Experience Adventure

  Friendly, informative, engaging - This tour was very personalized and extremely informative. Stavros took us to some smaller villages, which gave us a better idea of what life is like living in Crete. ... read more He was very engaging and fun. He went out of his way to be sure our 16 year old was engaged as well, which we appreciated. Can't say enough good about Stavros and this tour. Thanks for a lovely day!

  Best Greek experience for 8 Texas Tornados!  - What an experience!! This was our favorite day out of 10 days in Greece. If you want to get away from the crowds and experience authentic Crete sights, tastes and... read more feels then this is the tour for you!!

  Exceeded high expectations! Incredible experience.  - I was very excited to visit Crete for the first time and this tour still beat my expectations. Ed knew how to schedule our tour to miss the crowds and... read more get an authentic Crete experience. The olive oil factory was great and the owners were very gracious showing us around. Lunch was amazing and again, the family that owned the place was incredibly gracious and made us feel right at home. Experiencing all of the local food and wine, olive oil and honey was a delightful experience.

We walked through a couple local villages and Ed pointed out many of the trees and plants of the region and we even stopped to pick some strawberries and enjoy some local wine. I wish more tours were this personal and authentic.

  Do it, it was great!  - Book this one!

Ed was amazing from pick up to drop off. The whole experience was a ton of fun and very entertaining and informative. We got... read more to see a side of Crete away from the tourist port and saw the local farms, tasted the local yogurt and food, all the while being guided comfortably and entertained the whole way.

I would not hesitate to book again and it was by far the best tour we did in Greece.

  ANY TOUR WITH STAVROS WILL BE FANTASTIC!  - Take THIS tour, then visit old town Heraklion on your own. The countryside, the views(!) the small town, the olive factory, the family owned restaurant, were all fantastic.... read more We opted not to go to Knossos palace, but perhaps we should have. Did I mention that Stavros is the most engaging and humorous guide ever?!! I imagine ANY of his tours are superb. I trust Stavros, who has lived on Crete his whole life, to show off his island!!

  Fantastic Photo and Sightseeing Tour! The Best!  - This was an absolutely fantastic trip for photography and sightseeing. I cannot say enough great things about Starvos the tour guide. He helped me tremendously with my camera... read more gear and was extremely fun to work with. He was amazing! I strongly recommend explorerealcrete tours. One of my best photo tours ever. Terry

  This was a fantastic tour. Eddie, our tour guide was the absolute best. There were just two couples on our tour which made for a great time. ... read more Eddie was so knowledgeable about Crete and it’s history. It was like touring the island with a friend, along with the stops listed, we also stopped at a farm and ate vegetables out of the field, and also went strawberry picking. We can not recommend this tour enough. It was a great day and exceeded our expectations.

  THIS Is The Best Tour You Could Ever Take! - This tour was just about impossible to capture in words. No other tour could possibly compare, especially if you are trying to truly experience the beauty and magnificence that is... read more the island of Crete.

My wife and I frequently told each other that it felt as though we were in a movie. The schedule was excellently planned and paced, we had plenty of time at each stop to take it all in. We were truly able to enjoy every activity. The sights were incredible, and special, not locations that any other tour would take you on, but locations authentic to the island. We also ate the best food we have had in the eleven days we’ve been here!

Finally, our guide, Stavros, made the entire thing as special as it was. He bought us coffee, picked us local fruits to enjoy, told us stories, laughed with us, educated us, and truly created a lifetime experience. There were so many little details that made it feel so special. You’ll truly have to experience the tour for yourself to understand how amazing it was! If you’re visiting Crete, it is a MUST! Absolutely stupendous, and deeply moving. Thank you so much.

  Exploring Crete  - We spent a wonderful day, visiting the Zeus cave, and some traditional villages. We stop by a beautiful 90 year old woman who has a bakery and tasted her delicious... read more cookies saw the old windmills and learned all the information of how they worked and how they are trying to preserve them. We also went to an olive oil factory with some olive oil, sampling some other little villages, and a last stop at a restaurant overlooking the beautiful hillside.Our guide was sparrow who was exceptional

  Perfect day with memories and new friends for life - This year was my wife and I first trip to Crete. We went with this tour because we wanted a good overview of the island and to see the... read more Zeus caves. What we got was above and beyond anything we expected. Not only was it a wonderful day. We came away with new friends. Exchanging contacts that we plan to keep forever.

We were picked up from our hotel at Agapi Beach by the owner of the tour company (Ed). He was on time, had great communication, and was so nice. We then went to pickup another couple that was also on the tour. The drive to our first stop was filled with introductions, getting to know each other story’s and so much laughter. All because of the amazing personality of our guide.

This tour was hands down the best I have ever had in any country we have visited. We got to see, as the title says, real Crete. We explored all the smaller villages, learned history, mythology, and personal history. We sat at a small cafe where Ed bought the whole group freddo cappuccinos and again laughed the whole time. The great part of this is the tour isn’t scripted.. if there was anything we expressed interest in.. Ed was happy to break off of the plan and show us. We did a nice detour.. going to his friends farm and picked delicious strawberries and walnuts.

