Knossos Palace & Heraklion City Tour

Crete, Greece

6 to 7 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Offered in: English

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Overview

Get more out of your time in Crete, and discover the history of the Minoan civilization on a tour of Knossos Palace and the cultural center of Heraklion. You’ll get the lowdown on the exhibits of the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, and discover one of the locals’ favorite spots for coffee in a cozy city café. Note that entry fees are payable on the day.

Waste no time searching for the start point with a hotel pickup
Learn about the Minoan civilization on a tour of Heraklion
Tour the “labyrinth of the minotaur” at the Palace of Knossos
Save your energy for sightseeing and travel by air-conditioned bus

What's Included

Pick-up from your hotel (at the specific tourist bus stop, outside of the hotel)
Transfer with air-conditioned bus
Certified tour-guide

Entrance ticket to the Knossos Palace (discounts apply for some age groups)

€20.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

• After booking we will contact you to arrange the pick-up. • We pick up from the tourist bus stops, a maximum 800m walk from your hotel. • For remotely located hotels and Airbnb's, please, contact us to clarify the closest pick-up point or any extra transfer arrangements. • Please, note, if you do not provide your pick-up details up to 24 hours before the tour, we do not guarantee the pick-up.

Meeting point

Heraklion Archaeological Museum
Ξανθουδίδη και, Chatzidaki 1, Iraklio 712 02, Greece

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Arranged start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

Select your preferred tour option to see hours.

Itinerary

The Palace of Knossos

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Heraklion

3 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
If an infant does not sit on lap in the bus, It is necessary to pay a child ticket.

After booking we will contact you to arrange the pick-up. Please, note, if you do not provide your pick-up details up to 24 hours before the tour, we do not guarantee the pick-up. For pick-up from different location, please, contact us.
Pick-up from the specific bus stops next to the hotels. From Area 1: all the villages between Amudara/Heraklion/Karteros/Amnissos/Kokkini Hani/Gournes/Gouves/Analipsi/Anissaras/Hersonissos/Stalida/Malia/Sissi
Area 2: Sises/Fodele/Agia Pelagia/Ligaria/Achlada/Mades/Ammoudi/Rodia/Palaiokastro/Pantanassa /Linoperamata/Gazi
Wednesday: English, German, French
Thursday: English, French, Polish, German
Saturday: English, German, French, Polish
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 150 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.1

based on 37 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

A Nice Way to See Knossos

Ian_M, Sep 2025

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and thorough and we enjoyed our visit to Knossos. However, we felt the admission fee to the Knossos site should have been included in the cost of the trip. It just seemed a little pricey for the day which included 3 hours of unguided free time in Heraklion and a long bus ride from and back to our hotel picking up and dropping off other travellers.

Worthwhile tour

Tracey_H, Sep 2025

Knossos palace tour excellent and informative. Visit to market a little longer than required. Heraklion visit worthwhile

Response from Host, Nov 2025

Thank you for your review!!

Great tour but logistics were lacking.

Rafael_J, Apr 2024

The tour and tour guide were excellent and the bus was very comfortable. The downside was that we were not told until much later that we could not be picked up in Rethynon because the shuttles did not start until high season, so we had to drive to Heraklion to catch the shuttle. Luckily we had a rental car but it was still an inconvenience. PThe other complaint we had was that we had to wait in our van shuttle for the big bus for almost an hour.

Response from Host, May 2024

Thank you for your review!

Nearly 1.5 hours each way on cramped coach for hotel pickup/dropoff was excessive

Ian_B, Jun 2023

Informative guide but nearly 1.5 hours each way on a cramped coach for the hotel pickup/drop off was excessive - and we weren’t the first hotel on the pickup list. For an archaeological tour we could have done with more time at Heraklion Archaeological Museum and have missed the unadvertised visit to the honey farm.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Dear Sir, We are sorry you didn't fully enjoy the tour. Unfortunately, for group tours the pick-up time is unavoidable. This time also depends on how many different hotels booked the tour on a specific day, it could be that on your date there were many locations, which truly could be tiring. We still hope you liked the Knossos Palace and the Archaeological Museum. Our best wishes, Status MLB Team

Great!

