A private transfer from Heraklion Port to Paleochora covers 206.0 km (128.0 mi) in about 3 hr 12 min and costs a fixed fare from €215 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Heraklion Port, or the departure run back from Paleochora 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 | €215 |
|
SUV | Skoda Karoq | up to 4 | 4 | €230 |
|
Premium | Mercedes E Class, Skoda Kodiaq, Jeep Compass | up to 4 | 4 | €240 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €280 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €504 |
|
Bus | Coach Bus | up to 52 | 30 | €1,100 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Paleochora 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 Paleochora: 206.0 km (128.0 mi), about 3 hr 12 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.
Paleochora is a town on the south-west coast of Crete, built across a short peninsula with a beach on each side: sand to the west, shingle to the east. Paleochora is the largest settlement on this coast and the one with a full range of shops, banks and tavernas, which is why it is used as a base rather than only as a stop.
The ruins of the Venetian castle of Selino stand on the point at the end of the peninsula, above both beaches.
Paleochora is also a ferry town. The coastal boat that links the villages of the south west, Sougia, Agia Roumeli, Loutro and Chora Sfakion, runs from here, and several of those places have no road access at all.
We drop you at the door of your hotel, apartment or villa, on either beach or in the streets between them.
The centre of Paleochora is closed to vehicles in the evenings through the summer. Where that applies your driver stops at the nearest permitted point and confirms it in advance.
The car leaves the port gate for the national road west and covers 206.0 kilometres in about 3 hr 12 min to the town on the south-west coast.
Both ends of this journey are quays, which is worth knowing if the boat is the point of the trip. Heraklion takes the overnight from Piraeus; Paleochora runs the coastal ferry along the south-west shore to Sougia, Agia Roumeli, Loutro and Chora Sfakion, several of which have no road access at all.
It is also the best value on the western list from this quay, and by a clear margin. Paleochora is €215 for a Standard car at 206.0 kilometres. Fallasarna, 19 kilometres nearer at 187.0, is €250. Kissamos at 173.0 is €190.
The first two thirds are the north coast. Ammoudara and Agia Pelagia pass early, Fodele, Bali and Panormos take the headlands, and Rethymno comes at 77.8 kilometres.
Georgioupolis, Apokoronas and the climb over Aptera follow, Chania is skirted at 139.0 kilometres, and the western strip runs out to Maleme.
At Tavronitis the road leaves the sea. It climbs into Selino, the hill district behind the south-west corner, through olive terraces and small villages on single carriageway with a long succession of bends, and the Libyan Sea appears only on the descent at the end.
Paleochora is built across a short peninsula with a beach on each side, sand to the west and shingle to the east, and the ruined Venetian castle of Selino stands on the point above both.
The centre closes to vehicles in the evenings through the summer, so where that applies your driver stops at the nearest permitted point and confirms it in advance rather than at the end of a three-hour drive.
The public route is two coaches and most of a day.
Heraklion to Chania takes close to three hours, the Paleochora bus leaves Chania's station a few times a day and takes around two more over the hill road, and reaching the first coach from the quay comes before either. A missed second connection can mean the following morning.
Your driver takes you to the door of your accommodation in Paleochora. 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 Paleochora 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: 206.0 km (128.0 mi), about 3 hr 12 min, and the same fixed fare from €215 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Paleochora at the agreed time and takes you straight to Heraklion Port.
Paleochora back to Heraklion Port covers the same 206.0 kilometres at the same fixed price.
The Selino hills fill the first hour and are slower northbound than south. Evening sailings from Heraklion suit this route: a mid-morning pickup here arrives with the afternoon to spare.
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 3 hr 12 min of driving, the boarding time your ferry or cruise line requires, and a real margin for the hill road out of Selino.
Give us the operator and sailing at booking. On a run of this length the pickup is calculated rather than estimated, and the time is 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 Paleochora 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 Paleochora costs a fixed €215 for a Standard car carrying up to 3 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €280.
Fallasarna is 187.0 kilometres from the quay at €250 for a Standard car and Paleochora 206.0 at €215. The bands do not follow the distance on the western routes.
The coastal boat along the south-west shore, calling at Sougia, Agia Roumeli, Loutro and Chora Sfakion. Several of those villages have no road at all.
Through the day, yes. The centre closes to vehicles in the evenings in summer, and your driver then uses the nearest permitted point and tells you which before the day.
Paleochora has two, sand on the west side of the peninsula and shingle on the east, with the ruined castle on the point between them. Give the property name at booking.
In summer, from this quay and from Chora Sfakion. Gavdos crossings depend on the weather in a way the coastal boats do not, so leave a spare day either side if the island is the point of the trip.
More than most on this coast. Paleochora has year-round shops, banks and a school, so a booking in November lands somewhere that is still functioning rather than shuttered.
Selino, a ruined Venetian fort on the neck of the peninsula between the two beaches. It is a short walk up from either side and the view along the coast is the reason to do it.
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 €215 for a Standard car to Paleochora.
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 Paleochora and Paleochora to Heraklion Port are the same journey at the same fixed €215, 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.