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From Heraklion: Full-Day Bus Trip to Chania, Kournas Lake & Rethymno
3.9
38 Ratings
Chania Town
Explore the stunning city of Chania, visit the picturesque Kournas lake, and discover the charming Rethymno city on this full-day bus trip from Heraklion. Book now!
Explore the stunning city of Chania, visit the picturesque Kournas lake, and discover the charming Rethymno city on this full-day bus trip from Heraklion. Book now!
Duration:
10 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Lighthouse of Chania - This excursion takes us to West Crete, starting with a visit to Chania, the most enchanting city on the island. Once a significant Minoan city and referred to as the “mother of the Cretan cities” by ancient writers, Chania is split into the Old City, with its stunning harbor, and the New City, which lies beyond the Venetian…
- Lighthouse of Chania - This excursion takes us to West Crete, starting with a visit to Chania, the most enchanting city on the island. Once a significant Minoan city and referred to as the “mother of the Cretan cities” by ancient writers, Chania is split into the Old City, with its stunning harbor, and the New City, which lies beyond the Venetian fortifications. The Old City, often called the “Venice of the East,” is one of the Mediterranean’s most picturesque cities. Here, we can see remnants of various civilizations: Minoan archaeological sites, Turkish minarets and mosques, Muslim quarters, Venetian fortresses, dockyards, fountains, squares, arches, mansions, the Loggia, and the Lighthouse of Chania, Chania 731 32.
- Rethymnon Old Town - On our return, we stop in Rethimnon, Crete’s third-largest town, where archaeological, Ottoman, and Venetian monuments coexist in a fascinating blend. Wander through the old town’s alleys, visit Turkish minarets like the Neratze Mosque, explore Venetian fortresses, or simply enjoy a coffee in the charming harbor.
- Lake Kournas - Departing from this remarkable city, we reach the picturesque Lake Kournas, a unique natural freshwater habitat on Crete. Surrounded by lush greenery and steep hills, the lake is home to rare fish and bird species, such as eels, moorhens, and two-color turtles, making it an ideal spot for a swim before lunch or an early afternoon walk. The entire Kournas area is protected under Natura 2000 as a designated wetland.
What's Included
- Professional and multilingual speaking guide (English, German, and French)
- Transportation by bus
- Hotel pick-up from Malia, Stalis, Hersoniso, Anisaras, Analypsi, Gouves, Heraklio, Amoudara, Agia Pelagia, Fodele
- Professional and multilingual speaking guide (English, German, and French)
- Transportation by bus
- Hotel pick-up from Malia, Stalis, Hersoniso, Anisaras, Analypsi, Gouves, Heraklio, Amoudara, Agia Pelagia, Fodele
What's Not Included
- Lunch
- Lunch
Additional Information
This outing takes us to the west of Crete, first halting in Chania, which is the most enticing city of Crete. Mentioned by early scholars as the ‘mother of all Cretan cities’, it played a significant role as a Minoan metropolis. The city is segregated into the Old City, boasting a beautiful harbor, and the New City, positioned beyond its Venetian ramparts.
This outing takes us to the west of Crete, first halting in Chania, which is the most enticing city of Crete. Mentioned by early scholars as the ‘mother of all Cretan cities’, it played a significant role as a Minoan metropolis. The city is segregated into the Old City, boasting a beautiful harbor, and the New City, positioned beyond its Venetian ramparts.
Location
Lighthouse of Chania
Old Market near Prince Bank,
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
3.9
(38 Ratings)
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1 star
Z9028vrutef
Sep 17, 2024
Great interesting tour - It was a nice and interesting trip! We didn't want to drive with a rental car ourselves and had decided on this tour. We can only recommend them. The tour guide was great, by the way!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Andrewks6737wr
Sep 14, 2024
Good and long day out - A long but very nice day, excellent and friendly driver and guide, would recommend. Chania was especially nice to visit
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kaylalee001
Aug 8, 2024
Definitely book this - What an amazing day trip so much packed in and lots of free time to explore the different places, I would definitely recommend to anyone that wants to explore lots of places for very cheap
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Barbara_f
Oct 11, 2024
Visit to Chania and Rethymno - We had an amazing time. The guide was super knowledgeable. The only disappointing part was that the time in the description were not respected. We expected to spend 2 hours in Rethymno but in the end it was only 1 and half . The time at the lake provided a nice way to do a little shopping and have a light lunch. It was a really great day.
Review provided by Viator
Tomika_r
Oct 9, 2024
Depending on your pick up point, expect a long bus ride - The tour was really good. Our guide gave us great information about each city. We spent about an hour to and an hour and a half at each location, which was enough time to enjoy a taste of each city. The only part that was taxing was the bus ride. We were the second pick up at 7:55 a.m. and we did not pick up our last traveler until 10:00. Then we travel from the east side to the west side to hit the first city which was another 2 hours. In short, that as a long time on the bus before seeing your first stop. The good thing if it allowed a lot of napping in between location. I would recommend this tour but I would set expectations that it would be truly be an all day (12 hour) experience.
Review provided by Viator
Ernest_t
Sep 20, 2024
Nice tour - Chania and Rethymno were very nice. The lake had nice scenery but the beach was gravel and rock. Guide was
OK.
Review provided by Viator
Angela
Sep 6, 2024
Charming - The places we visited were very nice, but it was a bit rushed at Chania and too long at the lake. The bus hardly had any air conditioning and it felt we were in an oven in such a hot day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tamarhart67
Aug 23, 2024
A long day - A very long day, great to see another part of the island but would hv been nice to stop at a couple of different beaches along the way for a swim. There was swimming at the lake but this was nothing to rave about, very shallow and smelly.
Review provided by Viator
Emily_p
Aug 24, 2024
Long but good - Would give it 3.5 if I could, the places we went to see were lovely, chania had a lovely old town where we got some food and walked around the little shops.
Lake kournas we got a pedalo and were able to see some turtles but just a warning, they aren't out as much in the summer the guide said, we got lucky but we had to peddle to far end of the lake and took the whole time we were there, also a big workout.
Rethymnon had a nice market area and lots of restaurants but we only had hour and a bit so we didn't want to risk being late for the bus, other than market didn't see much other than the harbour.
Our main strife was the bus journey, the driver and guide were nice but it was so long, I know the booking says 8-9 hours but fully depends on your location, we were in hersonissos and we got on the bus at 7.40 and didn't get dropped back until 20.45 so a solid 13 hours we were gone and had to rush back to hotel to make sure we got food for dinner. We also got swapped from our original bus to another one after we left last place and seemed like a lot more people so meant more stops and we were fairly done by end of it
Review provided by Viator
Lori_l
Sep 21, 2024
Worst ever - 8-10 hours ended up being a 15 hour day. Had to be picked up early so missed our breakfast. Drive to chania took 4.5 hours so were starving and instead of spending 2 hours exploring had to spend it eating. Didn’t get the listed time in any of the stops and got back past time for dinner at hotel. Was picked up by small vehicle and transferred to coach. Tour guide didn’t join until about 1/2 after boarding and left the bus 1/2 hour before we got dropped off. All in all worst experience ever!
Review provided by Viator
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