The Real Crete from Rethymno

Discover Crete’s rich history and traditions: explore Melidoni Cave, Margarites pottery, Arkadi Monastery, and more. Enjoy live music and local cuisine.

Duration: 10 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Monastery of Arkadi - Take a break from the beach and discover the more authentic side to Crete on a small group tour of the small villages and rural landscapes. Visit an old olive oil mill, see the island’s oldest monastery and learn more about ancient Eleftherna.
  • Melidoni Cave - Take a break from the beach and discover the more authentic…
What's Included
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
  • All fees and/or taxes
Additional Information

The Real Crete: On this excursion you will have the opportunity to see many places that represent the traditional lifestyle and some historical facts of Crete. The first stop is at Melidoni Cave which is a cave full of history and dates back to Neolithic Period based on tools and items found it the cave. The second stop is at the village of Margarites….

Location
Monastery of Arkadi
Arkadi
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.9
(59 Ratings)
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1 star
Drewl808
Oct 6, 2024
The Only Excursion You NEED to Book in Crete! - Markidis Travel is the ONLY company you should be booking this excursion with! Nectarios the travel guide and Constantine (Costas) the bus driver (and lyra player!!) were both absolutely amazing. The best highlight was the trip to the restaurant where we had authentic Cretan cuisine as a group and enjoyed live Cretan music and were taught how to dance the traditional Cretan dance. It was almost the best part of our entire trip and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone wanting to experience authentic Cretan culture! You also get to learn a lot about the history of Crete. We would rate higher than 5 stars if possible!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
880heidrunk
Sep 27, 2024
Absolutely Recommended !!!!! - We wanted to get to know the country and people and had decided to go on the tour "real crete". Our driver was Kostas and Anastasia our tour guide, a top team!!! Starting with punctuality, friendliness, great driving performance, information about flora and fauna, the people, the history of Crete, inclusive music and dance, super delicious food, the entire organization, PERFECT. Absolutely recommendable.
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W1679mbsimonw
Sep 22, 2024
excellent value, but LONG day... - Positives: Guide and driver were superb, the guide was passionate in what he talked about and his grasp of english and german were excellent. They dealt with a detour and problem with the bus with great professionalism. The locations we stopped at were amazing, possibly we stayed a bit long at some of them, definitely too long at the taverna (in my opinion), I saw several people "flagging" after this and seemed to "switch off"... but all in all, whilst a very long day, it was worth it. Also you need cash for the taverna, they don't take cards. Negatives: Some of the tavernas in the pottery region were very poor (nothing to do with tour itself). If they don't have a menu, run! Also tried to charge extras we did not order.
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O8474gzclarissem
Sep 16, 2024
Very nice! - I loved this expedition! Very nice to do. The group was super friendly and carried by the good mood and kindness of Anastasia our Guide and Kostas our driver (and ambience)! We did even more things than planned in the program with very nice surprises! Thank you for a beautiful day from which I leave with nice memories and beautiful photos ☺️
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Hasse2020
Sep 16, 2024
Great excursion with both historical and cultural elements. - Very interesting trip that allows you to see some of the countryside and nature. We had a very good Guide in Anastasia who guided in very good English and German. The experience at the monastery would have been even better with guiding. The "lunch" was very nice and well prepared but arrived a little late in the program so please bring some talk. The driver Costas was very skilled and participated in the entertainment as a musician and dancer. We are very pleased and recommend this excursion to anyone who holidays in Rethymnion.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Haileyt825
Sep 14, 2024
A Wonderful Day Exploring Authentic Crete - Such a fantastic day! We originally booked for the Monastery (which is beautiful), but we visited Melidoni Caves, Margarites, a gorge and a fantastic Greek taverna. The taverna was excellent. Niktarious the guide was a fantastic host, demonstrating and teaching Greek dances. Everyone got up and had a good time! The bus driver Kostas played some of the music on his Lyre which was such a lovely experience. It's a long day but we had such an amazing time! Full video of our day available on Tik tok @knowbeforeyougo and Insta @knowbeforeyougoig 10/10
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maharg
Sep 9, 2024
Great day out. - Fantastic trip with so many things to see. The tour guide was brilliant with his enthusiasm and knowledge. The driver brilliantly negotiated some very difficult roads and then at the lunch stop was one of the musical duo playing the lyre. The only thing I would pick at was lunch at 3:45 was a bit late.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Grandtour55284005035
Aug 25, 2024
Great trip - Excellent trip ans special thanks to the driver and singer Costa :) and also the super guide Nectarus We highly recommend this travel agency
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R8964uqjaniceb
Aug 13, 2024
Fantastic Excursion - Amazing trip, my favourite part was the monastery, even at high season the environment felt so calm, with lots of space to move around. I could have spend all day in the grounds, the dancing and music at the Taverna over lunch was great. There was such a wonderful amount of information about Crete delivered by Nicotarias, who was outstanding. So much passion to share the heritage of a wonderful island.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Helenwz3686dr
Jul 31, 2024
Amazing tour - The real Crete all day trip was amazing. The tour guide and driver were both highly entertaining and very warm. We had just the right amount of time at each place to independently explore all the different places. There lots of local shopping opportunities and we finished in a family run taverna with live certain music and dancing. We can’t recommend this excursion enough. Really chilled and well managed.
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March 2025
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