Getting from Chania to Skyros

If you are heading to Skyros from Chania you are making your way from the most intimate of Crete's three main cities to the most remote of the Sporades group, in the northern Aegean. It has two completely different landscapes, a dramatic hilltop Chora and a wild volcanic south, with its own native horse breed and one of the most extraordinary carnival traditions in Greece.

Getting there by air

Skyros has its own small airport with connections from Athens, running around twice a week. Chania has an international airport with connections from Athens. Flying from Chania to Athens and then Athens to Skyros gives a total journey time of around 4 to 5 hours. Check the Athens to Skyros schedule carefully as the service runs a limited number of times per week. In Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights.

Take the ferry

There is no direct ferry from Chania to Skyros. Skyros is connected to the mainland only via Kymi on the eastern coast of Evia. Getting there by sea means taking the overnight ferry from Chania to Piraeus, which takes around 8 to 9 hours, and then driving to Kymi for the ferry across to Skyros, which takes around 1 hour 40 minutes. The total journey takes the better part of two days.

Your best option

Fly from Chania to Athens and connect to Skyros by air or drive to Kymi for the ferry. Flying is the most time efficient approach. If you are traveling with a car, take the overnight ferry from Chania to Piraeus and drive to Kymi for the ferry across to Skyros.