The 10 Best Knossos Palace Tours in Rethymno

1.Knossos Palace and Heraklion Guided Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 240 reviews · 10 hours · from $35Our pick

Travel from Rethymno to Knossos Palace and Heraklion by air-conditioned coach. Guide Anastasia adds stories about Minoan Crete, myths, and local life along the way. You’ll tour Knossos, then have about four hours for the Archaeological Museum, old town, lunch, and shopping.

“Exactly or even better than advertised on the ‘box’. Great driver and guide, Costa and Anastasia, they were knowledgeable and personable in equal measure. Thank you for a great day.”

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2.Knossos Palace & Heraklion Full-Day Tour from Rethymno Areas

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 197 reviews · 5 - 10 hours · from $25Best value

Travel by air-conditioned coach from Rethymno to Knossos and Heraklion. Choose a guided visit with multilingual guides such as George, Sofia, or Anastasia, or explore independently. Allow extra money for the €20 Knossos and €12 museum tickets, payable in cash.

“Everything was really well organized. The museum in Herakleion was great. Knossos was amazing and we had a great guide. The only negative thing was that we ran out of time in Knossos and didn't have enough time to listen to all of the guide's stories about mythology.”

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3.Knossos Palace & Heraklion City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 152 reviews · 8 hours · from $29

Ride from Chania or Rethymno to Knossos and Heraklion by coach, with about two hours at the palace and time for the museum and city center. Guides such as Manos, Adonis, and Caterina have led past departures, but site guiding can vary, so budget €20 for entry tickets.

“The advertised 8-hour trip from Rethymno ended up being far longer at 11 hours. This was due to a significant amount of stops at different hotels on the way there and back. I expected it would be a little longer than advertised, but 3 hours longer is a little much! additionally, while we were also the first on the coach, we were not notified of our pickup time and location being moved, we got a call 15 minutes before the advertised time asking where we were. Fortunately, we were already ready at the original location, but we did have to march down the marina to the bus. Finally, there was…”

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4.Knossos Palace, Museum & Rethymno city Private Tour from Chania

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 69 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) Top rated

Travel from Chania to Knossos, the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, and Rethymno in a private van for up to six people. Christine and Thanos share Cretan customs on the road, while an optional specialist guide brings the palace to life. Lunch, snacks, drinks, WiFi, and hotel pickup are included.

“From the moment Christine and Sotiris met us at the port gate holding a sign with our name, we knew we were in good hands. The vehicle was clean, comfortable, and even had a video screen playing helpful clips about Crete and Knossos as we drove—such a thoughtful touch that added context to the day. What really made this tour outstanding was the depth of knowledge shared by both Christine, our guide for the day, and Thalia, our licensed guide at Knossos Palace. Thalia’s vivid and detailed explanations brought the ruins to life—she helped us see what the palace might have looked like, how it was used, and why it…”

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5.Full-Day Knossos and Heraklion Tour from Chania and Rethymno

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 37 reviews · 10 to 11 hours (approx.) · from $67

Travel by air-conditioned bus from Chania or Rethymno to Knossos and Heraklion. You get a guided visit to the Minoan palace, time in Heraklion, and an audio system at the ruins. Guides such as Katerina, Anna, Erica, Rema, Stella, and Nikki may lead the day.

“I thought it would be a small group tour but it was a large, uncomfortable bus. We spent considerable time picking people up in the morning, so your pickup time will be around 7:00 am. Considering you'll wake up at 6:00 am, drink your coffee and eat your breakfast prior to pickup because your only 20-min rest stop in this 11-hr tour comes around 9:00 am and, if you manage to purchase anything in under 20 minutes after queueing behind your own 45-people group, you'll need to gobble it up quickly because they don't allow snacks or even coffee on the bus. They don't buy the museum or palace tickets…”

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6.Full-Day Knossos And Heraklion with free time

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 26 reviews · 9 hours (approx.) · from $26

Travel from Rethymno to Knossos and Heraklion in one day. You get a bus guide, time for the palace and city, and optional guiding at Knossos. Guides may speak English, German, or French depending on the departure. Entry fees cost extra.

“Nobody turned up to collect us at the agreed location. When I called the operator I was given a new location ten minutes away. When we arrived there there was still no bus waiting, and when I tried to contact them again, my call wasn’t answered, and I was just sent a text saying that we were too late.”

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7.Knossos Palace & Heraklion City –Full-Day Tour from Rethymno

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 12 reviews · 8 - 9 hours · from $25

Travel from Rethymno to Knossos and Heraklion by bus for an 8 to 9-hour day. Depending on the departure, you may have a guide such as Adonis at Knossos, plus free time for the Archaeological Museum and city center. Entrance fees are extra.

“I can really recommend this trip! We were in a small group of about 10 people, and our guide taught us a lot about Cretan history and culture whilst driving, and he also guided us through the Knossos Palace. We also beat the crowd in Knossos due to the early departure:) After Knossos, we had 3 hours in Heraklion, and were dropped off right next to the Archaeological Museum. It is worth mentioning that anyone up to (and including) 25 years old have free entrance to both the museum and the palace!”

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8.Knossos & Heraklion City Day Tour from Rethimno

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 12 reviews · from $32

Travel by air-conditioned bus from Rethimno to Knossos and Heraklion. Your multilingual guide introduces Minoan history, murals, the throne room, fountains, walls, and city monuments. You get about two hours at each stop, with free time for lunch, shopping, or the Archaeological Museum.

“Palace at Knossos was amazing - and the explanations from the tour guide were so helpful. The museum is also really well laid out .”

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9.From Chania & Rethymno: Knossos Palace & Heraklion City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 4 reviews · from $58

Spend a long day tracing Minoan culture at Knossos, then explore Heraklion at your own pace. A licensed English-speaking guide leads the palace visit, while an air-conditioned coach, hotel pickup, and whisper equipment keep the day organized. Museum entry and site fees cost extra.

“Fantastic day - the guide and driver responded to that day’s traffic and other visitor numbers and took us to Heraklion first giving time for a wander round the city or museum and to have lunch. Afterwards we went to Knossos where the guide went above and beyond to help those with ticket issues. The real highlight was the guide and their fantastic knowledge. Overall the trip was excellent value and I can’t recommend it enough to anyone interested in history.”

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10.Highlights of Crete -2 Days Tour Knossos Lasithi Rethymno&Chania

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · 2 days (approx.)

Travel by Mercedes-Benz van with an English-speaking driver-guide, visiting Knossos, Lasithi Plateau, Rethymno, Chania, and Fodele. You’ll taste olive oil, honey, Cretan food, coffee, and raki, with a licensed guide at Knossos and pickup from Heraklion.

“We had an amazing two days, and enjoyed visiting various parts of Crete. The site visits were perfectly picked and timed and met our expectations. Most important to note that Spyros our friendly guide and driver made it even more enjoyable and by the end of the two days we felt like family. He made sure that we were having a good time and that we understood and experienced the real Cretan lifestyle, he took us to his native village, his summer house, walked through his vegetable garden, we tasted various homemade drinks at his house and he took us to pick strawberries from a friend’s strawberry fields. I highly…”

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