Top Crete Day Trips - page 3

"Fantastic" is the best word to describe this tour. George was very professional throughout the experience, from the pickup to returning us back to our apartment. His van was very comfortable, too. The drive to the gorge was long, and George filled the time with commentary about the landscape and culture. He is quite informed about the history and, despite our visiting the archeological museum earlier in the week, was able to provide an outstanding summary of the island's history over the past 7000+ years. George gave the occasional "quiz" to see if we were paying attention. We stopped for coffee at a small cafe -- nice, quiet location and excellent coffee. George also treated us to sesame and honey snack bars (Pasteli). As recommended, we prepurchased our entry tickets to the gorge -- this made entry seamless and quick, although there were no other people waiting when we arrived. We followed the steep steps (be forewarned as you'll need to climb back up later) down into the gorge. At the bottom, the only way to see the waterfalls is to swim in the very cold spring water, about 50m. Did I mention the water was very cold?! We took advantage of the waterproof bags for our mobile phones, and this allowed us to take some photos of the waterfalls. George watched our belongings during this time. We toweled off, then climbed back out of the gorge. Although not essential, some people wore wetsuits to reduce the chilling effects of the cold water. For our next stop we chose to stop at Preveli Beach and palm tree forest. You need to climb more steps up and over a hill to get to the beach (about 15 minutes), and it was worth it. The river from the gorge flows across the beach, and there is plenty of shade under the trees. After about an hour of wading in the river and the sea, we headed back to the meet up point. On our return trip to Heraklion, we stopped at Taverna Dionyssos in the mountain village of Myrthios for lunch. We were treated to a preview in the kitchen of the daily specials which, of course, we had to order. Lunch was fantastic! We were staying in the heart of Heraklion and George delivered us almost to our front door, saving us a 15 minute walk from our original pickup location. Later that evening, George sent a WhatsApp message with a summary of our day. What an unexpected and welcome surprise! We absolutely and highly recommend George as a guide, and this tour was outstanding.

Booked the VIP experience which had reserved loungers in the sun and reserved seats under the shade which was definitely worth the upgrade. Crew was great and Alfonso our host was the best! Most boat tours I’ve been on had just small snacks but this trip had coffee and breakfast offerings right at the beginning, meats, cheese and bread in the middle, an amazing fully cooked Cretan meal with shrimp orzo, Greek salad, stew, and chicken and then light snacks and fruit at the end. Lots of offerings at the bar as well. The beaches were so beautiful and the deep water was stunning. Probably our best day trip boating experience we’ve ever had. Tip them well!!!!

Amazing trip to visit Elafonissi Beach if you don’t have a car! No frills no sales pitches. The tour guides were soo friendly and great. We had a mix up with pick up location and the company took control and got us where we needed to go! Amazing customer service. Definitely recommend if you want to visit Elafonissi Beach and enjoy a scenic drive.

The experience was wonderful! Our driver to Balos was excellent. And the crew on the catamaran was amazing as well. We had a beautiful day of swimming , snorkeling and beach time and of course relaxing on the boat! Lunch was delicious too. Highly recommend this tour.

A great way to see Crete! Beautiful scenery. Our guides were awesome. My 26 yr old daughter and I each got our own quad and wished in hindsight we would have shared one. Our thumbs got tired! Chicken skewer lunch with tomatoes/cukes and fries were also served. Definitely would recommend!

Kostas rolls out the red carpet for his guests! Having a luxurious Mercedes van with a table inside to leave our belongings in while we explored was so convenient. He took us to places we wouldn't have known about. We were able to drink fresh water from a local spring and eat the most amazing meal with a beautiful view. He also took us to an alternative cave, which my son really enjoyed, since Zeus was closed. He's a fantastic driver (how he maneuvers his van in such small spaces is a resume worthy skill) and he provides snacks at almost every stop! These aren't your average snacks either. They are homemade by his mom. In addition, he leaves you with parting thank you gifts of his families honey and some tea! I highly recommend his tour. It was fantastic!

I can’t recommend this tour group any higher. We booked at the last minute because we discovered that today was a holiday and everything was closed. Our expectations were low since we booked what was available and figured it was better than doing nothing today. Wow were we blown away with the experience!! First of all, our guide Panos recognized that the itinerary while fantastic was possibly something we had already seen. Therefore, he quickly called his boss and made a pivot to what we were going to do for the day. It was absolutely phenomenal. We saw the countryside, Little villages, an amazing taverna with the most fabulous food, and the coast of this beautiful island. We were able to take pictures and stop at interesting sites. We heard details about Crete and its history. I’m sure had we seen the planned itinerary it would also have been spectacular, but we had traveled much of those roads already so we were very happy to be flexible. I think that above all else is what I appreciate - the experience that Panos had enabled him to understand what we would enjoy doing and then pivot/slightly customize the tour. The food we ate was also to die for. Such a great day!!!

This hike was amazing. We ended up going with a very large group, however, went at our own pace. Highly recommend Hiking shoes. Bring snacks. Water fills along the way. Multiple checkpoints and if you finish early enough, time for a meal and swim at the end before boarding the ferry. Our calves are sore today. Its just about all downhill, so can be tough on the knees. It was beautiful and SO glad we did it. Recommend doing it towards the end of your stay in Crete due to muscle soreness and just being tired. Its a 10 mile/15 km hike with little flat. Enjoy!