How To Get From Crete to Santorini

You have 3 ways to get from Crete to Santorini: by ferry, by plane, or by an organized tour (like this one). Ferries from Crete to Santorini depart from Chania, Rethymno, Heraklion, or Agios Nikolaos.

• FROM CHANIA: Santorini trip (with hotel pickup from Chania, 4 hr boat tour to Santorini and lots of free time to spend at Fira and Oia)
• FROM HERAKLION: Santorini Day Trip (taking the Champion Jet 2 from Heraklion and hopping on an air-conditioned bus at Fira, while you also get the option to get on a guided volcano tour)
• FROM RETHYMNO: Santorini Day Trip (hotel pick up anywhere close to Rethymno, hop on the Champion Jet catamaran and visit Fira, Oia, and the famous beaches of Perissa and Perivolos)
• FROM AGIOS NIKOLAOS: Santorini trip (hotel pickup from the Agios Nikolaos area, but departing from Heraklion, where you will take the boat to Santorini and spend the day there)

If you don’t want to do an organized tour (which I do not recommend as you will spend too much time trying to figure out what is going on with the ferries and where to go when you arrive on Santorini), nothing is stopping you from booking your ferry tickets or flights from Crete to Santorini as an individual.

Keep reading…

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VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW

• You have 3 options for getting from Crete to Santorini: by ferry, by plane, or by a tour.

• Best Way To Get From Crete to Santorini: By an organized tour that will pick you up from your hotel; From Chania, from Heraklion, from Rethymno, or Agios Nikolaos.

• All boats/ferries to Santorini depart only from Rethymno or Heraklion ports (the organised tours will pick you up with a bus from Chania or Agios Nikolaos to take you there, so you don’t have to worry about local buses)

• Best Website for Ferry Prices & Timetables from Crete to Santorini: Ferryhopper – ALWAYS CHECK THE LATEST FERRY TIMETABLES AND PRICES AS FERRY SCHEDULES IN GREECE CHANGE FREQUENTLY! 

• Flights from Crete to Santorini: unfortunately, there are no direct flights from anywhere in Crete to Santorini for 2020, so taking a ferry or a day trip tour is your only option.

• Between April and October, there are 4 ferries a day from Crete to Santorini (and Santorini to Crete); there are far fewer ferry options in the winter (November-March) or possibly no direct ferry.

• How long does it take from Crete to Santorini? It varies from 2 hours (fast-Champion Jet) to 4 hrs (slow-Superferry) 

• How much does it cost to take a ferry from Crete to Santorini? The slowest ferry (Superferry) costs 40 euros, and the fast ferry (Champion Jet) can cost up to 80 euros for airplane-type seats.

• You can book your ferry online, but you always have to get the ticket printout from the ferry kiosk in Heraklion/Rethymno port or any other Greek travel agency (it’s the Greek law) in Crete

• There is no ferry from Chania or Agios Nikolaos to Santorini: you have to take the local bus to Rethymno or Heraklion (1-1.5 drive)

• LOCAL BUS FROM CHANIA TO RETHYMNO: check timetables, prices, and book your Bus here

• LOCAL BUS FROM AGIOS NIKOLAOS TO HERAKLION: check timetables, prices and book your Bus here

Ok, so let’s see all the available options:

1. Crete to Santorini with a Day Trip Tour

All guided day trips from Crete to Santorini pick you up from your hotel and take you to a port (Rethymno or Heraklion) to board the ferry to Santorini. These are not private boats but the normal ferries that go to Santorini.

All of the tours also offer a bus that will take you around Santorini and return to Crete (Rethymno or Heraklion) in the evening.

• FROM CHANIA: Santorini Day Trip(with hotel pickup from Chania, 4 hr boat tour to Santorini and lots of free time to spend at Fira and Oia)
• FROM HERAKLION: Santorini Day Trip (taking the Champion Jet 2 from Heraklion and hopping on an air-conditioned bus at Fira, while you also get the option to get on a guided volcano tour)
• FROM RETHYMNO: Santorini Day Trip (hotel pick up anywhere close to Rethymno, hop on the Champion Jet catamaran and visit Fira, Oia, and the famous beaches of Perissa and Perivolos)
• FROM AGIOS NIKOLAOS: Santorini Day Trip (hotel pickup from the Agios Nikolaos area, but departing from Heraklion, where you will take the boat to Santorini and spend the day there)

2. Crete to Santorini by ferry 

A few important things to know about the ferries from Crete to Santorini (and from Santorini to Crete):

• You have 2 ports to choose from for your departure from Crete to Mykonos: Heraklion port or Rethymnon port. There are no ferries to Santorini from Chania or Agios Nikolaos.
• The slow ferry from Crete to Santorini takes approximately. 3.5 hours to arrive (Superferries) – check timetables here
• The quick ferry (it’s a catamaran) from Crete to Santorini takes about 2 hours to arrive (Champion Jet 2) – check timetables here
• Slow Ferry ticket to Santorini costs ~40 euros (depending on the seat you choose)
• Fast Ferry ticket to Santorini costs ~80 euros (depending on the seat you choose)
• Between April and October, there are 4 ferries per day between Crete and Santorini.
• The ferries to Santorini usually depart early in the morning and come back to Crete in the afternoon (usually after 5 pm)
• There are no ferries from Crete to Santorini between November and March (but these things change, so always check Ferryhopper)

Here is what the business class seats look like on the SeaJets Champion ferry:

Where can you book ferry tickets from Crete to Santorini? The best thing you can do is to book them online in advance on the Ferryhopper website.

You would still have to get the printout from the ferry kiosk outside of the ferry departure point (at the port) before departing (so make sure you arrive there early enough).

HOW TO GET FROM CHANIA TO RETHYMNO PORT

The easiest and cheapest way to get from Chania to Rethymno so that you can take the ferry to Santorini is by taking the local Crete bus. There is a bus that runs every hour between the 2 towns, and you can book your bus ticket online.

There is a bus between Chania and Rethimno every hour, and the ticket costs 6.80 euros (but always check the website as these things change on an annual basis).

HOW TO GET FROM AGIOS NIKOLAOS  TO HERAKLION PORT

There is a bus to Agios Nikolaos every hour, and the ticket costs 7.70 euros. The trip takes 1.5 hours.

3. Crete to Santorini by plane

Unfortunately, there are no direct flights from Crete to Santorini, but these things change every year, so you should always check Booking.com Flights for any available flights.

• CHANIA AIRPORT CODE: CHQ
• HERAKLION AIRPORT CODE: HER
• SITIA AIRPORT CODE: JSH

(Sitia is the airport closest to Agios Nikolaos in Eastern Crete)

CONCLUSION

The good thing about the guided tour is that they will have arranged everything for you, and they will pick you up from your hotel, pretty much anywhere in Crete. But you can also book everything by yourself, which will take you a bit more time. The easiest way to check timetables and even book any ferry tickets online is Ferryhopper, and I highly recommend it to everyone looking to get a ferry from Crete to Santorini or to and from other Greek islands.