Top Crete Classes & Workshops

With the guidance of our local chef, guests immerse themselves in the world of Cretan Cooking while expanding their knowledge and learning about traditional ways of life. Our main goal of this activity is creating memorable moments for our guests in such ways as becoming familiar with traditional ways of cooking Cretan Food and having a sense of our way of life before tourism and modernity. This activity is handful to all food lovers and people who are interested in diving deep into culture and the past while embracing local products that can be found in our area.

Explore the rugged and wild side of Crete on the off-road adventure tour. Travel comfortably in a Land Rover high up into the Dikti mountain range. By going on an organized tour, you won’t have to worry about getting lost in unmarked rural areas and an experienced driver drives with confidence on the mountain roads. When you’ve worked up an appetite, a delicious local Cretan lunch in a taverna is provided.

Getting to grips with Cretan cooking is hard from a recipe alone, especially without someone to walk you through the techniques and why the dishes matter. Join a hands-on class near Chania, starting with cookies and Greek coffee before you cover the Mediterranean menu together. Make several traditional dishes across starters, mains, and desserts, then sit down to eat what you've cooked with local wine.

Be the soapmaker — not just a visitor. Step into Helleo, a small family-run soap lab, founded by Manos and Stelios, and discover their world of olive oil, botanicals, handmade craft and creative experimentation. Just 7 km from Heraklion, 5 km from Knossos and 5 km from Archanes, Helleo is an easy addition to your day in Crete. Meet the people behind the brand, discover how their family’s fresh extra-virgin olive oil, herbs, fruits, clays and fragrances become handmade soaps. In this private, hands-on soapmaking workshop, choose the ingredients, textures and scent you love and create your own blend. Give your soap its own identity, make it with your own hands and take it home together with your personal Soapmaker’s Card. And the journey can continue after you leave: share your creation and its story with Helleo, and it may become part of the Helleo Soapmakers’ Collection — giving your creation the chance to go further. Come as a visitor. Leave as a soapmaker!

Immerse yourself in Cretan cuisine with a private cooking class in Arolithos Traditional Cretan Village. Enjoy a small tour of the museum and two old houses. Afterwards, learn to make several traditional Cretan dishes, including starters, mains, and desserts, which you get to enjoy together afterwards. Includes local wine and mineral water and dinner.

Sample some of Crete’s finest produce on a small-group honey and extra-virgin olive oil-tasting tour. Visit a local manufacturer and see where and how these fine ingredients are made, from start to finish. Then, get a chance to sample some honey and olive oil for yourself. This is a great way to learn more about local culture through its cuisine.

Immerse yourself in Cretan cuisine with a small-group cooking class at a farmhouse near Chania. Stroll through the gardens and learn about olive oil and the Cretan diet, then make several traditional Cretan dishes, including starters, mains, and desserts, which you enjoy together afterwards. Includes alcoholic beverages and hotel pickup in an air-conditioned vehicle.

Get more than just a cooking class, and book a private Cretan cuisine experience that serves up island culture, too. Led by a mother-and-daughter team, the experience takes place outside at their farm, using their own organic produce and treasured family recipes. A meal made with your own hands and homemade refreshments are among the highlights.

The whole family will enjoy this fun snorkeling activity, which is both relaxing and adventurous. With a small group of no more than ten travelers you'll be taken on a boat ride to two different snorkeling spots. Experience the difference at the open ocean and sheltered spots, both with an abundance of sea life. Snorkeling gear will be provided so you don't need to bring your own.

Skip the resort buffet and get hands-on with the flavors that define Cretan cooking in this small-group sourdough making class in Chania. Try your hand at the sourdough process from mixing to baking and customize your loaf with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, or seeds. Visit the on-site olive grove and farm to gather ingredients for a hearty lunch with wine and enjoy a sweet dessert to finish.

This is not a show or a factory tour. It is a rare chance to take part in a hands-on olive oil making workshop using old tools and methods that have almost disappeared. The factory is 130 years old and the process is slow, manual, and personal, just like it was for generations in Crete. Our family will guide you through every step, sharing stories and knowledge passed down over time. Guests leave with a deeper respect for olive oil and Cretan food culture, and with a small bottle of our family’s olive oil as a reminder of the experience.

Go to hidden-away corners of Crete few travelers get to see with this guided all-terrain vehicle tour. Follow your guide off-road to quiet tracks far from the traffic and crowded resorts. Explore the near-abandoned ghost village of Achlada, where only a few locals still live, and Fodele, the birthplace of El Greco.

