Samaria Gorge More Than Just a Hike: An Untouched Crete Experience

Experience the untouched beauty of Crete on a hiking tour of the Samaria Gorge. Traverse unspoiled terrain, swim in crystal waters, and explore traditional villages at your own pace.

Duration: 14 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Omalos - Early in the morning, you will be picked up from designated spots around Chania via a luxurious bus and reach the starting point of your tour in Omalos Plateau around 7am. The panoramic view of the gorge from the plateau is a photophile’s delight, so after short stop for pictures and/or breakfast, you will hop on the bus and depart for…
What's Included
  • Air-Conditioned Luxury Bus
  • All Fees and Taxes Included
  • Full Liability Insurance
  • Guided Hiking Escort
What's Not Included
  • Admission to Samaria (5 € per adult, children free of charge on the spot in cash)
  • Boat ticket (13€ per adult, 5.50 € per child 5-12 years old on the spot in cash)
  • Personal expenses, extra beverages or meals
Additional Information

Immerse yourself in the authentic heart of Crete as you explore its pristine landscapes, bathe in its clear waters, and wander through its quaint villages. Our Samaria Gorge hiking tour lets you experience all these at your own preferred speed. You’ll begin your adventure bright and early, with pick-ups arranged from specific locations around Chania in…

Location
Omalos
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(312 Ratings)
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Rose_n
Sep 29, 2024
Beautiful hike and well organised tour company - What a beautiful hike! Our tour guide (Thanasis) was really helpful and we felt we had support available if needed. My partner and I wore trail running shoes and didn’t find the hike too difficult. We took a nice steady pace and still managed to complete it in good time. Incredible views the whole way along and a refreshing swim in the ocean to finish it off.
Review provided by Viator
P6479mcpaulh
Sep 29, 2024
Bucket list walking experience - event for us. It was an early start with a 0555 pickup and a late finish with the hotel drop off in Kalamaki at 2045. However, the bus ride up and back were worth it, thanks going to Nikos our brilliant driver. The scenery in the gorge just got better and better, and resembled a Hollywood sci-fi or Jurassic Park set! Fortunately it was quite cloudy which kept the potential heat away, but we did have some rain at times which made the rocks increasingly slippery to negotiate. Our amazing guide Ingrid had warned us about the potential for heavy rain by early afternoon and to try and get down to the coastal village of Agia Roumeli before then. This turned out to be life saving advice since we did experience an intense thunderstorm while we were in on of the village tavernas. The intense rainfall caused flash flooding and landslides in the gorge, trapping some walkers with one fellow walker sadly being struck by a rock and losing her life. This demonstrates how challenging and potentially dangerous this walk is, but it is also spectacular. I would like to thank Ingrid for her expert organisation of the tour, she really is a star.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ian_g
Sep 21, 2024
Breathtaking Samaria Gorge - fantastic excursion - A superb trip to Samaria Gorge. When I booked it and confirmed pick up time there was a lovely helpful message to say what to bring and wear. Our tour guide Ingrid was superb and so helpful. She was very well organised, making sure we had our return boat tickets and all the details of where to meet at the end. We arrived nice and early before the crowds got there. I went early September which was fine and not too busy (I think it gets VERY busy in August). The gorge is simply amazing - words can't do it justice. It's a tough walk in the heat, even if you are fit, but totally worth it. Wear hiking boots if you can, tread carefully, and you'll be fine. There's plenty of time to stop and admire the views and you can fill up with water (and have a toilet break) at numerous points. Oh bring some beach shoes for the end if you want a swim - the sand gets very hot! A thoroughly recommended excursion, and the highlight of my holiday!
Review provided by Viator
Neeraj
Sep 18, 2024
Samaria gorge.. an unforgettable experience - You get amazing views on this gorge.... Vehicle drops you at starting point which at top of a plateau n then you keep walking down...almost 16 km but feels like much more. Views are breathtaking specially towards the end. You also see some prehistoric settlements on the way... However the teek isn't for beginners you should have some prior experience. Also keep the next day as your rest day as you legs won't work the next day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jean-luc
Sep 17, 2024
Unforgettable - Very nice hike of about 5 hours We seem difficult for beginners pretty views the iron gates are very beautiful you will see the shuttle to go from the park exit to the village of agua roumeli is not luxury then boat to sougia and bus to return to the entrance of the gorge.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kinga
Sep 13, 2024
