The KTEL Chania-Rethymnon bus company, which runs the local and intercity services in the western part of the island (KTEL Heraklion-Lasithi is the corresponding company for the eastern half of the island), has announced a new express bus service linking Chania with Heraklion.

Starting from 16th June 2025, the 140 km journey between the two cities will take two hours, without any stops – comparable to the time taken in a private car. There will be four services per day in each direction, leaving every three hours from the respective central bus stations, as follows:

Chania-Heraklion: 09:30, 12:30, 15:30, 18:30
Heraklion-Chania: 09:30, 12:30, 15:30, 18:30

Connections
For readers wishing to plan their connections with the new service, we give here the current timetable for services to Chania from Kolymbari/Kissamos and the villages of the endochora. It can be accessed on the KTEL site at https://www.e-ktel.com/images/pdfs/2025/MAY_2025/CHANIA_FROM_31-05-2025.pdf.
The page for accessing the Chania-Rethymnon timetables generally is: https://www.e-ktel.com/en/services/dromologia (there is also an online booking link on this page).

It should be remembered that both local and intercity KTEL services can be used to transport packages: the sender must take them to the bus station of departure and advise the recipient of the number of the service used and the time of arrival at the destination. The recipient must then be waiting to retrieve the package on arrival.

The service has proved popular for sending items which are urgently required – pharmaceutical drugs, documents, even hot meals – and its usefulness should be greatly enhanced by the reduced journey times of the new express service.
(Haniotika Nea 05/06/25)