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Heraklion International Airport Nikos Kazantzakis (HER)

Last verified: October 2026 · Confirmed by travelers this month: 0

The answer
Take the urban KTEL city bus from the stop outside arrivals - a Zone A single is €1.30 bought in advance in the operator's app, at a kiosk or at a ticket shop, or €2.30 if you buy it from the driver. It reaches the central bus station by the port in about 20 minutes.
The airport sits inside the operator's Zone A, the 5 km city ring, so the trip is charged as the cheapest urban fare rather than a suburban one - and the ticket costs the same whether you board a line 1 or a line 6 bus.
Tight budget? Buy before you board: €1.30 in advance against €2.30 on the bus, and the ticket machine is not the only channel.
Staying a week? The 24-hour ticket is €6.00, three days €15.00 and seven days €30.00, each covering both zones with unlimited rides.

🚌 Every way out — real prices

Urban KTEL city bus, Zone A ticket bought in advance BEST FOR MOST
€1.30
Buses leave from the shelter a short walk right of the terminal exit and run roughly every 10-15 minutes through the day, from about 06:00 until around midnight. The airport and the city are both in Zone A, so the single is €1.30 when you buy it in the operator's app, at a kiosk or at a ticket shop, and €2.30 from the driver. The ride ends at the central bus station on Leoforos Ikarou beside the port. The operator does not publish a dedicated airport line number: lines 1 (Aerolimin-Ammoudara) and 6 (Aerolimin-PAGNI) are the airport routes and both sit inside Zone A.
Same bus, ticket bought on board
€2.30
Buying the identical Zone A single from the driver costs €2.30 instead of €1.30 - a €1.00 mark-up on a €1.30 fare. Students and pupils pay €0.80 in advance or €1.30 on board. Carry coins: cash is the norm on board and card acceptance is not something to count on.
Multi-day tickets (24 hours, 3 days, 7 days)
€6.00-€30.00
The 24-hour ticket is €6.00, the three-day ticket €15.00 and the seven-day ticket €30.00, all valid in both zones with unlimited rides. They activate on first validation and expire at the same time of day. A 30-day card is €70.00 (student €45.00) and the operator's 10+1 packet of Zone A tickets is €13.00.
Taxi from the rank outside arrivals
€15-€22
Licensed metered taxis wait outside arrivals and cover the 5 km to the centre in 10-15 minutes. Reported fares are about €15-20 by day and around €22 after midnight, with the meter starting near €3.50 and adding roughly €0.80 per kilometre plus luggage and airport-pickup supplements. The range is what passengers report paying rather than a published flat airport fare, so ask for the meter and watch the supplements.
KTEL Heraklio-Lasithi intercity coach (from the city bus station)
€2.20-€7.70
The coastal route to Hersonissos, Stalida and Malia, and the trunk route to Agios Nikolaos, belong to KTEL Heraklio-Lasithi and leave from the city bus station - not from the airport. KTEL's own published timetables quote about €2.20 to Hersonissos, about €4.20 to Malia and €6.30-€7.70 to Agios Nikolaos per person. A few coaches pass the airport, but the dependable boarding point is the station, so most arrivals ride the city bus in first and change there.
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⚠️ The traps (walk past these)

Paying the driver costs €2.30 instead of €1.30

The Zone A single is €1.30 bought in advance through the operator's app, at a kiosk or at a ticket shop, and €2.30 from the driver. That is a €1.00 mark-up on a €1.30 fare - 77% - for the identical journey on the identical bus. Students and pupils face the same gap: €0.80 in advance, €1.30 on board.

Do this: buy the Zone A ticket in the operator's app, at a kiosk or at a ticket shop before you board
A Zone A ticket does not cover the suburbs

The network is divided into two zones: Zone A is the city within a 5 km radius, Zone B is everything beyond it. Zone B singles are €1.80 in advance and €2.80 on board, and a Zone A ticket will not carry you past the boundary - on the Ammoudara line Zone A ends at the CANDIA MARIS stop, and on the PAGNI line at IKA (Fanaria).

Do this: check which zone your stop falls in before you buy - Zone B starts 5 km from the city
The city bus ends at the port, not at your hotel

The airport bus terminates at the central bus station on Leoforos Ikarou, beside the port. Lions Square and the market streets are about a kilometre uphill - 12-15 minutes on foot with your bags, or a second ticket and another ride. Guides that describe the airport bus as dropping you in the centre are describing the port.

Do this: plan the walk or budget a second fare if you are staying in the old town
The coaches to the resorts do not leave from the airport

KTEL Heraklio-Lasithi's coastal route to Hersonissos, Stalida and Malia, and the Agios Nikolaos trunk route, start from the city bus station. Some coaches pass the airport, but the dependable boarding point is the station, so the airport-to-resort trip is really two legs and can cost you an extra 30-40 minutes.

Do this: ride the city bus into the station first and change there, rather than waiting at the kerb
Men offering a taxi inside arrivals are not the rank

The official taxi rank is outside the terminal, and only licensed taxis may use it. Anyone soliciting inside the arrivals hall is quoting a price above the meter, and the airport pickup supplement is exactly the thing that makes an inflated quote sound plausible.

Do this: walk out to the marked rank and insist on the meter

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