If you’re visiting Chania and plan on using public transportation at all, you’ll need to know how to navigate the Chania Bus Station.
It’s the main mode of public transportation in Crete, and buses go to nearly all of the surrounding beaches and towns in Crete. But no matter where you’re going, everything starts at the central bus station in Chania.
We spent a lot of time traveling around Chania. Of the 10 days we spent here, we took day trips to places around the city almost every single day!
So, consider this your private tour of the bus station, so that you know exactly what to expect and can easily plan your holiday without wondering how to get from point A to B!
We’ve outlined everything you need to know, from current ticket prices to bus timetables, available routes, and luggage storage!
Where is the Chania bus station?
Chanis has a relatively small bus station right at the heart of the main city, but it’s easy to walk there from almost anywhere in town. For example, it’s a 10-minute walk from the Old Venetian Port and roughly 15 minutes on foot from Nea Chora Beach!
You can travel from Chania to Stavros Beach, Chania to Heraklion, Chania to Rethymno, Chania to Elafonisi, or even catch a bus to Chania airport.
What to Expect
Given the many buses arriving and departing from Chania daily, we were shocked at how small it was. Chania’s bus station is no bigger than your local grocery store, and it was pretty easy to find our way around.
When you first enter the bus station, you’ll see a small souvenir shop, a convenience store, and a cafe with espresso drinks, pastries, and small plates. There’s also a lot of seating and outlets if you get there early and need to get some work finished.
If you go out the back doors, you’ll find all the buses parked and where you can buy your tickets (assuming you haven’t already bought them online).
luggage storage
If you arrive early in Chania and can’t check into your hotel yet, or maybe you’re just stopping over for a day, you may want to leave your luggage at the bus station.
The bus station has nice luggage storage lockers where you can leave your bags for just €3. These lockers are large enough for a small suitcase and a backpack.
You can leave your luggage here for up to 24 hours.
Chania City Buses
Chania does have public city buses, and some of these start and end at Chania Bus Station, but for the most part, you can hail these buses from any bus stop around town and confirm with the driver that you’re heading in the right direction!
The city buses cost €1.10 or €2, depending on whether they are in Zone A or Zone B (See a bus map of the zones here).
Are buses expensive in Crete?
No, in our experience, all of the buses throughout Crete were pretty cheap, even if you wanted to go all the way to Heraklion or Elafonisi Beach. You can expect to pay between €2 and € 15 depending on how far you’re going. Here are a couple of samples from the most popular routes.
- Chania to Heraklion (€13,80)
- Chania to Rethymno (€6,20)
- Heraklion to Agios Nikalaos (€7.10)
- Chania to Elafonisi (€10,00)
Chania KTEL Bus Timetables (Local)
The Chania Bus timetable is constantly changing. To see the current timetables, you should visit the KTEL Chania Website. This website has up-to-date timetables from Chania to every city in Crete. Buses run every day from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM.
Chanis Bus to Agia Marina
About 20-30 buses are running daily between Chania and Agia Marina. The timetable has slots from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM, so you should have no issue finding one with open seats.
The ticket for this trip is €2.00, and it takes about 15 minutes.
Chania to Platanias
Platanias and Agia Marina are essentially the same town. The only difference is that Platanias is one stop further, so it costs €2.20 and takes 5 extra minutes.
But the bus route is exactly the same.
Platanias and Agia Marina don’t have a regular schedule because neither of these towns is often the last stop. You’ll have to get on the bus heading towards Kasteli, Palaiochora, Palaia Roumata, or Kolymvari.
Chania to Kolymvari
Speaking of Kolymvari, there are just as many buses going to Kolymvari from Chania every day, and these buses leave Chania bus station every 30-60 minutes between 6:00 AM and 10:15 PM.
The fare is €3.60 and takes about 40 minutes from Chania.
Chania to Kalami (Aptera)
Kalami is home to the Archaeological Site of Aptera, and there’s also a lovely beach here that people come to when they want to escape the crowds at other Chania beaches.
This ticket costs €2.20, takes 25 minutes, and there are 20-25 buses every day.
Chania’s Best Beaches by Bus
There are a ton of beautiful beaches around Chania, and many of them are accessible by bus, but they are way less frequent.
For example, there are only 4 daily buses to Stavros Beach, and even fewer if you want to visit Seitan Limania, Marathi Beach, or Katholiko Bay.
Chania Intercity bus Timetables
Chania is a great place to base yourself to see and explore many of the best things to do in Crete.
