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.
On line ferry tickets |
 |
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 |
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