Ferry from Athens to Crete

Timetables, schedules, prices and general information provided for the ferry from Athens to Crete, a beloved crossing to one of Greece’s most visited islands!

All year around ferries connect the capital of Greece, Athens with its biggest and diverse island, Crete. Vacation in Crete’s main towns such as Heraklion, Chania, Rethymno and Agios Nikolaos, also in their surrounding villages, include and offer much more than the standard summer packet. Crete combines mountainous terrains with exotic beaches and plenty of historical grounds ready to be explored.

Through the user-friendly isFerry booking engine, you get the opportunity to book your ferry tickets in a few simple steps!

How long does it take to travel from Athens to Crete by ferry?

The total distance between Athens and Crete is around 300 km but this also depends both on your starting and arrival ports, thus, the ferry time differs. Another important factor which affects the duration is the type of vessel you are using and the number of stopovers it makes.

Duration of the ferry from Piraeus to Crete

This is the main port of Athens which is connected to Crete and ferry routes take place all year long. There are both conventional and high-speed ferries which operate and they usually sail directly to Crete’s ports in Heraklion, Chania and Rethymno.

If you are onboard a conventional vessel, the crossing duration to Chania is approx. 9 hours, to Heraklion 11 hours and to Rethymno about 10 hours.
High speeds require much less time and they reduce the durations to 6.30 hours for Chania, 9 hours for Heraklion and 8 hours for Rethymno.

*Keep a note that there are some few cases (depending on demand), where ships connect Athens with Crete starting from the port of Rafina.

Helpful information for your journey

The port of Chania sits in a bay 7 km southeastern of the town, in Souda. There are several bus itineraries to Chania and many taxis waiting to pick you up
Piraeus is a big and very busy port so you should consider arriving at least 1-2 hours earlier from your departure time for check-in and embarkation
Have in mind that Crete is among the most popular and most visited destinations in Greece and ticket capacity runs out very fast
By using the isFerry booking engine, in only a few steps, you have the opportunity to compare prices and choose the most suitable ferry route for you