Getting from Dokos to Heraklion

If you are heading to Heraklion from Dokos you are making your way from an uninhabited rocky island in the Saronic Gulf to the capital of Crete, with the Palace of Knossos just 5 kilometres from the city centre and one of the finest archaeological museums in Greece.

Take the ferry

There are no scheduled ferries from Dokos. Dokos has no ferry service and is accessible only by water taxi from Hydra, Spetses or Ermioni, with the crossing from Hydra taking around 30 minutes. Getting to Heraklion means arranging a water taxi from Dokos to Hydra, taking the Saronic ferry from Hydra to Piraeus, which takes around 1 hour 5 minutes to 2 hours, and then boarding the overnight Piraeus to Heraklion ferry, which departs around 9pm and arrives in the early morning after around 8 to 9 hours. Alternatively fly from Athens to Heraklion.

Getting there by air

Heraklion has an international airport with daily connections from Athens. Dokos has no airport. Taking the water taxi from Dokos to Hydra, the Saronic ferry to Piraeus and flying from Athens to Heraklion takes around 50 minutes on the second leg. Total journey time is around 5 to 6 hours. In Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights.

Your best option

Arrange a water taxi from Dokos to Hydra before leaving the island, take the Saronic ferry to Piraeus and fly from Athens to Heraklion. It is the fastest and most practical approach. Pre-arrange your water taxi departure as you cannot hail a boat once you are on Dokos. If you are traveling with a car, note that Dokos is only accessible by small boat so a vehicle cannot be brought to or from the island.