Cheap flights from Dublin to Heraklion

Summer is the expensive stretch on this route, when Greece fills with holidaymakers and fares climb with demand, so book June to August travel early. Prices ease through autumn, and December is the cheapest month in the fare calendar — out of season and quieter, though the calendar skips February entirely. Spring is the middle ground: April and May are warm and calm before the crowds arrive. Midweek departures tend to cost less than weekend ones, and the days around Christmas and New Year can spike even in a cheap month.

Every booking here is a connection, and the carrier tells you where you change: Aegean routes via Athens, Lufthansa and Lufthansa City Airlines via their German hubs, Swiss and Edelweiss Air via Zurich, Air Baltic via Riga, Vueling via Barcelona and Transavia France via its French bases. The stop costs hours, but it widens the choice of fares. Aegean, Lufthansa, Swiss and Edelweiss Air are full-service, so a hold bag and catering usually come included; Vueling, Transavia France, Air Baltic and Eurowings are low-cost, where the base ticket covers little and baggage is an add-on. Emerald Airlines, a regional operator, completes the list.

Nikos Kazantzakis is a compact, single-terminal airport sitting close to the city, so the walk from plane to street is short and the bottleneck is usually baggage claim on a busy summer afternoon. City buses and taxis cover the quick hop into central Heraklion; if you are heading straight for a beach resort, hire cars and pre-booked transfers wait just outside arrivals. Expect queues in the peak weeks and give the car-rental desks your booking reference, since popular categories run out fast in season. The port for ferries to other islands sits at the edge of town, an easy taxi ride, so an onward connection is realistic if you leave slack.

Currency

EUR (€)

Power sockets

Type C, F · 230 V

Language

Greek

Emergency number

112, 100, 166

Driving side

right

Calling code

+30

Internet domain

.gr, .ελ

EU / Schengen

EU member, Schengen area

Population of Heraklion

145 k (2021)

Time zone

UTC+03 (Europe/Athens)

Country facts: Wikidata

• Check whether your itinerary is one ticket or two separate bookings — a missed connection on separate tickets is yours to rebook.
• Leave yourself a generous layover, because with no nonstop option the change of plane is the fragile part of the journey.
• Compare baggage rules before paying: on the low-cost carriers a checked bag is an add-on, while full-service fares usually include one.
• Dublin flies from a single airport, so the departure side is simple — it is the connection city that deserves a double-check.
• Check what documents Greece requires for your nationality before you commit.
• If you fly in the cheap winter months, confirm that your accommodation on Crete is open.