Explore the origins of Greek writing during an engaging clay workshop in historic Heraklion, Crete. Guided by a Linear B scholar, delve into one of Europe's earliest writing systems, created by Mycenaean civilization over 3,000 years ago. In a relaxed setting, you’ll learn the historical significance of Linear B while crafting your own clay tablet, using authentic tools and techniques. This interactive experience invites you to connect with Greek cultural heritage through art and history, making it ideal for anyone curious about ancient civilizations. No prior experience is needed; just bring your creativity and curiosity.A creative clay lab exploring the roots of Greek writing, where ancient symbols become a bridge to a deeper inner journey of discovery.

Visit the family home of a local Cretan for an evening of cooking, eating, and cultural exchange. Begin your visit in the vegetable gardens, where you harvest ingredients to use in your recipes. Learn traditional dishes from your hosts, hear the stories behind each, and taste local cheeses. Enjoy views of the Aegean Sea and the mountains, then sit down to a meal you helped prepare, paired with local wine.

Come and live a flavor journey from ancient times to today!!! Once you have arrived, we will take you on guided tour around our gardens, and Minoan theater that we have created. We will prepare you for the journey in time, telling you stories about Minoans and today’s Cretans that only locals know. Next we will COOK TOGETHER in an open air traditional MINOAN KITCHEN, over open hearth fire, using traditional Minoan style ceramic pots. The final part of the day will be our delicious meal that we will have all together in Mrs. Anna’s garden.

Spend a day at Acqua Plus, the most popular water park on Crete. The park is divided into two sides, one for all ages and one for adults only. Facilities are clean, well-run, and safe, with multiple lifeguards on duty at all times. In addition to the many games, slides, and water rides inside the park, there is a beautiful garden in the center with Cretan flowers and trees, exotic flowers, weeping willows, palm trees, bougainvilleas,  French marigolds and more greenery, making for a nice escape form the heat and sun.

The best souvenir is one you make yourself. Instead of choosing another shop-bought keepsake, spend 1.5 hours creating a painting that carries your own memories of Rethymno. This class is welcoming to people who think they are not artistic. The instructor keeps each step clear and encouraging, so nobody is left staring at a blank canvas. The group is capped at six, giving everyone plenty of personal help while the mood stays easy, friendly, and fun. Families can create side by side, friends can compare their different versions, and first-time painters often surprise themselves with what they make. Everything is prepared for you, from the acrylics and brushes to the apron, and every guest leaves with an A4 canvas ready to become part of their home. One detail is deliberately kept secret: a special local touch becomes part of the finished piece. It connects the artwork to Rethymno in a way a shop-bought souvenir never could and gives you a small piece of your holiday to bring home.

Feast your senses on the best of Cretan cuisine—and get a more intimate glimpse into the culture than you would in a restaurant—during a cooking class in Rethymno. As well learning how to prepare traditional Cretan dishes, you’ll enjoy an olive oil tasting session and a walk through a local village.

Discover the rugged landscapes of Crete's northern coast on an all-terrain vehicle (ATV or quad bike) adventure with transfers from Rethymno hotels. Splash through streams, wind along ancient gorges, and look for island wildlife from behind the wheel of a personal solo or tandem quad that can access tucked-away mountain reaches. You’ll need to be at least 18 and have held a license for one year to drive the quad.

Check out one of the oldest olive trees in the world, plus do some wine and olive tasting at traditional wineries and an olive oil factory on this private day-tour in Crete. You can go at your own pace, since you won’t be sharing your tour with strangers. There is also a local lunch stop at a winery at Kissavos Mountain, which is an additional fee.

Experience a wine tasting in Crete, the island with more than 3500 years of tradition in wine. We are professionals in the field of wine since 1998 and we truly love what we do. Our team consists of a sommelier, chef & wine maker. Visit our 600 year old stone wine cellar, a unique space that was part of an old 15th century Dominican Monastery. With this experience you will taste some of the finest wines form Greek vineyards, combined with local cheeses and delicacies. Each participant will receive a personalized folder with general information on Greek wines (with a focus on the history of Greek wine). The wines will be presented with detail by our Sommelier, with an emphasis on their individual characteristics. You will taste a variety of wines, accompanied by snacks , and you will get to visit our 15th – century stone build cellar. Snacks include: viriety of rusks & breadsticks, green apple, tomato, viriety of local cheeses & Apaki (smocked pork slices cooked with vinsanto wine)

Many visitors to Crete stick to the coast and miss out on its stunning mountains and vineyards. Explore the island's hidden heartlands on this immersive culinary tour. Visit an olive mill to learn the ancient craft of olive oil extraction and take a tour of a winery and raki distillery complete with tasting, so you'll leave feeling like a pro. Plus, enjoy a meal of local specialities for an authentic Cretan dining experience.

Before we start to cook , we are going to visit the farm to see and feed the animals and also we are going to cut fresh vegetables from our garden that we will use for our cooking. Meet Hercules our donkey, our goats , our puppies and our chickens!