• DESCRIPTION

Day 1. Flight to Heraklion

Flight to Heraklion. When you arrive at the airport, you will be greeted by your guide. Installation at your hotel in the centre of Heraklion. Depending on your flight schedule, you will have the opportunity to explore the Palace of Knossos, the largest of the Minoan palaces. Dinner in a traditional ouzerie where you can taste the first Cretan specialties. You can then take the opportunity to wander the Venetian streets of the city where there are many musical bars!

Transfer: 20 minutes (+1-hour Knossos)
Meals included: Dinner (depending on your flight schedule)
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 2: Heraklion - Margarites - Arkadi - Chania

In the morning, you will leave towards the village of Margaritès, famous for its numerous ceramic workshops. You will stroll through the streets covered in lime to meet artisans. You will take the road again to Eleftherna and will come across olive groves, ancient Roman cisterns, Minoan acropolises, Byzantine chapel and watering troughs cut into the rock. You will visit the monastery of Arkadi, an Orthodox architectural jewel steeped in history, before returning in the evening to the magnificent city of Chania (Chania), nicknamed “the Venice of Crete”. To end your day, you will enjoy a short evening stroll through the city's streets to the old Venetian port.

Meals included: Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner
Walk: 2h00
Height difference: +220/-220m
Transfer: 3h30
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 3: Chania - Botanical Garden - Omalos

You will start the day with a visit to the town of Chania, with its old port, its lighthouse and its churches of various faiths. You will then take the road towards the land to the small botanical garden located on the mountainside. During the visit, you will discover herbs, trees, exotic, medicinal and ornamental plants, which were devastated ten years ago by a fire before being replanted.
At the end of the afternoon, you will climb to an altitude of 1,100m on the Omalos plateau to reach your accommodation located in the heart of the White Mountains.

Meals included: Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner
Walk: 1h30
Height difference: +100/-100m
Transfer: 1h00 (40km)
Accommodation: family hotel

Day 4: Samaria Gorges - Agia Roumeli

After breakfast, you will go to the Samaria gorges, classified as a national park since 1962 and renowned for being the longest in Europe. You will cross this canyon carved out by a river present in winter and will discover cypresses, pines, orchids, wild fig trees and even olive trees. Keep your eyes peeled, you might be lucky enough to come across Krikri, these little ibexes that are only found in Crete!
At the end of the descent, you will cross the iron gates, the narrowest passage in the gorge: 3m wide and 500m deep... A true wonder of nature! You will reach the small village of Agia Roumeli at the end of the day and can enjoy a friendly evening with your feet in the water.

Meals included: Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner
Walk: 6:30 a.m.
Elevation: +0/-1250m
Transfer: 10 minutes
Accommodation: Family pension

Day 5: Agia RoumeliI - Marmara - Loutro

In the morning, you will hike along the coast. You will cross a pine forest bordered by the sea, to Marmara beach, which owes its name to the marble that adorns it. There, you will enjoy a short refreshing swim in a translucent sea and can visit the natural ocher and red marble caves by swimming. A truly beautiful spectacle!
You will leave on foot or by water taxi (additional charge) towards Loutro, a typical village with blue and white houses located in a cove accessible only on foot or by boat.

Meals included: Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner
Walk: 5:30 a.m.
Elevation: +500/-500m
Accommodation: Family pension

Day 6: Loutro - Glyka Nera

You will enjoy a free day. Several choices are available to you: beach, relaxation, snorkeling, kayaking (additional charge) or hiking to the long, isolated freshwater beach of Glyka Nera to swim in translucent water. A real postcard setting!

Meals included: Breakfast
Accommodation: Family pension

Day 7: Chora Sfakion - Rethymnon - Heraklion

You will board the ferry to reach Chora Sfakion, a small town by the sea, before taking the road to Rethymnon, a fortified Venetian town which has preserved traces of the Turkish passage. You can explore its streets but also discover the imposing Fortezza (fortress) which dominates the city. You will then return to the capital, Heraklion, where you will spend your last night. Free evening to enjoy the Cretan atmosphere and enjoy a last little raki (local digestive), in moderation of course!

Meals included: Breakfast - Lunch
Transfer: 3h00
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 8: Return flight

Depending on your flight schedule, you will have some free time to make your last souvenir purchases, before transferring to the airport for your return flight.
Meals included: Breakfast