Ferries from Athens to Crete (and return)

by Cristina | March 13th, 2009

The Crete to Athens ferry schedule is available at the bottom of the article.

Nothing is more romantic than approaching Crete by ferry. And if your budget is rather low, nothing is cheaper either! Ferries have become a very popular way to travel between the mainland and the islands, especially when you are looking to save some money. A deck seat on a ferry costs less than the airplane ticket between Athens and Crete.

Port of Piraeus

The Port of Piraeus (or Pireas*) serves Athens. It is large, hectic and confusing, especially without a map (download and print a map from the Ministry of Mercantile Marine page ). Make sure you allow plenty of time to get from the airport or the hotel to the port. And also allow enough time to find the gate (it’s written on the ticket).

Ferries to Crete depart from Port Gate Ε2 and E3. The port gate E2 is served by the free bus within the port, while at the gate E3 you will also find a rest area and places to eat.

>>more information on Getting from Athens to Piraeus

Crete, Heraklio, Chania or Rethymnon ?

When you look up ferries between two places (mainland to islands or between islands), you are actually looking for a way to travel by ferry between two ports. While for the majority of islands, you’ll find the port name exactly the same of the island’s name, it is not Crete’s case.

The island is served by three ports:

Heraklio (or Heraklion), port code HCR
Chania , port code CHC
Rethymnon (or Rethymno), port code RET

To make it less confusing, Heraklio and Chania are served by the most ferries, so those two ports are the best choices for tourists. Price-wise, the tickets to Chania are cheaper than the tickets to Heraklio.

How long does it take to get from Athens to Crete?

The ferry journey between Athens (Piraeus, alt spelling Pireas) to Crete (Heraklio or Chania) takes between 6 hours, 30 minutes and 8 hours, depending on the type of ferry you are taking. If you travel between Athens and Rethymnon, the journey takes 12 hours and 3 minutes.

Is there a high speed ferry between Athens and Crete?

Yes, there’s a ferry which takes only 6 hours and 30 minutes to get from Athens to Crete. If you travel between Piraeus and Heraklio, you can choose of the two ferries (11 a.m. –year round - and 3:30 p.m. – high season only).

How much does it cost to get from Athens to Crete by ferry?

The price depends on where you prefer to stay (deck seat, cabin, lounge) and the type of ferry you are taking, as well as the port you’ll be arriving in (although the differences are not significant) . Also, you should consider that several ferry companies serve the route so there’s also a price difference between the same type of seat on ferries run by different companies.

Heraklio

The deck seat on the high speed ferry (6 h 30 min) costs €29,50 per person, while an aircraft-type of seat costs €40 per person. If you prefer a deluxe berth with double bed and WC the price is €80,50 per person.

If you want to take the overnight ferry (9 p.m., 8 h journey), the deck seat costs €37 per person.

If you travel during the low season and prefer the other over night ferry (8:30 p.m.) there are several more options besides the deck seat, which costs €32 per person. The aircraft-type of seat costs €41 per person, while the luxury options are over €100 per person.

Chania

The deck seat on a regular ferry (8 hours) costs €23 per person, while an aircraft-type of seat costs €27 per person.

If you prefer the overnight ferry, a deck seat costs €30 per person, while an outside cabin (for 2) costs €85 per person.

How many ferries per day depart from Athens to Crete during the low season?

During the low season 2010, the following

to Heraklio, at 3 p.m., daily
to Rethymnon: at 7 p.m., on Fridays
to Chania at 9 p.m. , daily

How many ferries per day depart from Athens to Crete during the high season?

During the high season, there are the following connections between Athens and Crete:

to Heraklio, at 10 a.m., on Sun (until July 19) and on Fri to Sun (July 25 to Aug 9)
to Heraklio, at 11 a.m., on Wednesdays & Saturdays (Jun 17 to Aug 12) and Sundays (until Sept 27)
to Chania, at 12 p.m., on Sat (until Aug 8); Fridays & Sundays (July 12 to Oct 9); Wednesdays and Tuesdays (July 29 to Aug 13)
to Heraklio, at 2 p.m., on Fri until Oct 30
to Heraklio, at 3:30 pm, daily (between March 3 and October 31)
to Chania and Heraklio, at 9 p.m., daily (until October 31)
to Rethymnon, at 3:45 p.m., daily (July 11 to August 29)
to Chania, at 9 p.m, daily (until Sept 30)
to Chania, at 9:30 p.m., Sat (June 20 to Aug 8); Fri & Sun (July 12 to Aug 9); Wed & Thu (July 29 to Aug 13)
to Heraklio, at 10 p.m. , daily (April 19 to October 31)

Are there any overnight journeys between Athens and Crete?

Yes, there’s a ferry departing at 9 p.m. daily both during the high and low season. There are departures both to all ports.