Eastern Crete and many coastal towns along the southern coast are too difficult to visit on a tour and expensive by taxi. To venture further from Chania, you must learn to use intercity buses.
We should note that there are limited routes to the smaller cities on Saturday and Sunday. Make sure to book your ticket before traveling to the Samaria Gorge or Paleochora.
Bus from Chania to Heraklion
The trip from Chania to the Heraklion Bus Station takes about 2 hours and 40 minutes. Buses depart from Chania Bus Station twenty times per day between 5:15 PM and 9:45 PM. You can book tickets online or go to the station to buy tickets for the next available bus.
For additional information, you can find the full timetable, distance, and other transportation options in this complete guide on how to get from Chania to Heraklion.
Chania to Rethymno by Bus
Rethymno is about 1 hour east of Chania, and there are routes that are similar to Rethymno each day.
Typically, we’ve found there are 12 departures per day and the ticket costs €3.60.
This is one ticket we would recommend booking early, especially if you think you want to leave early in the morning. That’s because when people want to visit some of the southern beach towns in Crete – e.g., Preveli Beach, Matala Caves, Plakias, or Agia Galina – they have to make a connection in Rethymno.
So, many people need an early bus to make their connection going south.
More Popular Intercity Bus Routes
Some of the most popular places to visit around Chania are easy to get to by bus. Updated timetables can always be found on the KTEL website for current timetables, but here is the cost of popular routes;
- Chania – Elafonisi (€11.00) – Once per day
- Chania – Paleochora (€8.30) – 3-4 departures per day
- Chania – Samaria Gorge (€8.50) – 2 departures per day
- Chania – Falassarna (€8.90) – 4 departures per day
Is there a Chania airport Bus?
Yes! You can take a bus from the Chania Airport into Old Town Chania. These public buses cost €2.50 and depart about 10 times per day (every 60-90 minutes).
Here is the current Chania airport bus timetable: 6:00, 8:40, 10:20, 12:15, 13:45, 14:30, 18:00, 18:40, 21:00, 22:40.
The bus stop is very easy to find at the airport. Walk out of the arrivals terminal, and you will see the bus stop right across the road! Once you get on the bus, it takes 30-40 minutes to reach the city.
Each bus makes 4 stops before finally reaching Chania Bus Station.
FYI – The Chania Bus Station is the only stop in Chania City, so if you’re staying in Agia Marina, Nea Chora, or Platinias, you’ll need to transfer to a new bus or take a taxi to your hotel!
More Ways to Get Around Chania?
There are several ways to get around Chania, apart from taking the bus. First off, Chania is a super walkable city, but you can also rent a car (our choice), hire taxis, or book tours to each destination on your itinerary.
Walking in Chania
Old Town Chania is a super walkable city. Even though we had our own rental car for the majority of our time there, we found ourselves walking into the city more often than not. It was just easier not to have to worry about parking in Old Town.
Most of the streets are pedestrian-only, and the beach is less than a kilometer from the town center. Truthfully, you could enjoy a few days in Chania without ever setting foot in a vehicle.
However, if you want to visit other towns and beaches in Crete, then you will need to find alternative transportation!
Rent a car
Renting a Car in Crete is our favorite way to get around. It can be very affordable (€10-20/day) and gives you complete flexibility to travel around Chania and the surrounding area.
But there are so many different car rental agencies on the island, so it’s hard to know which is best. The most helpful tool for this is DiscoverCars.com, which has ratings for each company and offers its own complete coverage insurance with each booking.
Driving in Crete is not difficult once you get the hang of it. And it is possible to find free and accessible parking in Chania!
P.S. The cheapest cars are all manual transmission vehicles. If you require an automatic transmission in Crete, expect to pay about double for it!
Take a taxi
There is no Uber in Crete, so the only way to hail a ride is by flagging a public taxi. These taxis in Chania are expensive. The basic far is €1.80-2.50 + €0.90 per kilometer.
That ends up being about €1 per minute in the taxi, so a taxi from Chania – Heraklion or Chania to Rethymnon is very expensive (€80-150!
Final thoughts
So, that’s pretty much everything you need to know about getting around Chania by bus. The bus station is super easy to navigate, and Chania is actually our favorite spot to use as a base for exploring Crete.
It’s close to many of the island’s best beaches, as well as other awesome spots like Elafonisi Beach, Samaria River Gorge, and Katholiko Monastery.
But if you’d like more flexibility and feel comfortable driving in Europe, renting a car is really not much more expensive. That’s our favorite way to get around Crete!