After all the sights we finished our day at a beautiful family owned restaurant that serves us the most amazing meal. We felt part of the family when Ed introduced us the owner, the owners father and his children. We sat and broke bread together and again.. laughed the whole time.

  Don't miss out, book this tour! - Ed was AMAZING! We couldn't of asked for a better guide. He was funny, knowledgeable, and very engaging. We enjoyed seeing this beautiful island through his eyes. He has a... read more great relationship with the local villages and brings people into the real Crete. He was great at being our photographer and giving us time alone as a couple since we were on our honeymoon. He also did not cancel our tour when the adjoining group canceled at the last minute - so we got an amazing private tour that was really special. He felt like a family member showing us around and always "had our backs." We highly recommend booking your tour with Ed! **It's off season in November but weather is still nice and avoid the crowds!**

  Love this tour - Ed was our driver and not only was he incredibly knowledgeable but he was really funny too. From the very first moment at pickup until the very last drop off... read more we laughed. We stopped at some amazing spots along the way to Zues’ cave which were so memorable. Not once did we feel rushed at any of the stops. The none stop knowledge was such a breath of fresh air. Ed was a great driver, very prompt, kind, patient and a very nice soul overall. You can tell he really loves his job and his heritage. 10/10 recommend this tour to anyone.

  This was a fantastic tour! We explored a family owned olive oil factory, a traditional Greek village, Zeus’ cave and old windmills. We learned so much interesting history from our... read more friendly and enthusiastic local guides. They also took us to a family owned local restaurant in a mountain village, the food and wine at this place were fantastic! I highly recommend this tour!

  A Taste of Rural Crete! - The tour highlight is supposed to Zeus' cave, but there was so much more! Our guide, Micheales was awesome!!! Turned out he's a botanist. We stopped and picked organic veggies... read more in a filed and plucked wild herbs. He showed us how olive oil used to be made with vintage and ancient technology. We strolled through a small, picturesque Cretan village and visited antique windmills used back in the days when Crete's wind power was used to grind flour and pump water. If you love nature hikes, sustainability, and food, then this is the tour for you! If you have mobility issues, be advised the hike up to Zeus' cave is short, but rigorous. If you're feeling adventures, you can hitch a donkey ride for 10 Euros. The cave was fun, but a tad overhyped. We didn't have a rental car, so this was a great way to get out of urban Heraklion and see a bit more of beautiful Crete.

  We really did explore the Crete! - This tour exceeded our expectations. We were picked up at 8.00 in the morning and taken on an adventure back in time to see Crete in all its beauty and... read more stopped at small villages to wander around and soak up the history. The tour of an Olive Oil factory was so informative, the Old Wind mills with many stops for photos and the lunch at the restaurant was outstanding.
Stavros our guide was so knowledgeable and proud of his heritage that it was an amazing history lesson and by the end our the tour you felt as if you had made a friend.
Had a lot of laughs and was so good to get away from the crowds of the big cities to soak up the countryside and relate to how life must have been for the locals.

  The real Crete - This tour is highly recommended. We booked a private tour for three, including a 14-year old.

It was great to see a glimpse of the real Crete, including... read more places you would otherwise pass by. Ed is a very knowledgeable and entertaining guide who helped to turn this day into the highlight of our holiday.

  We can't say enough good things about this tour! - We loved this tour! It was a perfect way to get an overview of Crete. Spiros was our guide and he was amazing. He was so knowledgeable... read more and had a great sense of humor. He explained so much about the island and showed us so many things we otherwise wouldn't have seen. Because we had a small group (only 4 of us), and no one had any time constraints, he spent an additional 2 hours with us! In addition to what the tour included, he took us to a pottery place, stopped for a little shopping, and we had a nice long lunch together at a quaint traditional Greek restaurant with breathtaking views. One of our favorite stops was at an authentic little village, where we stopped for a cup of Greek coffee and a snack outside. We were in Greece for 2 weeks, and this was our favorite tour. Would highly recommend. Thank you, Spiros!

  Unforgettable immersive and tasty Crete❤️ - An absolute amazing tour where you get to see, touch, smell, taste and learn about Greek traditions, culture history and mythology. Ed was the most fantastic, entertaining and accommodating tour... read more guide. So many laughs and so much enjoyment being immersed in the Crete countryside and sampling a bit of the good life. Cannot recommend this trip enough! Just brilliant❤️

  A very nice and informative trip.
The service and kindness from the staff was amazing. They welcomed us - 4 adults and our 10 month old son, with open... read more arms and smiles all the way.

  Off the beaten tourist track - fun day with new friends - Ed is a great guide. Yes, it was informative and interesting, but mostly it was fun. As a solo traveller, I appreciated how Ed brought the whole group together and... read more involved everyone. While this trip is for all ages, if you are travelling with kids, you should know Ed does a particularly good job at engaging young people. For me, I really enjoyed seeing the villages and learning from Ed about them. These are not tourist destinations, these are real Crete. The highlight was a local meal in a family-owned restaurant. The food was wonderful and authentic. Ed was great at ordering just the right amount of everything and explaining the food. All around, this was a wonderful day and I highly recommend this trip!