A private transfer from Heraklion Town to Malia covers 36.2 km (22.5 mi) in about 34 minutes and costs a fixed fare from €45 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Heraklion Town, or the departure run back from Malia 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 | €45 |
|
SUV | Skoda Karoq | up to 4 | 4 | €50 |
|
Premium | Mercedes E Class, Skoda Kodiaq, Jeep Compass | up to 4 | 4 | €55 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €65 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €110 |
|
Bus | Coach Bus | up to 52 | 30 | €225 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Malia back to Heraklion Town costs the same as the arrival leg. Child and booster seats are added at booking, at no extra charge.
Your driver comes to the door of your hotel, apartment or address in Heraklion at the time on your voucher. City pickups are door-to-door, so there is no meeting point to find and no walk with luggage.
Heraklion is Crete's capital and largest city, and its centre is a dense grid of one-way and pedestrianised streets inside the Venetian walls. Heraklion's older streets will not take a vehicle at all, so where an address sits behind a pedestrian zone the driver arranges the nearest point a car can legally stop and tells you where that is before the day.
Give the exact address and the hotel name when you book. A street name alone is not always enough in the centre, where numbering restarts across districts.
Journeys east towards Hersonissos, Malia and Agios Nikolaos leave on the national road without crossing the centre. Journeys south to Matala and the Messara plain climb out through the Venetian gate and over the hills.
At your accommodation's entrance, or the closest legal stopping point when the address sits inside a pedestrian zone.
Your driver calls ahead if there is any doubt about where the vehicle can wait.
Give us the pickup address and a contact number at booking. Your driver waits at the agreed time and calls if the entrance is not accessible.
Tell us as early as you can if your plans change, so the driver can be rescheduled.
Malia is a resort town on the north coast east of Chersonissos, known for two things that sit about a kilometre apart: the nightlife strip, and the Minoan palace. Malia's beach is one of the longest stretches of sand on this coast, running east from the town towards the dunes at Potamos.
The old village sits inland from the beach and is a different place entirely, with a square, a church and tavernas that have nothing to do with the strip. Visitors who book Malia for the archaeology and the beach rather than the bars generally stay in the village or at the quieter eastern end.
The Minoan Palace of Malia lies about 3 kilometres east of the town and is the third largest palace complex on the island, after Knossos and Phaistos.
We drop you at the door of your hotel, apartment or villa, whether that is on the beach road, in the old village or out towards Potamos.
The main strip is busy and partly pedestrianised at night. Where the entrance is not reachable, the driver stops at the closest legal point and tells you where that is in advance.
The drive runs east along the coast for 36.2 kilometres and takes about 34 minutes. Half of that time is spent on the first 10 kilometres, because leaving Heraklion and joining the national road is slower than anything that follows.
Your driver picks up the national road above the port and passes Karteros and Amnissos within a few minutes of the centre. These are the city's own beaches, close enough that people drive out to them after work, and they mark the point where Heraklion stops and the coast road proper begins.
Kokkini Hani, Gournes and Gouves follow in quick succession, each a resort in its own right and each signposted off the road rather than sitting on it. After Gouves the road passes the exits for Anissaras and for the hill villages of Piskopiano and Koutouloufari, then Chersonissos and Stalida, which run into Malia without a real gap between them.
About 34 minutes is the normal figure. The Chersonissos to Malia section is the slowest part in peak season, and a mid-afternoon run in August is the case where the drive takes noticeably longer than the distance suggests.
The resorts before Malia are all sold separately from a Heraklion pickup, which is worth knowing when the accommodation is still being chosen. Kokkini Hani is 14.0 kilometres from the city, Gouves 19.5 and Chersonissos 26.7, against 36.2 to Malia, and each of those is a shorter and cheaper transfer rather than the same fare.
The KTEL coastal bus runs frequently between Heraklion and Malia and is the cheapest way to cover the route.
It starts from Heraklion's bus station rather than your address, and it sets you down on the main road above Malia rather than at your accommodation, leaving a walk down to the beach area or up into the village. Over 36 kilometres the fare difference is real; the walk at the far end in August heat is what people weigh against it.
Your driver takes you to the door of your accommodation in Malia. 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 Malia 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: 36.2 km (22.5 mi), about 34 min, and the same fixed fare from €45 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Malia at the agreed time and takes you straight to Heraklion Town.
Malia back to Heraklion is the same 36.2 kilometres in reverse, at the same fixed fare.
Westbound traffic towards the city builds from about 07:00, so a morning pickup is set earlier than the drive time alone would need.
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.
For a departure from Malia we work back from whatever you need to reach: about 34 minutes of driving, plus any check-in or terminal time, plus a buffer for the westbound coast road and the Heraklion end.
Tell us the flight, the sailing or the appointment at booking, and the exact pickup time is confirmed 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 Town to Malia 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 Town to Malia costs a fixed €45 for a Standard car carrying up to 3 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €65, and the fare covers the vehicle rather than each seat in it.
About 34 min for the 36.2 km (22.5 mi) route. Leaving the city takes roughly half the total time, and the Chersonissos to Malia stretch is the other part that slows in season.
Yes. The KTEL coastal bus runs frequently and cheaply from Heraklion's bus station, stopping on the main road above Malia rather than at individual hotels.
Yes, bookings are taken around the clock and the fare does not change by the hour. Give a pickup time when you book, so the driver is assigned rather than found on the night.
Kokkini Hani at 14.0 kilometres, Gouves at 19.5 and Chersonissos at 26.7 all sit between the city and Malia, which is 36.2 kilometres out. Each is booked as its own transfer with its own fixed fare.
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 €45 for a Standard car to Malia.
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.
The driver arranges the nearest legal stopping point and confirms it before the day, so nobody is left waiting on a pedestrianised lane. Give the accommodation name as well as the street when you book.
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 Town to Malia and Malia to Heraklion Town are the same journey at the same fixed €45, 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.