Top Crete Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises

Get to know Heraklion and stop to visit the Palace of Knossos just outside the city on this open-top hop-on hop-off tour. With your unlimited-use 1-day ticket, board the open-top, double-decker bus at any of 10 stops around the city. Then, with your free city map, hop off at the stops of interest to visit attractions such as the Minoan relics at Knossos and the harborside Venetian Castle. Otherwise, stay aboard and absorb the panoramic views of the sights as you learn about Heraklion’s past from the onboard audio commentary.

Discover the Cretan countryside by e-bike, and save your legs as you pedal effortlessly through olive groves, villages, and canyons. Cycle at a leisurely pace with a guide, passing through the villages of Charaso and Voritsi, and finding natural Cretan landmarks such as the canyon of Aposelemis. The half-day tour includes plenty of photo stops along the way, as well as a café break for a Greek coffee or a soft drink.

Take a day out from Crete to visit Santorini on this day trip. Board a boat to this famous volcanic island, known for its sea-filled caldera (crater) and black cliffs. On arrival, enjoy a caldera cruise to admire the whitewashed houses perched high on the cliffs, and take an island tour to stroll along the clifftops and visit Thira and Oia. Boat transfers, transport on Santorini, and pickup and drop-off at selected Crete hotels included.

Explore Chania's Old Town on a private tour by Trikke, a 3-wheeled personal electric vehicle that allows you to glide along the narrow streets and Old Venetian Harbor. As you go, listen to commentary from a private guide about this historical Greek town.

Our bus will pick you up early in the morning! We will have a short stop to see a cave. Our second stop will be at Elafonisi beach (4 hours) where you will have the chance to swim! On the way back we will have an 1 hour stop at Elos village for lunch! We will be back around 18:00.

Although Heraklion is the perfect base to see Crete’s cultural and architectural heritage, it’s not the only part of Crete that is worthy of a visit. On this full-day tour, discover two of the prettiest cities in Western Crete, Chania and Rethymno. Learn all about the diversity of Heraklion’s heritage, including its Venetian, Ottoman, Byzantine and ancient Greek influences.

Our safari style excursion includes all the different aspects of rural Crete. Green valleys, small villages, impressive canyons, beautiful isolated beaches, warm-hearted people... and of course fun and safe off-road tracks that offer unique, breathtaking views. Safari4U brings our visitors away from the touristic "action" and into an authentic Cretan experience.

Explore Crete’s rugged interior on a full-day off-road buggy trip from Hersonissos. Drive or ride a 4-wheeler and travel through picturesque villages and countryside up to the Lasithi Plateau, framed by the Dikti Mountains. Follow black-topped roads and off-road trails, traverse olive groves and mountain slopes, and stop for photos and to visit the Kera Kardiotissa monastery (own expense). Traditional taverna lunch, driving instructions, and port and hotel drop-off in the Hersonissos area included.

Explore Crete on an all-day off-road tour with a personal driver. After a convenient pickup from select hotels, hop in a 4x4 and get off the beaten path with an informative private guide. Visit otherwise inaccessible parts of the island, take a refreshing swim at the famed Preveli Beach, and enjoy a delicious lunch included in the tour price.

Balos Beach and Gramvousa Island are considered among Crete’s top attractions, but organizing transportation to visit independently cuts into valuable sightseeing and sunbathing time. On this tour, reach both sites with ease by air-conditioned coach in a day and discover the natural beauty of Crete. Follow winding walking routes at your leisure, soak up the rays by the lagoon, and upgrade to enjoy pickup and drop-off at your Chania hotel.

With our sailing boat "Mikros Naftilos" we organise daily cruises to Gramvousa Island, Balos Lagoon and other unique locations. With this private tour you avoid the crowds and you can experiencea sailing boat tour in privacy. Besides a very experienced sailor our skipper is a professional in tourism business (hotel and restaurant owner) This is guarantee for safe trip with excellent service. In the tour we offer lunch with local specialties and unlimited consumption of drinks and beverages.

Escape the hum of bustling Crete and get into nature on this full-day tour of pristine Elafonisi, a small island famed for its beautiful pink sands. Soak up the Grecian sun as you explore this protected wildlife sanctuary, enjoying a walk on the sand, or swim in the clear, azure waters of Elafonisi's paradise-like beach just a stone’s throw from the southwest corner of Crete.

With traditional villages and plenty of warm Mediterranean sunshine, the Samaria Gorge is the longest of its kind in Europe—but it’s also a challenging and rewarding hike, considered by many to be among the toughest in Crete. This adventurous full-day combination bus and hiking tour from Chania takes you deep into the gorge itself, where large boulders lie beneath soaring limestone cliffs. Follow a 10-mile (16-km) route though the Samaria Gorge and experience the best of the Crete countryside with a guide.

