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Information on how to reach HERAKLION - CRETE
How to move around in HERAKLION
Information on how to reach FORTH

MAP of Heraklion Center

View Heraklion City Center in a larger map

How to reach HERAKLION - CRETE

By air:

There is a considerable number of flights daily (10-20 depending on the season) connecting Heraklion International Airport ("Nikos Kazantzakis", airport Code: HER) with the Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH). There are also direct connections from Heraklion to various Greek islands as well as to major European cities. Aegean Air and Olympic Air are the major carriers to Athens.

Olympic Air, 25th August 27-29, Tel. +30 281044846, 2810244824, 2810244868
Aegean Airlines, Dimokratias 11, Tel. +30 2810344321, 2810344321, 2810344761
Sky Express, Heraklion Airport, Tel. +30 2810223500, 2810223500, 2810282828

The distance from the airport to Heraklion center is approx. 5 km.

By sea:

There are now three ferry lines going daily between Athens (Departure from Piraeus Port) and Heraklion:

Minoan Lines (Departure at about 22:30, Arrival at 6:00)
Superfast Ferries (Departure at 15:00, Arrival at 21:30)
ANEK Lines (Departure at about 21:00, Arrival at 6:00)

During summer, Minoan Lines and ANEK lines introduce daily routes but these are not available every day.

How to move around in HERAKLION

Distances - approximately, from the center of Heraklion:

5 km to Heraklion International Airport
approx. 20 minutes walking distance to the Port
6 km to the Minoan Palace of Knossos
8 to 10 km to FORTH

By Taxi:

The use of a taxi is a convenient and relatively not expensive mean of transportation in Heraklion. Taxis in Heraklion are colored silver. You can find a lot around in the city streets. You can find them also waiting at the airport, the port, the bus stations, in the Lion's Square, the "Platia Eleftherias" Square, and in "Platia Kornarou".

From the Airport to the center of town, the cost of a taxi is approximately 10 to 15 Euro.

By Public Transportation:

There is a frequent public bus service from Heraklion-airport to the center of town as well as from the center of town to FORTH. It is necessary to buy your tickets prior to getting onto a public bus. You can buy bus tickets from ticket machines at "Platia Eleftherias" Square and at some of the kiosques. The current price of the bus-tickets is 1.50 Euros (one way) from Airport to the center of town or from the center of town to FORTH. More details on how to reach FORTH by public transportation and taxis are given below.

How to reach FORTH

The building of FORTH is located 8 to 10 kilometers South-West of Heraklion center. You can reach FORTH by using:

a taxi: It will cost you approximately 15 to 20 Euro, and the driving time is approximately 20 minutes.
a public bus: The (one-way) ticket to FORTH costs 1.5 Euro, and the bus takes about 30 minutes to reach the University campus area, near which FORTH is located.
The "The Heraklion City Center" Google map above, shows the location of the bus stop in the center of the city, in front of Astoria hotel, in the direction towards FORTH; the note on that map also lists the bus line number, name, frequency, and approximate times. You should buy your ticket, as well as your return ticket, before entering the bus (for your return from FORTH, it is very hard to find a selling point at or near FORTH); in the center of the city, at the Astoria bus stop, there is a kiosk of the bus company, right at the bus stop, selling tickets; also, news-stand kiosks usually sell bus tickets.

When the bus reaches the area of the "Voutes" campus of the University, near which FORTH is located, use this "FORTH Location and Bus Stops" Google Map for orienting yourself.

If you are in bus line #8, the bus terminal is just in front of the FORTH building. If you are in bus line #11, the first and very large building of the campus that you will see in front of you and to the right hand side of the road is the University Hospital ("PaGNH"); approximately 800 m after that stop, and immediately after a downhill road and a very sharp 135-degree right turn, is the bus stop where you should get off and walk to the left (North), for 200 meters, towards the FORTH campus, as shown on the "FORTH location and bus stops" Google map. This same map contains information on public buses for returning to Heraklion, from these same bus stops: the buses keep moving in the same direction, making a circle inside the University campus, and then returning back to Heraklion (i.e. bus stops exist only on one side of the road, since all buses travel in a single direction).
From the airport and the port as well as from the city center, you can reach both FORTH and the University of Crete by bus, No.11 (ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ / ΠΑΓΝΗ), ("ΠΑΓΝΗ" is the university hospital located 800 meters south of the Physics Department "ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ") and No.8 (ITE) ("ITE" stands for the Greek abbreviation of FORTH - the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas, 1000m west of the Physics Department). Both buses stop near (200m) from FORTH and in front of the University of Crete - Physics department. There are bus stops in the city center. The main stop is in "Platia Eleftherias" Square.