The best experience in my life! - I recommend this experience to everyone who, like myself, loves being on the move and appreciating beautiful views. This was something new to me, and I questioned myself whether I would handle this hike. Bear in mind that I don't do a lot of hiking of such sort, I only do a lot of walking in general and two gym sessions per week, and the last time I was on a hike in the mountains was years ago. However, I still managed to complete the hike with only a knee grazed and painful legs on the next day, but let me tell you, it was definitely worth it! I would recommend the proper hiking shoes supporting your ankles as you will face a lot of rocks on the paths, bring also plenty of sunscreen and some hat/scarf and sunglasses, as you will get exposed to sun more in some parts of the trail than the others. This is also why we decided to do it in September when the temperatures are not that high as in the middle of summer, but still hot enough. One small bottle of water is enough as you get to refill it on the way from natural spring water sources in designated areas. There are also many resting points on the trail where you can stop to eat your food (which you need to bring yourself) or use the WC. Heads up there are a lot of friendly bees and wasps around who love the water and your food! I would also recommend bringing basic first aid stuff if you happen to fall and graze a knee like me, just to disinfect and clean yourself. And obviously, take some camera or a selfie stick for the amazing pictures!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rachelcr5898oe
Sep 13, 2024
Fantastic from start to finish - Fantastic trip from start to finish. Ingrid and kostas were lovely, very well organised and Ingrid told us some great history about the gorge. Would recommend hiking boots, we’re a fairly fit couple in our 30s and we did it in 4 and a half hours but you have plenty of time. Had a lovely beer in the outdoor bar at the end of the trail.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Patrick_o
Sep 17, 2024
Endurance & Enjoyment - This was an endurance activity but worth every minute it if you want to improve your physical resilience while enjoying exquisite natural scenery along the 11 KM journey. Take lots of water!
Review provided by Viator
Francisco_g
Sep 20, 2024
ok experience, should have done Kourtaliotiko gorge instead - The gorge is very beautiful and getting into the beach at the end was very nice but the overall experience was 3-star. All of this is not the tour organizer’s fault, our guide was super nice and helpful. This review is more about the entire experience as a whole. Let’s start with the bus ride on the way there. It’s about an hour from Chania to the entrance and the bus goes through some very winding roads. One of us got sick on the way up and got a bit of vertigo. I highly recommend taking Dramamine for this and try and sit closer to the front of the bus, and make sure to get plenty of rest and don’t drink too much the night before. The trail is very rocky so bring good shoes. The rocks are smooth too so the chance of slipping and falling on your butt are higher. Everyone slips even just a little bit at some point. I saw people of all ages and preparation doing this trail and everyone eventually made it through ok. There are a lot of people on this trail and it gets kind of annoying. I don’t know what it is about other European hikers but they will come up right behind you and stay on our tail for a while and not say “excuse” me to pass you by. Eventually we move over, or the trail gets wide enough for them to pass safely and they pass without a word. The first half of this hike was just a bit frustrating with too many people either blocking your way or being on your tail. The hiking etiquette sucks on this trail and made it less enjoyable. Having a beer at the tavern that you get to right at the exit of the trail felt amazing. We took the 2 euro “bus” (it’s really a van) from the tavern to the town and that was totally worth it. Even though the beach was very windy and the waters were choppy (nothing anyone can control), the water was still great in mid-Sept and felt really good to swim in. I loved that. We had one of the worst meals we ever had on our whole trip at "FARAGI" TAVERNA, which is the tavern right next door to the Samaria tavern that is the meeting point after the hike. We chose the tavern because it had nice seating outside facing the beach but the food was so bland we had to add olive oil, salt, and pepper to everything in order to taste something. You know that saying that even the worst restaurant is still good because you’re in Greece and they care about quality, well this proved that wrong. One important thing to note is that they will tell you there is a 4:30 meeting time to pick up your ferry ticket from the Samaria Tavern. We got out of the beach around 3pm ish so that we could eat and then be at the tavern by 4:30pm. What we didn’t realize is that there is only 1 ferry that departs from this town at 5:30pm. If you want more beach time just go get your ferry tickets and then go back to the beach. We wish we had known the actual times of departure because we cut our beach time too short. The ferry docks on this concrete path that waves crash against. Be prepared to get wet while waiting to enter the ferry if the waves are very choppy that day (like it was for us). I found that more amusing than annoying. The ferry just takes you to the next town over Sougia. From there you get picked up by the bus and you have 1.5 hour bus ride back to Chania on even more winding roads than the morning bus ride. More people got motion sickness on this ride than the first one. I certainly did. What made it even worse is that the bus driver decided at some point to open his window and smoke. The cigarette smoke was making my queasiness worse. We were sore for the next 2 days after this. If I had to do it again I would Kourtaliotiko gorge instead.
Review provided by Viator
Fellowtraveler628007
Sep 13, 2024
Samaria gorge walk - If your an inexperienced walker like us then this is a tough walk. We had to concentrate on every one of the 37,000 steps we took as the terrain is extremely tough and very rocky. The views are amazing and we’re glad we completed it but this 10 mile walk felt like 15. It took us 6 hours to complete. The best part of the day was the beer at the end !
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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