 28 min, and the same fixed fare from €155 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Palekastro at the agreed time and takes you straight to Heraklion Port.
Palekastro back to Heraklion Port covers the same 146.0 kilometres at the same fixed price.
The crossing to Sitia and the eastern hill road fill the first hour and are slower before dawn. Piraeus sailings leave Heraklion in the evening, which suits this route: a late-morning pickup arrives with the afternoon in hand.
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 2 hr 28 min of driving, the boarding time your ferry or cruise line requires, and a real margin for the eastern hills.
Give us the operator and sailing at booking. On a route this long the pickup is calculated rather than estimated, and the time goes 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 Palekastro 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 Palekastro costs a fixed €155 for a Standard car carrying up to 3 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €220.
Five euros for a Standard car, over 16 kilometres more road. Sitia is 130.0 kilometres from the quay at €150 and Palekastro 146.0 at €155.
Accommodation here is split between the two, a few kilometres apart. Say which you need at booking and give the property name.
The wind funnels down this coast through the summer, which makes Kouremenos the main windsurfing beach in eastern Crete. Chiona is the other beach on the same stretch.
A short drive north, through the last farmland before the eastern tip. The palm forest there is the largest in Europe and it is the reason many guests base themselves at Palekastro rather than at Sitia.
The remains of an ancient city on the shore beyond Vai, with beaches either side of it and almost nothing built. It is the far corner of the island and the road ends not long after.
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 €155 for a Standard car to Palekastro.
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 Palekastro and Palekastro to Heraklion Port are the same journey at the same fixed €155, 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.