Getting in

• Heraklion International Airport: The sensible airport for Ágios Nikólaos. Take the KTEL Lasithi bus toward Ágios Nikólaos from the airport/Heraklion bus-station corridor: roughly 1–1½ hours and about €6–8; schedules are thinner outside summer, so confirm the day before. A pre-booked taxi or transfer is worthwhile for late arrivals or a group: allow about an hour and roughly €75–100. Do not pay a reseller for a ‘shared shuttle’ unless it is clearly cheaper and timed to your flight.
• Heraklion Port: Night ferries from Piraeus arrive here, not in Ágios Nikólaos. Walk or take a short taxi to Heraklion’s intercity KTEL station, then take the Ágios Nikólaos bus; budget about 1¼–1½ hours door to door and roughly €8. This is the practical ferry connection, though an overnight crossing followed by a bus is not glamorous.
• Chania International Airport: Use only if the airfare is compelling. Ágios Nikólaos is on the opposite side of the island: a rental car is the least-bad option, about 3–3½ hours via the northern highway in good conditions. By public transport, expect a Chania–Heraklion bus, then a second KTEL bus to Ágios Nikólaos, commonly 4½–5½ hours plus connection time.
• Sitia Airport: Geographically closer than Chania but served by few flights. A car or taxi takes about 1½–2 hours to Ágios Nikólaos; public-transport connections are limited and not a good plan after a flight. Choose it for a convenient domestic/charter flight, not for transfer simplicity.