Heraklion has the third busiest port in Greece, and serves around two million passengers a year. Located in central Crete along the north coast, Heraklion is 145km east of the town of Chania, 80km east of Rethymnon, and 3km west of the nearest airport: Nikos Kazantzakis International (airport code HER). Greece’s capital city of Athens is 340km to the northeast of Heraklion, reachable in 7-13 hours by ferry. The nearest island to Heraklion port is Santorini, a 2-3 hour ferry ride away.