A private transfer from Heraklion Port to Plaka beside Elounda covers 75.9 km (47.2 mi) in about 1 hr 12 min and costs a fixed fare from €78 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Heraklion Port, or the departure run back from Plaka - Elounda 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 | €78 |
|
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 | €130 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €195 |
|
Bus | Coach Bus | up to 52 | 30 | €460 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Plaka - Elounda 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 Plaka - Elounda: 75.9 km (47.2 mi), about 1 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.
Plaka is a small village on the coast north of Elounda, facing Spinalonga across a narrow channel. Plaka is the closest point on the mainland to the island, and the crossing from here is the shortest of the boat trips that visit it.
The village is a short line of tavernas and rooms along a pebble shore, with the fishing boats pulled up beside them.
Development stops at Plaka. The road continues north into empty country, which is why the village stays quiet even though it sits at the end of the Elounda hotel strip.
We drop you at the door of your hotel, apartment or villa, in the village or along the coast road approaching it.
Plaka is small and its lanes run down to the water. Your driver uses the nearest point a car can turn and tells you where that is before the day.
The car leaves the port gate, joins the coast road east of the harbour and is on the national road within a couple of minutes, without crossing the city.
The drive covers 75.9 kilometres in about 1 hr 12 min and ends at the last village on the Elounda coast road, 5 kilometres beyond Elounda itself.
The route east is the national road to Agios Nikolaos, then the climb north above Mirabello Bay through Elounda and on.
Plaka faces Spinalonga across a channel a few hundred metres wide, and the boats that cross from here make the shortest trip out to the island.
An early arrival is quieter here than anywhere else on this coast. Plaka is a short line of tavernas along a pebble shore with the road ending beyond it, so a dawn docking puts you in a village with nothing open and nothing moving, which some people find the best part of the trip and others find a long wait. The Elounda coast road is priced by point rather than as a stretch. Agios Nikolaos is 63.2 kilometres from this port, Ammoudara 67.5, Elounda 70.8 and Plaka 75.9, and each is a separate booking so the driver knows which end of the bay to finish at.
There is effectively no public route to Plaka after a ferry.
A coach to Agios Nikolaos, a local bus to Elounda, then a final 5 kilometres with very little scheduled service outside the summer weeks. All of it starts from Heraklion's bus station rather than the quay.
Your driver takes you to the door of your accommodation in Plaka - Elounda. 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 Plaka - Elounda 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: 75.9 km (47.2 mi), about 1 hr 12 min, and the same fixed fare from €78 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Plaka - Elounda at the agreed time and takes you straight to Heraklion Port.
Plaka back to the port is the same 75.9 kilometres at the same fixed price.
The coast road south is slower in the morning when the Elounda hotel traffic is moving, so departures from Plaka are set earlier than the distance suggests.
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.
Work back from boarding rather than the printed sailing: about 1 hr 12 min of driving, the terminal time required, and a margin for the coast road and the resort strip nearer Heraklion.
Send the operator and sailing with the booking and the time is calculated for you.
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 Plaka - Elounda 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 Plaka costs a fixed €78 for a Standard car carrying up to 3 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €130.
Elounda is 70.8 kilometres from Heraklion Port and Plaka 75.9, so about 5 kilometres of coast road separates them.
Yes. The channel here is a few hundred metres wide and the crossing is the shortest of the boat trips to the island.
Very little. Plaka is small and the road ends beyond it, so an early docking means a quiet wait rather than a choice of cafes.
Ammoudara at 67.5 kilometres from the port and Elounda at 70.8, with Plaka the last of them at 75.9.
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 €78 for a Standard car to Plaka - Elounda.
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 Plaka - Elounda and Plaka - Elounda to Heraklion Port are the same journey at the same fixed €78, 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.