Travel to Chania, Crete, Greece

Arriving by air

Chania Airport (IATA code: CHQ) is located on the peninsula of Akrotiri (or Souda), about 20 minutes (14 km) from Chania. Chania Airport operates domestic flights to and from Athens Airport, Thessaloniki Airport and other airports in Greece. From April to early November, there are many direct charter flights to Chania Airport from the UK, Germany, Scandinavia and other European countries.

More information: https://www.chania-airport.com/

Travel to Athens, Greece

Athens may typically serve as a first stop when traveling to Chania from international and non-Schengen destinations. Check with your local airlines for the most up to date flight schedules.

Arriving by air

The Athens International Airport is serviced by all major airlines, offering direct non-stop flights from/to most of the major European cities, New York, Philadelphia, Montreal/Toronto, North Africa, Gulf States, South Africa, and easy connections to the rest of the world. ATH is also serviced by low-cost and/or charter airlines that offer attractive packages.

Visitors arriving by air will arrive to the Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” (IATA code: ATH). This award-winning airport is one of the world’s leading airports in overall passenger satisfaction, and has been named the Airport of the Year (2014) in the 10-30 million-passenger category by internationally-acclaimed web portal Air Transport News.

General Information

Language and currency

The official and national language of Greece is Greek. It is written in the Greek alphabet. In some tourist areas, you will also find street names and signs transliterated into the Latin script. Many Greeks speak English, French, German or Italian as a foreign language.

Greece uses Euro (EUR) as currency. Major cards are accepted in larger cities and tourist areas in Greece. When shopping, however, you may get better deals with merchants with cash than debit or credit cards. You can withdraw Euros from ATM machines.

If you have a permanent non-EU residence and are planning to do some shopping during your stay in Greece, you may be interested to learn some tips and guidelines for tax free shopping.

Electricity, plugs and sockets

Electrical supply is 230 V, 50 Hz AC. Greece uses the standard European (round-pronged) plugs and power sockets. In technical terms, sockets are “type C” or “type F” (also known as “Schuko”), and they work with corresponding plugs (type C, E, F). 

Visa requirements

Citizens of some countries need an entry visa for Greece. For more information, check out the detailed visa information page.