Flying
direct
from the UK using charter airlines
Charter flights from Europe are quite
numerous from the end of April until the end of October. There are a lot more
flights to Heraklion (East) than to Chania (West), making them often cheaper
(and not as heavily booked) as flights to Chania.
 The
majority of charter flights to Heraklion and Chania from the UK are on Tuesdays
and Fridays,
using Monarch, Air 2000, JMC Airlines, Britannia, Airtours or Virgin Sun.
Flightline .
You can also book through the Airtours call centre on 0870-237-7788
(press #1 to get you through the menu) and ask for late availability flight
price.
Alternately you can try contacting ThomasCook on 0870-750-0316 (press #2
then #1 to get you through the menu), again and asking for flight availability.
http://www.charterflights.co.uk
provide another good alternative with prices updated hourly (please note
how prices change day to day and even those on the same flight). As a general
rule of thumb the later you leave your flight booking the cheaper it may be (see
graph below).
|
Airport |
Destination |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
|
Belfast |
Heraklion |
|
x |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Birmingham |
Heraklion |
x |
x |
|
|
Monarch |
|
|
|
Bristol |
Heraklion |
|
x |
|
x |
x |
|
|
|
Bristol |
Chania |
|
Excel |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cardiff |
Heraklion |
|
x |
|
|
Cronus |
|
|
|
Dublin |
Heraklion |
|
|
|
|
x |
|
|
|
East Midlands |
Heraklion |
|
x |
|
x |
AIR2000 |
|
|
|
Glasgow |
Heraklion |
x |
x |
|
|
BM |
|
|
|
London Gatwick |
Heraklion |
x |
x |
|
x |
AIR2000 |
|
|
|
London Gatwick |
Chania |
|
JMC/AIR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
London Luton |
Heraklion |
x |
x |
|
|
|
|
|
|
London Stansted |
Heraklion |
|
x |
|
x |
|
|
|
|
Manchester |
Heraklion |
x |
AIR2000 |
|
x |
AIR2000 |
|
|
|
Manchester |
Chania |
|
JMC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Newcastle upon Tyne |
Heraklion |
|
x |
|
x |
Excel |
|
|
SOME FLIGHTS MAY NOT OPERATE AT THE BEGINNING
OR THE END OF THE SEASON
All the above airlines are based on
provisional schedules and are subject to
confirmation by the airport authorities and Air
Traffic Control in the UK, Greece and all
countries en route.
Check in time is 3 hours prior to the confirmed
departure time shown on your tickets, which you
will receive approximately 2 weeks in advance of
travel. However, it is becoming the norm to pick
your ticket up at the airport prior to your
flight. This system works well, however just leave
a little more time to find the right agency desk.
The flight time is approximately four hours and
the local time in Greece is 2 hours ahead of the
UK.
You could also try
http://www.opodo.co.uk the new web site created by Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia,
Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa.
Flying
with scheduled airlines
FIRST DIRECT SCHEDULED SERVICE FROM THE UK TO CRETE (announced 17 September
2004)
British Airways franchise partner GB Airways announced in Athens today that is
to introduce a twice-weekly summer service to Heraklion, Crete next May. The
airline is the first to operate direct scheduled services to the island from the
UK.
The flights will operate on Tuesdays and Fridays from London Gatwick and will
offer a choice of Club Europe and Euro Traveller cabins with the British
Airways’ full service product.
John Patterson, managing director GB Airways said: “At last British passengers
wishing to travel to Crete can now opt for a direct scheduled service to the
island. This new service will no doubt be very popular amongst our tour operator
partners and can meet the needs of our customers who want a good value full
frills scheduled service which you can’t get at the moment.”
Return fares start at £129 including all taxes, fees and charges.
For more details, visit
www.britishairways.com or call British Airways on 0870 850 9 850.
By Car
Travelling to Crete
via mainland Greece overland has virtually stopped
since the disintegration of former Yugoslavia. The
alternative, through Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria
takes so long that it is not worth thinking about
unless you want to visit these countries. The only
other option is to take a ferry from Italy to
Greece, then a ferry from Greece to Crete (see our
ferry section).
Ferry from Piraeus (Southerly tip
of Greece)
There
are two companies which provide services on this
route, the main company being
Anek Lines. A company created in the 1960s by
Cretans who wanted a better and safer
service to and from the mainland of Greece. Departures are from Pireus to Iraklio and from
Iraklio to Pireus at 20:00. Departures from Pireus to Chania and from Chania to Pireus at
20:30. Departures from Pireus to Rethymo and
from Rethymno
to Pireus at 19.30. |
 |
Minoan Lines sail at slightly different times,
Departures from Pireus to Iraklio and from Iraklio
to Pireus at 22:00, arriving at their respective
destinations at approximately 05:15. There are
sailings in the summer which leave Pireus at 12:30
(please check the Minoan web site for exact
details).
Ferry from Italy (to Greece)
Not many ferry companies
operate from Italy and none appear to have a
direct sailing to Crete, so you will have to go
via Greece. Several shipping companies connect
Italy (Venice, Trieste, Ancona, Bari, Brindisi)
with the mainland of Greece (Patras and
Igoumenitsa).
Anek Lines provide a service but by far the
fastest to Patras is provided by
SuperFast Ferries although it is slightly more
expensive than other companies. It is advisable to
book your passage in advance in the summer season.
For your complete ferry timetables and information
on a host of other ferry companies not listed here
visit
http://www.ferries.gr/ or
http://gogreece.about.com/cs/ferryschedules/
Car Hire
You can arrange car hire
through us at no extra cost or direct from
Anso Car
Rentals based both in
Rethymno and
Plakias. Competitive rates are assured. |
 |
 |
Travelling by Bus (internal)
The alternative to hiring a car or taxi
would be to use Crete public transport. While not
always the most reliable in keeping to a schedule
the local busses are a fun way travelling around
the island and meeting the local people.
For
information on the bus timetable visit
http://bus-service-crete-ktel.com/main.html |
|
