All Heraklion Tours & Excursions in 2026

"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.

The pickup point was super easy for someone on a cruise. The trip to the marina where the boats were was about 15 minutes. I was on a regular boat. Others from my ship were on a RIB. There were 2 stops for snorkeling. Both had crystal clear water and a decent amount of fish. I saw a spotted moray and others saw an octopus. Basil and Orestes were good guides. They include SSI snorkel certification, something fairly new. There were very good briefings by Basil and both he and Orestes were in the water and kept a close eye on everyone but without restricting us.

This was the greatest experience of our 2 week vacation in Greece. The kids absolutely loved it! The food was delicious. The service was great. The show was second to none! The amount of talent on the stage was mind blowing. The production and choreography was wonderful! There was a large variety to watch and the cast was very interactive. We look forward to visiting again on a future visit to Crete. I highly recommend this , don’t miss out! Wish we could add more stars than 5.

Our tour guides George and Dimitiri were very nice, we really enjoyed all the activities we did. I highly recommend the olive oil tasting and pottery workshop. Our group were 4 teens and 4 adults, there was something for everyone! We had plenty of time to explore Knososs Palace, the museum and were even treated to Greek coffee by George and Dimitri, which was a surprising treat! The monastery is a must see too. Thank you for making our experience in Crete a memorable one!

This experience was fabulous for our entire family and it has been a highlight of our vacation! It was such a fun way to see Crete and our kids enjoyed getting out of ruins and museums to have some adventure. It was great to stick our toes in the sea toward the end of tour.

Our guide was awesome! He worked around our allergies and food preferences and was very knowledgeable about the different types of food and the meaning behind them! He asked lots of questions about our culture and we both got to learn! Overall, we had a great experience and left very full (don’t eat several hours beforehand if you want to make it through).

We had the most wonderful food tour with Magda. She was a perfect ambassador of Cretan hospitality, history and culture. She took us to places in Heraklion we may no have gone on our own, and the food…first, I’ve never eaten so much on a food tour and we usually take one in a every major city we visit. Secondly, Magda took us to places that had unique offerings that only a local would know. One of the restaurants served us lamb, sheep and pork raised from the owner’s farm in the mountains. And I loved that she encouraged us to eat with our hands. We were immersed into the Cretan culture for a day. Loved it!

This tour was amazing! Special thanks to our guide Manos and to our driver who ensured a lovely and safe experience for everyone. Agios Nikolaos is an amazing place that we instantly fell in love with, and Spinalonga is just breathtaking. The operating company was fantastic, a team of professionals who quickly found a solution to reduce our return time in difficult traffic. I highly recommend this tour!