During the low season there’s a ferry departing at 8:30 pm to Heraklio, daily and a ferry departing at 9 p.m. to Rethymnon on Fridays. The journey takes between 8 hours and 8 ½ hours to Heraklio or Chania and 12 hours and 30 minutes to Rethymnon.

During the high season, there’s a ferry departing at 10 p.m. from Piraeus to Rethymnon and which arrives in Crete at 5 a.m. the next morning.

Where can I buy tickets from?

You can buy tickets online, at most 2 months before the departure. Another option is to have your travel agent book them for you, but they will need to contact a Greek travel agency. So an easier option is to contact a reliable Greek travel agency yourself and book your tickets via them.

If you have some time available between your arrival in Athens and the time you planned to take the ferry to Crete, you can buy the tickets directly in the port of Piraeus, at Port Gate Ε1. Unless you are traveling during the peak season or national holiday weekends, you shouldn’t worry about booking in advance, especially if you plan to use a deck seat.

Does everyone charge the same prices?

All the research points to the fact that the prices are exactly the same, whether you buy them online , via a travel agent or directly from the ticketing office in the port. If there are any differences, those shouldn’t be significant.

How about the ferries between Crete and Athens?

During the high season, the following ferries are available between Crete and Athens:

from Heraklio, at 7 a.m. , daily except on Tuesdays and Saturdays
from Rethymnon, at 7 a.m., on Tuesdays and Saturdays
from Heraklio, at 9 a.m., on Sat & Sun (July 12 to Aug 9)
from Chania, at 10 a.m., on Sat (June 20 to Aug 8); Fri & Sun (July 12 to Aug 9); Wed & Thu (July 29 to Aug 13)
from Heraklio, at 11 a.m., on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (until Aug 12)
from Heraklio, at 2 p.m., on Sun (June 14 to Sept 27)
from Chania at 9 p.m., daily except on Sat (June 21 to July 10); Mon to Thu (July 13 to July 23); Mon & Tue (July 27 to Aug 11)
from Heraklio, at 9 p.m., daily (until Oct 31)
from Heraklio, at 10 p.m., daily except on Fri & Sun (until Oct 31);
from Chania, at 10 p.m., on Sat (Jun 20 to Aug 8); Fri & Sun (July 12 to Aug 9); Wed & Thu (July 29 to Aug 13)
from Herkalio, at 10:45 p.m., on Fri & Sun (until Oct 30)
from Heraklio, at 11:45 p.m., daily (April 20 to October 31)

During the low season 2010, the following ferries are available between Crete and Athens:

from Chania and Rethymno at 6 p.m., on Sundays
from Heraklio at 9 p.m., daily; daily except Fri and Sun at 10 p.m., daily at 11 p.m.

Important note:

Sometimes the ferry schedules available on line are not very accurate. It’s not the websites’ fault at all as the ferry companies submit their schedule to the Ministry of Merchant Marine weekly. Hence the ferry schedule might change from week to week.

The weekly ferry schedule comes out each Friday in the Athens News (in English) so get yourself a copy as soon as you arrive in Athens.

More information

Note:
* Pireas and Piraeus are exactly the same place, but you can find them spelled in both ways. All road signs though point to Pireas.

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

Colby August 13, 2009 at 10:05 am: I was wondering what the different levels of seats were on the ferries. It is rather confusing, and is it worth getting a cabin if I am traveling with 3 other adults, and we want to take the “overnight” ferry trips to Crete. Any suggestions? Also, while we are in Athens we want to watch a football game, is there a local pub that has the US Football games on, that you would recommend? Thank you.
Cristina August 13, 2009 at 10:14 am: @Colby: I cannot help with the US Football thing, sorry. But i bet you can watch a lot of European soccer Actually the seats aren’t “that” confusing. Typically there are deck seats (which are un-numbered), then there are those aircraft type of seats (numbered, reclining) and the different cabins. If there’s 4 of you, yes, you might want to look at a cabin but the prices are quite high. The only suggestion would be to compare the prices and if a cabin bed costs more than a flight, you are probably better off flying anyway and if you want to save money, just book a different kind of seat. Just think about it like you would if you were taking the train over night. Is it ok to travel in a regular seat in a compartment or do you prefer a couchette (or sleeping car)? Just make sure to look at the particular ferry you want to take b/c not all ferries offer the same types of cabins. [more confusing?]
You can email me at greece@logueit.com if you have more questions.
Gabe October 7, 2009 at 1:44 am: I will be touring Europe in Nov/Dec, and Greece in the below dates. I’d like to see Athens, but spend the majority of the week in Crete (I think this is during the low season, but I don’t know what the season dates are). I arrive in Athens at 20:05, 27 Nov by flight and depart 20:35, 04 Dec. Any recommendations on planning a round trip ferry ride?

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Ferries from Athens to Crete (and return)

Port of Piraeus

Crete, Heraklio, Chania or Rethymnon ?

How long does it take to get from Athens to Crete?

Is there a high speed ferry between Athens and Crete?