The moment you walk out of Heraklion Airport with your luggage is when the holiday starts feeling real.
You have made it to Crete, but there is still that slightly awkward stage between getting off the plane and actually starting your holiday. Collecting your luggage, finding your rental car, working out where to go first and deciding what to do with the rest of the day can make those first few hours feel more complicated than they need to be.
The good news is that Heraklion Airport is close to the city. It is only about 5 km from central Heraklion, so you don’t have to spend your first hour in Crete travelling a long distance just to get somewhere interesting.
With your rental car sorted, you can make the first part of your holiday as simple or adventurous as you like.
First: get out of the airport without overthinking it
After a flight, the temptation is to get moving as quickly as possible.
Sometimes that’s exactly what you want. Other times, you have been travelling since early morning, you’re hungry, and the idea of immediately driving for two hours doesn’t sound quite as exciting as it did when you planned the trip.
There is no reason to make your first drive the biggest one.
Once you have collected your luggage and completed the car handover, take a moment to get comfortable with the car. Adjust the seat and mirrors, put your bags somewhere secure and make sure you know where you are going before pulling away.
Heraklion Airport is close enough to the city that you can easily make a short first stop rather than committing yourself to a long journey.
Your first stop can be something very ordinary
You don’t have to begin your holiday at a famous archaeological site. In fact, one of the nicest ways to start can be surprisingly simple.
Find somewhere for coffee. Have a proper meal. Walk around for half an hour. Stop at a bakery and buy something for later. Sit somewhere in the shade and realise that you are finally in Crete. These little things can be more useful than trying to tick off a major attraction immediately after landing.
They also give you a chance to adjust to the temperature, the roads and the rhythm of the island before you start driving further.
Heraklion is right there if you want to see it
Because the airport is so close to the city, Heraklion can make an easy first stop.
You could leave the airport, find somewhere to park and spend a little time walking through the centre. The Venetian harbour and Koules are close to the old town, while the Archaeological Museum gives you the opportunity to see some of Crete’s most important Minoan finds without making a separate trip later.
You don’t need to spend the entire day there. Even a couple of hours can turn “we’ve just landed” into “we’ve started exploring.”
And if your accommodation is somewhere outside the city, you can continue afterwards without having to make a separate trip back to Heraklion.
Your luggage can change the way you plan the first few hours
This is something that is easy to overlook when planning a holiday from home.
If you have several suitcases in the car, you probably don’t want to spend the afternoon leaving them unattended while you wander around. That can make a direct drive to your accommodation the easiest option, especially if you have arrived early and the room is already available.
If check-in is later, look at your options before deciding where to stop. Sometimes a short visit to Heraklion makes sense. Other times, the better choice is to head towards your accommodation and find somewhere nearby for lunch.
The car gives you those choices. You don’t have to build your first day around the airport timetable.
Don’t turn arrival day into a full sightseeing day
There is a difference between starting to explore and trying to make the most of every available hour. You may have imagined landing in the morning, visiting Knossos, having lunch in a village, driving to the coast and checking into your hotel in the evening.
It sounds impressive on paper. It may feel rather less impressive when you have just got off a flight.
Arrival day works better when you leave room for things you cannot predict. Your flight may be delayed. Luggage may take longer. You may want lunch earlier than expected. You might simply discover that the first Cretan coffee deserves another twenty minutes.
The island isn’t going anywhere.
This is a good day to get comfortable with the car
Your first few kilometers are also useful for getting a feel for driving in Crete. You are not only learning the rental car. You are getting used to the road signs, the traffic and the way local driving feels.
A short drive around the Heraklion area can be a much gentler introduction than immediately heading into the mountains. Once you are comfortable, longer drives become much easier.
And if you have never driven in Crete before, there is no need to prove anything on your first afternoon. Let faster traffic pass when appropriate, take your time and save the narrow mountain roads for when you feel ready for them.
You can decide what kind of holiday you’re having
Something else happens once you have the car. Your first few hours can give you a better idea of what you actually feel like doing.
Perhaps you arrive expecting to spend the whole holiday visiting archaeological sites and discover that you really want long lunches and village drives. Perhaps you thought you would spend every afternoon at the beach and realise that the mountains look much more tempting. Or perhaps you simply want to get to your accommodation, unpack and do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day.
That’s fine too.
The advantage of picking up the car at Heraklion Airport is not that you have to start exploring immediately. It’s that you can decide what happens next.
What if you have several hours before check-in?
This is where having a car can be particularly useful. If your accommodation isn’t ready yet, you don’t necessarily need to sit around with your luggage or spend hours at the airport. You can choose something relatively close to your route and spend a little time there before continuing.
Depending on where you’re staying, that could mean stopping in Heraklion, having lunch somewhere outside the city or simply taking a short drive towards the coast.
The important thing is to keep the first stop practical. You don’t need to cross half the island before checking in.
And what if you arrive late?
A late arrival calls for a completely different approach. Don’t feel that you have to turn the first evening into sightseeing time. If you have accommodation booked, drive there, check in and leave the exploring for tomorrow.
This is another reason why having the car already arranged can make the arrival feel easier. Heraklion Airport operates around the clock, although individual rental companies have their own opening and handover arrangements, so late arrivals should always be checked with the company before travelling.
The first evening can simply be dinner, a walk and an early night. There will be plenty of time for the rest.
The best first day may be the one you don’t plan too much
A good arrival day in Crete doesn’t need a complicated schedule.
Pick up the car. Get your bearings. Have something good to eat. See somewhere nearby if you feel like it. Then continue to your accommodation when it suits you.
You might discover a place you hadn’t planned to visit. You might take a wrong turn and find a better road. Or you might spend two hours doing almost nothing.
All three are perfectly good ways to begin a holiday in Crete.
The important thing is that once you leave Heraklion Airport, you are no longer trying to get to your holiday.
You’re already in it.
Continue Exploring Crete