Tourist describes long waits, a police check and a shared taxi fare in letter to Cretalive about Crete’s airport transfers

A tourist who says he has visited Crete many times describes a string of difficulties getting to and from the island’s airports, in a letter published by Cretalive. The visitor says the issues range from long taxi waits and an overcharge to a police check on a pre-booked private transfer and a shared taxi ride for which the fare was not reduced.

According to the letter, on one earlier visit the tourist flew into Chania Airport and waited “for well over an hour” before securing a taxi. He says the driver was “rather rude” and, at the end of the journey, charged what he describes as an excessive amount for the trip. He writes that as a visitor unfamiliar with local fares, he paid the amount requested and continued his holiday.

After that experience, the tourist says he began booking transfers in advance with a private company using vans, finding the arrangement more predictable because he knew in advance who would collect him, where, and what he would pay. He says this worked well on several occasions until, last year, a police officer stopped the vehicle on arrival at the airport to check whether the transfer was being operated legally.

Police check on a booked private transfer

The tourist writes that he found the check “bewildering,” since he had booked and agreed the journey with a company in advance and believed he had done everything required. He says he later contacted the transfer company and was told that there is a long-running dispute in Crete between the taxi trade and companies offering pre-booked private van transfers, over passenger transport rules. He states that, as a visitor, he does not know which side is in the right and does not believe tourists should be expected to understand the dispute.

This year, the tourist says he decided to use taxis again. He again waited “for quite some time” before finding one, he writes, and once in the taxi, another passenger travelling to a nearby destination was placed in the same vehicle for part of the journey. He says he assumed the fare would be adjusted to reflect the shared ride, but the amount he was asked to pay was not reduced.

Tourist says dispute should not affect visitors

The letter states that the author is not seeking to criticize taxi drivers as a group, saying he has also met “courteous, honest and thoroughly professional” drivers during his visits. He writes that his concern is a broader one: that visitors are caught in the middle of a professional dispute over transport rules that has nothing to do with them, and that tourists simply want predictable costs, reasonable waiting times and clarity on whether a booked transfer is operating legally.

He adds that Crete “remains one of the most beautiful places” he has visited and that he intends to keep returning, while suggesting that those responsible for passenger transport on the island consider the experience from a visitor’s perspective, given that airport transfers often shape a traveler’s first and last impressions of a destination.

Visitors weighing their options for getting around Crete sometimes turn to renting a car as an alternative to taxis or pre-booked vans; details on local providers are available through Rent a car in Crete.