A private transfer from Heraklion Port to Plakias covers 111.0 km (69.0 mi) in about 1 hr 55 min and costs a fixed fare from €105 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Heraklion Port, or the departure run back from Plakias 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 | €105 |
|
SUV | Skoda Karoq | up to 4 | 4 | €133 |
|
Premium | Mercedes E Class, Skoda Kodiaq, Jeep Compass | up to 4 | 4 | €140 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €160 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €300 |
|
Bus | Coach Bus | up to 52 | 30 | €665 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Plakias 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 Plakias: 111.0 km (69.0 mi), about 1 hr 55 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.
Plakias is a resort on the south coast of the Rethymno region, set on a wide bay backed by mountains, with one long sand beach running the width of it. Plakias is reached from the north coast through the Kourtaliotiko gorge, a steep-sided ravine that the road descends for several kilometres before the sea appears.
The resort is low-rise and strung along the bay, with the tavernas and shops on the front and the accommodation behind and above them.
Several smaller beaches sit within a few kilometres, and the palm-lined river valley at Preveli, with its monastery above, lies to the east.
We drop you at the door of your hotel, apartment or villa, on the front or on the slopes behind it.
Plakias spreads further back from the beach than it looks from the bay. Give the property name at booking, since many of the roads inland from the front are unnamed.
The car leaves the port gate, runs west along the coast, then turns south through the mountains to the Libyan Sea, 111.0 kilometres in about 1 hr 55 min.
The coastal hour comes first, past the cliffs and the inland stretch to Rethymno at 77.8 kilometres from the quay.
South of the city the road climbs past Armeni and crosses into the hills, and the descent runs through the Kourtaliotiko gorge, a narrow ravine the road follows for several kilometres before the valley opens towards the sea.
Plakias appears at the end of it, on a wide bay with mountains directly behind and one long sand beach across the width of it.
After a six o'clock docking the gorge is driven in early light, which is the best time to see it and a slower time to drive it. The timing on this page allows for the road rather than assuming national-road speed all the way. Southern Rethymno is a genuinely different climate from the north coast, and the mountains between them are the reason. Crossing from one to the other in under two hours is the appeal of this route rather than the distance covered.
The public route needs two coaches and good timing.
Heraklion to Rethymno takes about 90 minutes from the city's bus station, and the southbound service to Plakias runs only a few times a day. Missing the connection costs hours, and the first leg starts after you have got from the quay into the city.
Your driver takes you to the door of your accommodation in Plakias. 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 Plakias 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: 111.0 km (69.0 mi), about 1 hr 55 min, and the same fixed fare from €105 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Plakias at the agreed time and takes you straight to Heraklion Port.
Plakias back to the port is the same 111.0 kilometres at the same fixed fare.
Northbound the gorge is a climb, and the Heraklion approach follows at the far end. Evening sailings mean crossing both in the afternoon.
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.
One hour fifty-five of driving, the terminal time required by your ferry line, and a real margin for the gorge and the Heraklion approach.
Give us the operator and sailing at booking and the pickup 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 Plakias 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 Plakias costs a fixed €105 for a Standard car carrying up to 3 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €160.
A surfaced road with a steady descent and bends, followed for several kilometres. It is slower than the national road, which the timing allows for.
It lies east of Plakias, with its palm-lined river valley and the monastery above it.
No. The route needs a coach from Heraklion's bus station and a second from Rethymno.
The mountains between the two shores separate them. Plakias is often clear when the north coast is not.
A long sand beach filling the whole width of it, backed by mountains, and open enough that it catches the wind on a blowy day. It is one of the largest beaches on the south coast.
Damnoni, Souda and a string of coves lie within a few kilometres east, all reached by their own short roads down from the plateau.
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 €105 for a Standard car to Plakias.
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 Plakias and Plakias to Heraklion Port are the same journey at the same fixed €105, 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.