Best way to Get to Knossos Palace from Ship Port

[Baybear]

Does anyone know the best/cheapest way to get to Knossos Palace from the Cruise Ship port in Heraklion, Crete (Greece)?

 

I know you could hire a tour guide but how about:

 

1) Local bus... cost of that?, or

 

2) Taxi... cost of that?

 

The cruise line (Oceania) charges outrageous prices for their tours, and we really only want to see the Palace and then go to the Archeological Museum, which looks to be basically right near the ship docking area anyway. So I figure we can walk to the Museum from the ship, but the Palace looks to be about 2-3 miles from the Port and would be too far to walk.

[rivendell]

We took a taxi (there were 4 of us) He was good--showed us a bit of the countryside. I don't remember the cost, but it was a fixed amount. He was willing to wait for us and afterward he took us to the splendid museum which was in town. A super great day. We walked back to the ship after we toured the museum.. Mary

[moviefan2010]

The public bus station is a short walk from the cruise port. You should be able to find it on a map. If you are fast walker like me then you will arrive at that crummy palace before the ship tour does.

 

 

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[Baybear]

The public bus station is a short walk from the cruise port. You should be able to find it on a map. If you are fast walker like me then you will arrive at that crummy palace before the ship tour does.

 

 

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Hmmm... Seems like you didn't think much of the palace. It's #6 on Tripadvisor for "things to do in Knossos" so maybe it's not so great (After the Archeological Museum, winery, etc.) ... Can you comment on it?

 

Yes, we are very fit walkers, even at 70yo. For example, I play racquetball and tennis, so we shouldn't have any trouble walking to the taxi/bus stands. But now I'm thinking maybe we should tour something else on Heraklion. Any suggestions?

[Baybear]

We took a taxi (there were 4 of us) He was good--showed us a bit of the countryside. I don't remember the cost, but it was a fixed amount. He was willing to wait for us and afterward he took us to the splendid museum which was in town. A super great day. We walked back to the ship after we toured the museum.. Mary

 

Thanks. What did you think of the Palace?

[cruisemom42]

Not sure what the other poster had in mind by "crummy"....

 

Knossos certainly has attracted a lot of controversy. It was excavated and "restored" (very much according to the whim of the man who discovered it, Sir Arthur Evans). By today's standards, a lot of liberties were taken -- all this info is readily available in guide books and online if you're interested.

 

That said, it is interesting to visit the place. You can get a vague idea of what such a palace may have looked like -- even if some of the restoration is fanciful. Take a good guidebook if you won't have a guided tour -- this will help to explain the function of certain rooms and outside areas. (There is a small but good bookstore onsite.)

 

The palace is not huge and it does tend to get overrun with visitors. I agree with the advice to get there as early as you possibly can to get the jump on the large ship and bus tours that come in shortly after opening. Because of this, I'd recommend a taxi over using the public bus. The distance isn't that far, so the cost can't be too much.

Edited July 9, 2015 by cruisemom42

[Baybear]

We took a taxi (there were 4 of us) He was good--showed us a bit of the countryside. I don't remember the cost, but it was a fixed amount. He was willing to wait for us and afterward he took us to the splendid museum which was in town. A super great day. We walked back to the ship after we toured the museum.. Mary

 

I inquired through a island taxi service how much it would be to take four of us to: 1) The Knossos Palace, 2) A winery, and 3) take us back to the Archeological Museum in Haraklion. They responded that it would be 700 EUROs total! That's about $780 dollars just to be taken to two places not that far away, and then dropped back in town near the ship port. Seems a bit extravagant to me...

 

I think we'll stick with more local (bus?) transportation.