Getting around Heraklion and to Knossos Palace by public transit
Heraklion was one of our favorite stops on our Greece cruise.
Not only was the city easy to navigate from the port, but it didn’t require the use of a tender. Let’s explore how you can save some big money by skipping the pricy cruise excursions and using public transit to get around.
The port has a large map to help visitors orient themselves. You’ll notice the bus station is just a short walk away from the port. From there, you can get just about anywhere in the city. There is also a free shuttle bus from the port
Knossos Palace
Our first stop after breakfast was Knossos Palace. We walked a few blocks to the urban bus station (not the intercity bus station) and caught Bus 2 to Knossos. I recommend buying a round-trip ticket for €3.40, if possible. Onboard, the fare is €2.50 each way although the fare machines were all broken when we were at the bus station. Either way, it’s much cheaper than the shore excursions.
Bus 2 runs every 10-15 minutes to Knossos Palace. The ride will take about 20-30 minutes.
We spent a few hours exploring the ruins and then caught the bus back to Heraklion. The stop is just to the right of the Knossos Palace exit. I would have taken a picture, but the bus was loading when we walked out and we didn’t want to miss it.
We returned to the ship for a quick lunch, since the boat was tendered and we could easily access the dock.
Exploring Heraklion
With full bellies, we then walked back out of the port to the CityBus red line stop located nearby.
This is one of two free bus routes provided by the city. Note: there are two “red” bus stops at the port. One is for the free CityBus and the other is a paid tourist bus. The CityBus looks like a van (pictured above) while the tourist bus is a bus.
We took the CityBus two stops to the archeological museum and were very happy not to have to walk uphill. We planned to take it again to other stops but instead decided to walk to nearby attractions.
We ended our long day of sightseeing at the Venetian Harbor, which is 1km from the port, and stop #11 on the CityBus. We waited a few minutes for the bus to arrive and then made our way back to the ship.
The route goes much further east than the bus map shows before entering a neighborhood and then turning back towards the port. It was full of locals every time we used it.
Heraklion is a fantastic city to visit and we greatly appreciated that it was easy to get around from the port using public transit.
If you’re tight on time, you can also take a taxi around town. Drivers are often waiting for passengers when ships arrive.
Prices are fixed based on the destination.
