A private transfer from Souda Port to Aptera covers 7.6 km (4.7 mi) in about 11 minutes and costs a fixed fare from €18 per vehicle, not per person.
One booking covers the journey in either direction: arrival from Souda Port, or the departure run back from Aptera 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SUV | Skoda Karoq | up to 4 | 4 | €18 |
|
Minivan | Peugeot Traveller, Mercedes Vito | up to 8 | 8 | €27 |
|
Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter | up to 18 | 18 | €64 |
The same fare applies in both directions: Aptera back to Souda 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 Souda Port to Aptera: 7.6 km (4.7 mi), about 11 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 Souda Port, holding a banner with your name and the company name on it. Ferry passengers all disembark at once, so the banner is what makes your car findable in the crowd leaving the ramp.
Souda Port sits in Souda Bay, a deep natural harbour east of Chania, and is the ferry gateway for the whole of western Crete. Souda Port takes the overnight sailing from Piraeus, which docks early in the morning and empties several hundred foot passengers onto the quay at once.
That early docking is the reason pre-booking matters here more than at an airport. Taxi supply at Souda is thin at 06:00, and the queue forms before the ramp is down.
The port road joins the national road within a few minutes, so eastbound journeys to Georgioupolis, Rethymno and beyond leave directly without crossing Chania.
In front of the passenger terminal, where your driver waits with a banner showing your name and ours.
Wait at the terminal rather than walking towards the port gate. The quay is a working port with restricted vehicle access, and the car cannot meet you on it.
Give us your ferry operator and arrival time at booking. We track sailing arrivals, 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, so the driver can be reassigned.
Aptera is an archaeological site on a plateau above Souda Bay, east of Chania, with a small modern settlement beside it. Aptera was a Greek city that continued through the Roman period, and what survives is unusually varied: Roman cisterns, a small theatre, stretches of city wall, and a Turkish fort on the edge of the plateau.
The position is the point of the place. The plateau looks straight down the length of Souda Bay, and the whole inlet is visible from the site.
There is very little accommodation here. Most visits are made from Chania or from the Apokoronas villages below.
We drop you at the site entrance or at your accommodation in the settlement beside it.
The road up to the plateau is narrow and the site has fixed opening hours. Tell us at booking whether you want the site or an address nearby, and check the hours if you are arriving late in the day.
The drive climbs 7.6 kilometres from the quay in about 11 minutes, onto the plateau directly above the bay you have just sailed into.
This is the shortest transfer sold from Souda and the only one where you can see the start of it from the end. Aptera sits on the edge of the escarpment, and the view from the ancient walls runs the full length of Souda Bay, ships and all. Passengers who take it in the morning can pick out the berth their ferry is still tied up at.
Your driver meets you in front of the passenger terminal with a banner, and the road leaves the port and climbs almost immediately. There is no coastal stretch and no city to cross: the whole journey is the ascent.
The site at the top is the ancient city of Aptera, which held this ground because it commanded the bay. What survives best are the Roman cisterns, vaulted and largely intact, with stretches of the city wall and a small theatre nearby. A Turkish fort stands on the plateau edge above the drop, built for the same reason the Greeks chose the spot.
Below on the far side, Kalyves and the Apokoronas coast open out, which is the other reason the position was worth holding.
Kiani Beach Resort, Aptera Paradise and Paradise Aptera are the properties in the area, spread between the plateau and the shore below it rather than gathered in a village.
The fare starts at an SUV here rather than a Standard car, and at €18 for a party of four it is the cheapest transfer on the Souda list by a wide margin.
There is no bus from the port up to the site.
The Chania to Vrisses coaches pass along the national road below the escarpment, which leaves a climb of several kilometres up the access road with no pavement. Almost everyone arrives by car, and most of those are day visitors from Chania rather than passengers off a boat.
Your driver takes you to the door of your accommodation in Aptera. 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 Aptera 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: 7.6 km (4.7 mi), about 11 min, and the same fixed fare from €18 per vehicle. Your driver collects you from your accommodation in Aptera at the agreed time and takes you straight to Souda Port.
Aptera back to Souda Port covers the same 7.6 kilometres at the same fixed price.
The descent is quick and the port is in sight for most of it. Sailings to Piraeus leave in the evening, so a late-afternoon pickup from the site gives time to see it properly and still make boarding.
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 11 minutes of driving, the boarding time your ferry line requires, and a few minutes for the access road.
Give us the operator and sailing at booking, and the pickup is set against boarding rather than the printed departure.
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 Souda Port to Aptera 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 Souda Port to Aptera costs a fixed €18 for an SUV carrying up to 4 passengers. A Minivan for up to 8 people is €27.
It is. Aptera is 7.6 kilometres from the quay, straight up the escarpment, with no coast road and no city crossing in between.
The Roman cisterns are the best preserved part, along with stretches of the city wall and a small theatre. The Turkish fort on the plateau edge is later and is where the view over the bay is best.
Along its full length, including the port. It is the reason the city was built there and the reason the fort was put on the same ground.
Say so at booking. There is no rank at the site and no passing traffic to flag down, so the return has to be arranged rather than found.
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 €18 for a Standard car to Aptera.
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. Souda Port to Aptera and Aptera to Souda Port are the same journey at the same fixed €18, 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 private transfers in Crete we run, from the airports and ports to the resorts and villages along both coasts.