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bus from Heraklion to Chania

Hello everyone,

We are getting ready for our trip to Crete in about 6 weeks. We’ll be driving a rental car much of the time, but due to flight connections we’ll be flying into Heraklion and then taking a bus to Chania a few days later where we will pick up our rental car.

My question relates to the K-Tel buses running from Heraklion to Chania. It looks like they run every hour from the Central Bus station located near the port, cost about 15 euro and take about 3 hours. Does anyone know if it is necessary to reserve the bus tickets a day or so in advance, or is it typically ok to show up and buy the ticket 30 min or so before departure? In case it matters, we plan to make the trip on Saturday May 6. Not sure if Saturdays might be one of the busier days of the week.

Thanks for the insights!

Posted by
1425 posts

Get to the bus terminal and buy your tickets when you arrive. Only way to reserve is to buy a ticket at the bus terminal.

Posted by
27 posts

Thanks.

So you recommend going to the bus station the day before departure to purchase the tickets? We have some flexibility on Saturday so we can take any of the afternoon buses. I was hoping we could just show up early Sat afternoon and get on the next departing bus without needing advance purchase, but if the buses tend to fill up on weekends in May, we'll plan to head there the day prior.

Thank you.

Posted by
3396 posts

What's the fuss? This is greece .... the bus goes every hour, and in May you should be fine showing up 30 minutes before departure. If for some unexpected reason (a Scout troop suddenly appears) that bus is full -- no problem... you buy a ticket for the next bus, walk to the nearest cafe, have a glass of wine, do the Guardian Crossword, and THEN board a bus.

Posted by
27 posts

Thanks Janet.

What you describe is basically what I was expecting the situation to be. But since we haven't been before, we didn't want to assume. Thanks for the clarifications.

Posted by
1425 posts

Apologies, I just read my post which was not clear. When I said get to the bus terminal and buy your tickets I meant, the day you want to travel, get to the bus station and buy your tickets for the next bus, that is how you reserve your seat.