The Big Travel Around Crete, Tour
This is without doubt the most informative and comfortable roundtrip, available on Crete at this moment.
You will stay in 3 till 5 star deluxe hotels. The program is based on half board at the hotels, private guided tours and you will be assured that during the trip your tour leader will be at your service 24 hours a day. Each group will consist of a maximum of 25 people.
Day 1
You will stay the first 2 days of your tour in the Candia Maris hotel, west of Heraklion. After breakfast we will go with our bus to Knossos, the palace of King Minos, a famous monarch from the Minoan period. You will be informed about this magnificent palace by a private guide. Afterwards we will visit the Museum of Heraklion, where a private guide will explain us about the many treasures found during the excavation of Knossos. We will return to our hotel, where you can relax in the afternoon and, if you feel like it, have a dip in one of the pools or the sea.
Dinner will be in the hotel, followed by a lecture of a Crete specialist. A drink together will be the finish of this day.
Day 2
After breakfast we prepare ourselves for a tour with our bus to the Lasithi plateau. A magnificent trip brings us to the birth-place of Zeus. After lunch, which we will have at the Lasithi plateau, we will go to Kritsa. Here we will visit the little Panagia Church. After this we go to the small town of Kritsa, for a stroll around the centre where we will admire the embroidery, which made Kritsa famous. At the end of the afternoon we will return to our hotel in Heraklion.
Day 3
After breakfast we will leave for Rethymon, where we will stay at the famous hotel ???? on basis of half board. After our coffee together, we will make a walk through the centre in order to get ourselves acquainted with this beautiful town. The rest of the day is at your own disposal.
Day 4
After breakfast we will go to the Arkadi monastery, where a private guide will show us around.
Then we continue our bus trip to Georgoupoli, where we will have lunch on the beach. We will make a tour around the lake and the vicinities of this area. Late in the afternoon we return to our hotel. In the evening we will have a typical Crete dinner, with life music, in the old town of Rethymnon.
Day 5
After breakfast we will leave for Chania, a picturesque Venetian town, with century old traditions. After arrival in our hotel ???? a Chania expert will join us for a walk around the old town and together we will pay a visit to the Maritime Museum.
After lunch, which we will have in the hotel, we will see the sights of the surrounding area of Chania, in the direction of the most west part of Crete, to Kastelli, a small town not yet met by mass tourism.
Back in the hotel you have the rest of the day at your own disposal. Dinner will be at the hotel. Tonight we go early to bed, because we have to rise very early in the morning.
Day 6
After breakfast at 6.00 hrs, we prepare ourselves, after a short bus tour to the Levka Ori mountains, for the descent of the Samaria Gorge. (An alternative program will be available for those who don't want to join this walk) The Samaria Gorge is one of the most scenic gorges of Europe. Especially at the end, the width is only 10 meters and you will be surrounded at both sides by huge rock-faces of hundreds of meters high!
The walk is approx. 14 km going down, so the walk will not be too tiring. However, the next day for sure you will realize where your calves are!
At the end of our descent we will arrive in Agia Roumelli, where, after a rest and a cool drink, we will take the boat to Hora Sfakion. Here our bus will be waiting, to take us back to our hotel.
This was tiring but satisfying day, so after dinner, relaxing is deserved.
Day 7
After breakfast and after packing, we will drive via Heraklion, Hersonissos, Malia and Agios Nikolaos to Ierapetra, the southernmost town of Europe. We will stay 2 nights in the ????? hotel.
After arrival and a cup of coffee, we make our first impression by foot through Ierapetra. In this town you will experience an almost African atmosphere. Ierapetra became through the years a distinctive town. The old inner part of the town, the harbor, as well as the centre and the many taverns generate of a pleasant holiday town.
After lunch in the hotel, we make a small tour through the vicinities in order to give you a good impression of this part of the island. In the evening we dine together in the hotel.
Day 8
After breakfast we travel eastwards in the direction of Sitia, a nice fisher's village with a lot of atmosphere. Without doubt Sitia will attract in future a bigger attention of tourism. After our cup of coffee we will continue our trip to the palm beach of Vai. On the way we will make a stop at the famous monastery of Moni Toplou. A private guide will show around in this beautiful and rich monastery. After lunch we will go to the palm beach of Vai where we will enjoy the beach and the seawater for some time. We return to Ierapetra at the end of the afternoon. The rest of the day will be at your own disposal.
Day 9
After breakfast we will go with our bus to Agios Nikolaos, the capital of the province Lasithi. We will make a small walk through the centre, among others to the Voulasmenie lake, a sweetwater lake with a diameter of more then 140m, in the middle of town!
After this we will go to Spina Longa, the leper island. Here you will be informed of the impressive past of the island by a private guide. After lunch you can spend the afternoon as you like. We will enjoy our last dinner together with life Greek music in a small local tavern. Of course there will be an opportunity to practice some of the Greek dances.
Day 10
After breakfast our bus will bring you back to Heraklion, or you extend your stay in Ierapetra.
