Spinalonga,Elounda,Ag.Nikolaos, Olive Factory Tour From Heraklion
Description
Visit Spinalonga, the last leper colony in Europe, is located in Elounda from where we take the boat for Spinalonga island. Originally, Venetians fortified the islet in 1579, by building a fortress with 40 cannons and they are actually the best preserved walls in Europe. Visit Agios Nikolaos and walk around the famous Lake Voulismeni
Tour Options
Itinerary
Spinalonga, the last leper colony in Europe, is located in Elounda from where we take the boat for Spinalonga island. Originally, Venetians fortified the islet in 1579, by building a fortress with 40 cannons and they are actually the best preserved walls in Europe. It used to be a leper colony from 1903 until 1957, where lepers could have a better life, medical help and economical support. The ruins of the market street with the shops, the hospital and many small houses in which lepers lived isolated, can be explored individually.
Leaving Spinalonga Island we have free time to explore the unique Elounda village or go for swimming in the crystal clear waters of Elounda Bay.
Before we take the road back to Heraklion, we will visit Ag.Nikolaos, a town with 14.000 inhabitants which is built on the side of the Gulf of Mirabello. In the centre of Agios Nikolaos is the lake Voulismeni, probably created by an earthquake. There, we can have a coffee break or a walk around the lake, which gives you a great view from above, over the center and the harbor of Agios Nikolaos. Next to the lovely harbor are shady tree-lined streets filled with shops gives you the opportunity to do some “serious shopping”.
Our last stop is at the olive factory in Malia and taste the famous Cretan olive oil.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
You will receive the voucher with pick up details (pick up time & pick up point)via email, one day before your tour.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- The remaining hours is for travel time from each place to another
Reviews(4)
Fantastic tour! Booking easy. Reconfirmation via WhatsApp. Meeting point location from reconfirmation clear and easy to follow. Driver Yiannis (John Travolta) drove well and felt safe throughout. Tour guide Eva was informative and funny. I just want to highlight the professionalism and extra mile Eva took on the first stop. Whilst all the English speakers had decided to do their own thing, I was left as the only English speaker with the rest of the group in this case French. Eva took the time to explain everything to me in great detail and I certainly did not miss anything. Now the places you see, Spinalonga is interesting historically but also have beautiful scenery (think poppies and daisies framing doors for those Insta photos). Notes, ticket to Spinalonga is extra. Elounda town and the beach is a lovely place for lunch. Then Agios Nikolaos is a nice town and the walk around the lake is well worth the extra excercise (there are some steps if you want to walk the whole way around. Finally a stop at the Olive Oil factory is informative and the Olive oil is smooth and tasty. Overall a fantastic tour!
The actual historical visit the Spinulonga you get 30 minutes just enough to walk island not even explore. The actual trip is all about getting people to shop in different towns. The bus refused to pick me up and said was easy 300m to another. It was 1000 meters. On way back they didn't even have fake excuse bus could not fit as switched to van but still dumped me in the rain.
Trip not too bad, the downside of it for myself and partner was the tour guide, abrupt and rude, unhelpful and did not want to answer questions, unclear instructions throughout the day, dare not ask a question! The places were good and nice to see but a little disappointed overall.
Good nice outing, enjoy the scenery. Enjoyable and plenty of fun. The coach was on time, it's value for money.