Visit the spectacular volcanic island of Santorini on a full-day independent trip from Crete. After a hotel pickup, cruise to the beautiful Greek island, and explore as you wish. Admire the stunning scenery and clifftop towns, laze on black-sand beaches, browse the shops of the cliffside capital of Fira, visit picturesque Oia, and relax in the tavernas and bars, many with epic views over the caldera. Finally, catch the return boat from Santorini to Crete for a hotel drop-off. All meals and activities on Santorini are at your own expense.

Exploring the locations of the Battle of Crete—an important World War II battle—without a guide could leave you with only a patchy take on this pivotal event. With this tour from Chania, learn about the battle at its key sites, hearing how Nazi forces took Crete from the Allies in 1941. Visit the Maleme airfield, monuments, and cemeteries, and discover secret shelters and sites you might miss alone.

Excavated and restored by archaeologists at the turn of the 20th century, Knossos Palace provides insight into one of Europe’s most advanced Bronze Age civilizations. But the true significance of the site can hard to fully grasp without an in-depth knowledge of the Minoans. On this tour, learn about the Minoans people and the mythical Minotaur while exploring the vast palace complex with a licensed guide.

Explore with a guided group, the monastery of Kera Kardiotissa and the Dikteon Cave followed by a visit to Psychro village to meet a potter in action. Enjoy the panoramic views from Seli Ambelou Lasithi Plateau and complete your tour to the Minoan Palace of Knossos where civilization history began 4000 years ago.

Snorkeling is very relaxing and at the same time a very exciting activity which is suitable for all ages. Join us in a daily (morning or afternoon) guided “snorkeling” trip, take the mask, fins, snorkel and shorty wet suit from us, board on our 10 meters shady rib boat and take the chance to relax watching the marine life of our island. We visit always two different spots with a lot of marine life, such as caves and an open water area always depends on the weather conditions

The best way to explore Crete is by boat and this half-day cruise from Hersonissos visits St. George's Bay and the small towns of Sissi, Malia, and Stalis. Set sail aboard a traditional pirate ship; stop to swim and snorkel at the island’s beaches and bays; spot dolphins and sea turtles along the coast; and tuck into a delicious BBQ lunch on-board.

Escape the tourist trail and spend a day exploring off the beaten track beauty near Georgioupolis. By traveling in a Land Rover, you’ll be able to access off-road sites that you wouldn’t discover otherwise. Visit incredible archaeological sites, traditional villages, and secluded beaches. If you work up an appetite, you won’t have to research where to eat as a delicious lunch in a family tavern is included. The tour will also take you to a winery, an olive oil factory, a castle, and multiple historical sites.

Soak up the sun and Santorini hotspots on this 2-day trip from Crete. Feel the sea breeze on a SuperFerry to Santorini and visit Oia, a charming, historic town clinging to Santorini’s cliffs with your guide. On day two, venture out with some free time in the morning, before exploring the island’s volcano and unwinding in the famous hot springs. Your trip will conclude with transportation back to Crete in the evening.

Chania’s Old Town is being inhabited since the ancient ages of the Minoan Civilization from 5000BC. Since then it has always been a vivid place of prosperity and growth, influenced through the ages by the various cultures, Romans, Arabs, Jews, due to its geopolitical place in the Mediterranean Sea and those who invaded it particularly in the late years, such us the Venetians and the Ottoman Turks. We will stroll through the historic alleys and pinpoint the Byzantine and the Venetian/Ottoman Walls and Fortifications, then walk through the main streets and see the emergence of history from the Ancient Ages from the archeological excavations inside the Old Town to the Medieval and Recent Ages through the old buildings, the churches, the synagogues and the mosques. Also we will visit the Orthodox, the Muslim and the Jewish Quarter and how people lived together through times with peace or turbulence. There is an optional wine tasting for 30 minutes, 12 euro per person.

We sail by Fortezza, with its cannon ports still intact to keep the pirates ships out of the bay. So close you can almost touch it! With the view of the Aptera fort, the fort of the Idjedin prison just below it, past the beaches of Kalyves and Almyrides, the isle of Karga we reach for the lighthouse of Drapano. With the White Mountains as a backdrop and always depended on wind direction we may sail northeast to a very small cove with beautiful sandy waters or we sail northwest around another small island to a beautiful lagoon, we drop anchor where you can swim/snorkel and play in crystal clear turquoise waters. While you swim I prepare you a freshly cooked Cretan/Spartan lunch with Greek specialties, local pasta, sauteed vegetables, fresh salad, mama’s olives, goat cheese, fresh bread, wine/beer/soda/water and finally fresh yogurt with sweet fruit and Greek sweets. You enjoy, eat, relax and then we raise anchor to sail back to port, usually as the sun starts to set in front of us.

Explore Santorini’s top attractions on this guided excursion. After setting sail from the port of Athinios aboard a speedy catamaran, enjoy activities that include touring the volcanic island by bus, exploring the picturesque village of Oia, strolling through the alleys and streets of Fira, and taking a refreshing swim at a black sand beach or traveling by boat to a crater lake.