PRIVAT-Zeus’ Geburtshaus - Knossos-Olivenöl Fabrik-Alte Dörfer

We had a fantastic day with Stavros and enjoyed the mix of history, local flavor, food, and natural beauty.

Explore Real Crete did a fantastic full day tour for us! We HIGHLY recommend this company! Ed, the owner, and Spyros, our guide made our day wonderful. They were so friendly, helpful, and informative, sharing so much about the local culture and history. They customized our private tour so we could see the countryside and meet locals. Spyros bought us snacks and planned a picnic with wine under an apple tree! We had a fantastic visit to an olive farm/oil factory, saw old windmills, had lunch at a family-owned restaurant, and much more. We would absolutely book with them again.

Exceptional! This was not a touristy tour. No pressure to follow a strict itinerary. No pressure to buy the guide’s relatives’ wares. No rush to finish your drink or meal. Stavros showed us what Crete is like for the people that live on the island, loaded us up with fresh picked produce from local farms, fed us with information on Cretan geography, history, and Greek mythology, and overall entertained us with his energy all day long. Pick this tour!

Amazing experience absolutely fantastic day thank you so much for helping make memories that will last forever. Stavros was great sharing his knowledge, helping us to see the real beauty of Crete. Visiting family run places with welcoming friendly people and tasting beautiful food and wine. His great sense of humour had us laughing all day. I would highly recommend this tour it will not disappoint. When we return to Crete we will definitely do it again. Thank you again 😁

This tour is for those who want to be off the beaten track and have an authentic experience far from the maddening crowds. Spyros is an eloquent and informed guide who exceeded our high expectations. Forgoing routine tours, he carefully crafted a unique, private tour that found us meandering with him through the small villages where he was raised. Stopping for a coffee at a cafe where he shared with us the culture of the small towns tucked away in the rural Greek mountains . Picking fresh strawberries, and eating them under an old olive tree. Imbibing in a glass of local wine as we soaked in the spectacular views of the countryside. Indulging in a lunch of farm to table food that he recommended. Engaging with a local potter as he forged his handmade vessels. Stopping to watch goats as they traversed the roads up to the old windmills. This is an unforgettable experience for which we are grateful.

My wife and I did an 8 hour private tour with Stavros. He was an excellent guide. He started out making sure we were on the same page for the itinerary for the day. It was totally flexible and he wanted to make sure we did the things we wanted to do for the day. He provided great suggestions on different ways to experience the culture of Crete. We tailored the day based on those suggestions and the day could not have been better. He was full of good information and trivia about Crete, Greece, and the world. His years of experience really showed on this tour. Most of all you could tell he really cared about making sure we enjoyed the day. Whether we were learning about olive oil production, visiting a small village, or a farm, he really took the time to give us insight that we would never have gotten on our own. We saw so many amazing things during the day and you will too based on your preferences. We could not have been more pleased with the day and felt it was worth it since we had such a short time on Crete. We learned more about the real Crete in eight hours than we would have in several days on our own. This is a wonderful tour and you won’t be disappointed. It’s not called Real Crete Tours for nothing.

It was incredible. We had the best olive oil tasting, delicious bottles of wine, homemade greek yogurt with fresh honey, strawberry picking, a visit to a farm with fresh cucumbers, apples, peppers, tomatoes, and melon, cafe for iced cappuccino and several overlooks to take pictures and then the beach! 😊😊 Ed was a fantastic tour guide who made the day so very fun sharing Greek history, geography, farming and mythology while sharing local foods and wine. Highly recommend!

We spent the day with Ed on the Explore Real Crete Tour and it honestly ended up being one of the highlights of our trip. It really does feel like you get to see the real Crete. We started out early (which I wasn’t sure about at first), but I’m so glad we did because we got to the Heraklion ruins before the buses and cruise tours showed up. Walking through with hardly anyone else there made it such a better experience. As we were leaving around 9:15AM, it was completely packed with tour groups from cruise ships and other visitors with the line wrapping around the block, so definitely trust Ed on the early start! From there he took us out to the countryside, where we stopped at an olive oil factory for tastings and then visited local farms. We got to pick and eat food from local organic farms like strawberries, melons, peppers, lettuce, apples — all so fresh — and then he brought us to a restaurant that actually cooks with that produce. The food was delicious, and the view of the mountains from our table was just beautiful. Throughout the day we also had amazing Cretan wine, great coffee in a little square, and saw old windmill water wells that felt like stepping back in time. Ed himself is what makes the tour really special. He’s funny, super knowledgeable, and you can tell he really cares about showing people his home. It never felt rushed or touristy, just relaxed and genuine. If you’re on the fence, I’d 100% recommend this tour. You’ll eat well, see places you’d never find on your own, and get to experience Crete in a way that feels real and memorable.

Ed is the kindest, most energetic guide ever! We have toured with him multiple times both with adults and kids. I am amazed at his ability to change his demeanor to appeal to both. We have toured Crete with him 3 times now and each time it’s just a little different but then end result is a magical day that leaves me yearning to come back and visit or maybe even move to this lovely island. HIGHLY recommend!

We were 2 couples and Ed as we traveled to explore Crete. It’s been 2 weeks since we’ve returned and not a day goes by that we comment to each other about how fantastic our day with Ed was. Being a private tour, Ed asked us what we wanted to see and we told him we wanted to avoid the touristy areas and see the real Crete and that’s exactly what he delivered. We stopped and saw Spinalonga and then we headed inland and saw the small villages, drank wine and ate strawberries we picked in Ed’s cousin’s strawberry patch, stopped by a monastery, as well as spectacular views along the way. One of the memories we talk about was an unexpected encounter that we were asked not to expose. All we can say it was the cherry on top of our time with Ed and actually the top memory of our whole week in Crete. Without giving it away, I can say it involved cucumbers, family, wine, cheese and raki. We laughed so much during this that on the video we shot our 5 yr old granddaughter asked why my wife (Mesa) was crying. We were having so much fun and laughing she thought my wife was crying. Ed’s passion for Crete - telling us its history and culture gave us a better sense of the island - and he is extremely passionate about his home. If you can only do one tour in Crete - don’t miss this tour with Ed. I want to also compliment him on his new van we had - very luxurious and his safe driving.