Chania is mostly serviced by its International Airport, situated 20 minutes outside the city proper, with multiple daily flights connecting the city to Athens, as well as seasonal connections with 25 other countries.
A cheaper alternative to reach Chania is to board a ferry to Souda Bay.
Chania is only connected with Athens’ main port, Piraeus, with daily departures and arrivals throughout the year.
Routes to Chania are operated exclusively by conventional ferries.
The only company serving the port is
Blue Star Ferries.
➜ Conventional vs High Speed: What ferry should you select?
Booking your ferry tickets is one of the first and most important steps in organizing your holidays in Chania!
We make this step the easiest and uncomplicated one, as booking your ferry tickets with us has a lot of benefits:
-
The experience we provide to our customers has been awarded (Tourism Awards).
-
You can compare all the available ticket prices with just one click.
-
The booking process is simple, quick, and comes with a 100% secure payment system.
-
Interactive live maps show you every detail of your journey.
-
Our agents are experienced, informative, and always happy to help you with any question or request you may have regarding your tickets and trip.
Chania is famous for its picturesque Old Town and Port, lending the city its unique Venetian character that melds beautifully with Ottoman and Modern Greek characteristics.
Despite its distance from Heraklion, Crete’s capital city, tourism in Chania is rapidly on the rise, with the number of incoming visitors increasing year by year!
The city is based on the ancient polis of Kydonia, which itself was built upon a Minoan settlement. Chania, like all of Crete, has had a turbulent history from staving off Arab pirate raids to being ruled by the Venetians and the Ottomans, whose cultures have left an indelible mark on the city. Chania is considered the most scenic of the island’s main cities, where these influences have been best preserved.
Neighborhoods like Topanas and Kastelli serve as the epitome of the city’s unique traits, with renaissance-era narrow streets and small houses covered with ceramic roofs, painted mostly in soft shades of white and yellow, which combine beautifully with the city’s disused fortifications to almost feel like a time machine. The city’s old port and lighthouse are among the most photographed places in all of Greece, due to its exceptional retention of historical identity.
Chania serves as the capital of Chania prefecture, which also includes countless small villages, each with its own unique flair, as well as widely different natural landscapes.
Many beaches line the coast around Chania prefectures, with some of the most notable being Balos and Elafonisi, whose sands are sought after worldwide.
The White Mountains form the backbone of the island of Crete, and over the years erosion has led to the creation of a number of stunning gorges, with Samaria Gorge being the most famous one.
Like most locations in Greece, the best time to visit is between May and October, however Crete’s location at the southern end of the Aegean Sea actually makes it warm enough for an enjoyable visit year-round, and that includes Chania. Visits to the mountainous villages are best undertaken in May or September.
A stroll through the Old Town of Chania is considered a must for visitors of Crete in general, which can be combined with visits to the city's museums to gain a full picture of how such an unmistakable place came to be.
Outside of Chania Town, the many villages each offer a distinct experience to their visitors. A trek to the southern coast of Crete takes one to Sfakia, a historical village whose people have an indomitable reputation, as well as other seaside villages such as Loutro and Paleochora.
Chania also serves as an excellent base camp for those wishing to explore western Crete’s natural beauty, providing the best possible access to beautiful beaches such as Elafonissi and Balos, famous for its pink-colored sand, as well as gorges, like the breathtaking Samaria Gorge.
Chania is a destination suitable for everyone! It offers one-of-a-kind charming spots with stunning views, opportunities to learn about history and culture, locations to explore and awe at unparalleled natural beauty, youthful cafés, high-end restaurants, and a respectable nightlife, making it an unforgettable experience for visitors of every ilk.
Know what you don't know about Chania!
-
Chania was the capital of Crete between 1850 and 1970, notably including the period of the autonomous Cretan State.
-
Chania Town is made up of the ancient city of Kydonia, encircled by the Byzantine Walls and nestled within the Old Town, encircled by the Venetian Walls and nestled within the modern city of Chania.
-
The famous lighthouse of Chania was originally built by Venetians, but its current incarnation was actually built during the period of Egyptian control in the 1830s.
-
The narrowest point of Samaria Gorge is known as the Gates, where the width of the pass is only 4 meters, contrasting with the height of 300 meters boasted by the surrounding cliffs!
-
The famous pink sand of Elafonisi gets its color from the red-pigmented shells of microscopic organisms that wash up on the shore and get crushed over time.
It is common for visitors of Crete to not restrict themselves to either of the main cities, instead exploring as much of the island as possible. The north of Crete is well connected by road, and this allows visitors to quickly reach Rethymno, as well as Heraklion and the nearby palace of Knossos!