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, Sitia, Kissimos 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 the following ports:
Heraklio (or Heraklion), port code HCR
Chania , port code CHC
Rethymnon (or Rethymno), port code RET
Kissamos , port code KIS
Sitia, port code SIT
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.
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 cheapest tickets are the air seats or deck seats on the Anek ferries, at €29 per adult one way. The deck seats on the Minoan Lines and Aegeon Pelagos ferries cost €36 per adult one way.
Chania
The deck ticket costs €36 per adult one way and the ferries are operated by Anek.
Sitia
The deck ticket costs €41 per adult one way and the ferries are operated by Aegeon Pelagos.
How many ferries per day depart from Athens to Crete during the low season?
For the purpose of this article, we consider the low season March to June; however, September and October (comprised in the section below) also see fewer ferry connections than during the high season.
The low season 2014 has already ended.
How many ferries per day depart from Athens to Crete during the high season?
During the high season 2014 (July – December), there are the following connections between Athens and Crete:
To Heraklio
Fri 10 a.m., Jul 18 – Aug 8
Fri, Sat 11 a.m., Jul 4 – Jul 19
Fri 11 a.m., Sep 6
Wed, Fri-Sun 11 a.m., Jul 25 – Aug 13
Fri 6 p.m., until Sep 12, Sep 19 – Oct 31 (not approved yet)
Daily 9 p.m., until Oct 31, Sep 1 – Dec 24
Daily 10 p.m., until Aug 31
To Chania
Fri 12 pm (noon) , Jul 18 – Aug 8
Sun 12 pm (noon), Jul 7 – Sep 7
Sat 12 p.m., Jul 26- Sep 6
Sat 2 p.m., Jul 5 – Jul 19
Daily 9 p.m., Sep 15 – Oct 31
Daily 10 p.m.until Sep 14
To Kissamos
Fri 5 p.m., until Aug 22
To Sitia
Fri 6 p.m., until Sep 12, Sep 19 – Oct 31 (not approved yet)
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 to both Heraklio and Chania. Also, during the low season there’s a ferry departing at 9:30 pm to Heraklio, almost daily.
Where can I buy tickets from?
You can buy tickets online right here, 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 2014, the following ferries are available between Crete and Athens:
From Heraklio
Fri 10 a.m., Jul 18 – Aug 8
Sat 10 a.m., Jul 26 – Aug 30
Sun 10 a.m., Aug 3 , Aug 17 – Aug 31
Wed 10 a.m., Aug 20 – Aug 27
Wed, Fri-Sun 11a.m., Aug 16- Aug 31
Fri,Sat 11 a.m., Jul 4 – Jul 19
Sat 11 a.m., Sep 6
Sun 6:05 p.m., until Sep 14, Sep 21 – Oct 26 (not approved yet)
Daily 9 p.m., until Oct 31
Daily 9:30 p.m., Sep 1 – Dec 24
Daily 10 p.m, until Aug 31
From Chania
Sun 12 p.m. (noon) Jul 6 – Sep 7
Fri 12 p.m. (noon), Jul 18 – Aug 8, Aug 22 – Aug 29
Sat 12 p.m. (noon), Jul 26 – Sep 6
Wed, Thu 12 p.m. (noon), Jul 31 – Aug 6, Aug 14 – Aug 27
Sat 2 p.m., Jul 5 – Jul 19
Daily 10 p.m., until Sep 14
From Sitia
Sun 2:05 p.m., until Sep 14, Sep 21 – Oct 26 (not approved yet)
From Kissimos
Sun 5 p.m., until Aug 24
Thu 6 p.m., until Aug 28
The low season 2014 has already ended.
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
Read more about
>> Ferries in Greece
>> Ferries from Athens: How to deal with the Port of Piraeus
>> Ferries from Athens to Aegina
>> Ferries from Athens to Mykonos
>> Ferries from Rafina to Mykonos
>> Ferries from Athens to Santorini
>> Ferries from Athens to Rhodes
>> Ferries from Athens to Hydra
>> Ferries from Athens to Patmos
>> Ferries from Athens to Karpathos
>>Ferries from Mykonos to Syros
>>Ferries from Santorini to Crete
>> Ferries from Santorini to Mykonos
>> Ferries from Santorini to Naxos
>> Ferries from Alonissos to Skopelos
>> Ferries from Corfu to Patras
>> Ferries from Rhodes to Kos
>>Ferries to and from Santorini
>> Ferries from Athens to Paros
>> Ferries from Mykonos to Crete
>> Ferries from Santorini to Karpathos
>>Ferries from Thessaloniki to Lesvos
>> Ferries to and from Mykonos
>> Ferries from Mykonos to Paros (and return)
>> Ferries from Crete to Gavdos
>> Ferries from Santorini to Rhodes
>> Ferries from Santorini to Paros
>> Ferries from Mykonos to Ios
>> Ferries from Mykonos to Tinos
>> Ferries from Thessaloniki to Rhodes
>> Ferries from Athens to Naxos
>> Ferries from Athens to Thessaloniki
>> Ferries from Santorini to Syros
>> Ferries from Kavala to Thassos
>> Ferries from Alonissos to Skiathos
>> Ferries from Athens to Lesvos (Lesbos)
>> Ferries from Thessaloniki to Kos
>> Ferries from Thessaloniki to Chios
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.
*The article was first published in 2009; latest schedule update was made as of July 2014.