The 8 Best Walking Tours in Crete

1.Knossos Palace Skip-the-Line Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 1,380 reviews · 1.5 hours · from $104Our pick

Explore Knossos Palace with a licensed English-speaking guide, priority entry, and a small group when available. Guides such as Akrivi, Katerina, Georgios, and Yorgos bring Minoan myths, archaeology, frescoes, and palace life together. Arrive 20 minutes early, and consider the cooler 9:00 AM or 5:00 PM slots.

“Super knowledgeable guide, funny, and able to put things in terms everyone could understand. Wish I'd had her on a couple of my other excursions.”

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2.Walking “Food tasting tour” in the town of Chania

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 297 reviews · 2 hours 20 minutes (approx.) · from $105Top rated

Walk Chania with Christos, tasting bougatsa, Cretan cheeses, olives, sweets, coffee, raki and gyros. Visit a local herb shop and knife maker, then finish near the Venetian Port. This small-group tour lasts about 2 hours 20 minutes and includes generous food portions.

“Fantastic tour. Incredible street food experience, nice pace. Not easy to find transportation from and to the ship, but our guide went above and beyond to help.”

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3.Food Tastings Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 136 reviews · 4 hours · from $114

Walk Heraklion with local guides such as Eva and Margarita, stopping for Greek coffee, 1920s-style bougatsa, cheese, olives, olive oil, Cretan dishes, wine, and raki. You’ll also see local neighborhoods, a market, Agios Minas Cathedral, and Rocca a Mare Fortress.

“Great introduction to the cuisine of Crete. Varied foods and locations.”

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4.PRIVATE Walking Tour with Lunch and Wine Tasting by a Sommelier

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 113 reviews · 4 to 5 hours (approx.) · from $193

Start with coffee or mountain tea above Chania, taste four indigenous Cretan wines with sommelier Maria, then walk the Venetian harbor and enjoy a large lunch of local dishes. Guides such as Nasos and Dimitris tailor the 4 to 5 hour private outing to your pace and food preferences.

“We had a great tour. From our morning coffee to the fabulous lunch it was all excellent. Sommelier Maria was fantastic”

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5.Rethymno Walking & Gastronomy Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 103 reviews · 3 to 4 hours (approx.) · from $107

Walk Rethymno with guides such as Nora, Michael, Vincent, Dina, and Maria, stopping for Cretan breakfast, olive oil, honey, raki, wine, meze, and handmade filo. The group is limited to eight, with a private option available.

“Nora was very fun and informative. We learned a lot about the Rethymno area and culture, and ate very well!”

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6.Old Town Walking Tour with Meal

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 73 reviews · 4 hours · from $205

Spend four hours with a private guide such as Vincent, Maria, Michael, or Michalis, walking Rethymno's Old Town between a Cretan breakfast, tastings, a phyllo demonstration, and a generous meal beneath lemon trees. Choose English, French, or Spanish guiding and vegetarian or non-vegetarian dining.

“The guide was extremely knowledgeable and we learned so much. The food was amazing and we gained a new understanding of Crete and Rethymno.”

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7.Archaeological Museum of Heraklion: Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 26 reviews · 1.5 hours · from $147

Spend 90 minutes with an English-speaking guide in Heraklion’s Archaeological Museum, home to Europe’s finest Minoan collection. You’ll see art from the Neolithic through Roman periods, learn how Crete’s first advanced civilization lived, and admire the museum’s award-winning Bauhaus design. Recent bookings identify the guide as Akrivi, also spelled Akviti.

“I was the lucky one because my guide Akrivi was also the guide from the knossos trip. And I was the only one for the museum tour. She was very up to date about the latest historical facts.Because of the knossos tour on the same day in the morning I was able to get a better understanding about all the things and stories around the minoan civilization. Akrivi has a great way to tell everything. I am really happy and I am glad I booked a guided tour. Thank you so much for the day. I really recommend the knossos guided tour early in the morning because of the heat…”

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8.Private Guided Food and Wine Walking Tour with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · 5 hours · from $188

Spend five hours with a local guide exploring Chania, tasting Cretan specialties, and sharing lunch at a restaurant. You’ll sample four wines from indigenous grapes with sommelier Maria, visit tucked-away corners, and see the harbor, old churches, shops, and hilltop views.

“We had a fabulous day with our guide Nasos. He took us to places we could never have found ourselves. Our wine tasting with Maria was intriguing and our lunch food tasting was extraordinary. Highly recommend this tour group.”

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