Natalie_P, May 2023

We had a lift in a car from our hotel to a mini bus that then joined a larger tour, the woman who drove us was lovely. When we joined the larger tour we met our tour guide who was very knowledgeable and helpful when my audio equipment wasn’t working. The queue to buy tickets wasn’t very long which was good. We had some free time in Heraklion then went round the museum, we thought the combined ticket was worth the €20. We then had the same journey back to our hotel. Overall a nice day out learning about the Minoans and seeing more of Heraklion.

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you very much for your kind review!

Palace was great but too crowded

John_D, Jul 2022

Bus was a double decker and every space was filled. Guide was very interesting and knew a lot. The trip to city tool 2 hours with a lot if stops and too crowded to really enjoy

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thank you for your review! Unfortunately, the end of July and August is the pick season time in Crete and Greece in general. Please, keep in mind that when you rate a business or an activity provided by the business and not the sight itself, you rate our work, our guides, our organization skills, and communication with you, and not the fact that the sight is crowded in the high season. Giving us 2 stars for something that is out of our control and is absolutely normal for all the most popular sights in any tourist destination, is really discouraging. If you still feel that you need to share this experience with other travelers, try to rate Knossos Palace listing itself, informing others that in July and August the sight gets really busy. All the best, Status MLB Team

Wasn't worth the price given the circumstances

Tarsi_D, Jul 2021

If you're into history, you shouldn't miss this site. The guide was quite knowledgeable, but I was on a joint French and English tour, which was a little confusing until I figured out what was happening. I didn't realize the museum tour was forbidden (apparently you can go but the lines are really really long because they only let a few people in a time); my advice would be to plan to spend all that free time doing the museum OR just buy the single entry ticket for the Palace and enjoy the free time for lunch in Heraklion that you're given from 1-3pm or so. They won't take you to the museum until tours are allowed, so I'd check beforehand. The communication at the palace was so-so, we got to cut the line to buy tickets which was good. I didn't know where to catch the bus on the way back because I came in a smaller van, but I figured it out by following people that looked familiar from my tour. I think the major thing for me is that I was staying in Heraklion proper and most everyone else was not, so I paid to have extra time to walk around that I could have just done on my own as I was doing. Finally, although taxis are expensive to take out there, I took buses all over northern Crete for the week I was there and I didn't have an issue, so if you're adventurous and already staying near the old city, I might suggest looking into the buses because I don't think it's that difficult.

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Thank you very much for leaving this review! Unfortunately, guided tours to the Archaeological museum are forbidden due to the COVID-19 safety protocols. We are just sticking to the rules and trying to keep everybody safe. Definitely, since you stayed in the city, the tour program was not the same interesting for you, but please, do not forget, that people from all over the island take this tour so that to see Knossos Palace and the museum, or have a walk in the city. We still hope you enjoyed your time! Kind regards, Status MLB Team

Excursion palais de Knossos

Francine_F, Oct 2024

Un peu compliqué pour la prise d'autobus mai merci à une dame qui m'a prêté son cellulaire pour contacter la compagnie pour le pick up. Excursion interessante et la guide qui parle français était très bonne. Petit tour de ville à pied ok

Response from Host, Dec 2024

Thank you for your review!!!

Gut organisiert

Ladislav_H, Sep 2024

Es waren zu viele Leute aber wir haben eine tolle Reiseleiterin die alles perfekt erklärt.Leider es war nicht genug Zeit für Stadtbesichtigung.

Bien!!

Laura_M, Sep 2024

La visite du palais est très intéressante mais pas beaucoup de coin d'ombre donc protégez vous !! La ville d'Heraklion est très belle et le temps libre fut assez long pour faire un tour chacun de notre côté.