Samaria Gorge Trek Full Day Tour from Georgioupoli with Guide
Description
Enjoy a challenging trek through one of the longest and most famous gorges in Europe. On this excursion from Georgioupolis you’ll marvel at natural wonders throughout the day, from the White Mountains to thousand-year-old forests and more. After your breakfast you enter the Samaria Gorge. At the end of the trek you’ll visit the village of Agia Roumeli, where you’ll find a number of taverns, bars and shops. Enjoy some free time to take a swim or have some lunch. Late in the afternoon you’ll board a boat that will take you from Agia Roumeli to Sfakia, where the bus will be waiting to transfer you back to the starting point.
Tour Options
Itinerary
At the end of the trek, visit the village of Agia Roumeli, where you’ll find a number of taverns, bars, and shops. Enjoy some free time to take a swim or have some lunch. A meeting point will be arranged so you can collect your ferry tickets from your guide. Late in the afternoon, board a boat to go from Agia Roumeli to Sfakia, where the bus will be waiting to transfer you back to the pickup point.
Sfakia or Chora Sfakion is squeezed between the sea and the mountains. Generally Sfakia as a region has a very unique and dare we say a genuine, feel to it. It offers a less "package", the more individual face of tourism. If the people of Sfakia are famed as being the toughest survivors and fierce when duty calls - they are, perhaps as a result, the friendliest amongst a group - the Cretans - who offer visitors the warmest and most genuine hospitality as a fundamental part of their nature. Truth demands strength and strength should be backed by the truth...sometimes it is. It is probable, that the majority of that setting foot in Sfakia ( or Chora Sfakion or Hora Sfakion ) may well have walked the length of the Samaria Gorge and be one of the many muscle-aching souls on one of the ferries that travel from the mouth of the gorge, at Agia Roumeli to Chora Sfakia (or Sfakion). There to be collected by buses to return them to their hotels all over Crete.
Begin your full-day excursion to Samaria Gorge with pickup and a drive to Omalos, in the heart of the White Mountains, where you can enjoy breakfast before you start the hike. Omalos Plateau is in the centre of the Cretan mountains named Lefka Ori, or The White Mountains, a large mountain range in the west of the island. The highest mountain in the range is Pachnes at an altitute of 2452m. The village of Ομαλός is 39 km from the town of Chania. It is a very small village but the hotel Νέος Ομαλός is open all year round. The mountains are wild and rocky, steep and difficult for hiking. Walking here is for experienced hikers only, tough Cretan shepherds and goats. In the highest parts of the White Mountains it is known as 'high desert' due to the lack of vegetation. This means there is no cover, no shade and no water. Hikers must be well prepared for long walks.
Enjoy a challenging trek through one of the longest and most famous gorges in Europe. On this excursion from Georgioupolis you’ll marvel at natural wonders throughout the day, from the White Mountains, to thousand-year-old forests, and much more. Your full-day excursion to Samaria Gorge begins with pickup in Heraklion and a drive to Omalos, in the heart of the White Mountains. Enjoy breakfast before setting out on your challenging 10-mile (17 kilometer) hike. The trek will take you over rocks and stones, through a forest of thousand-year-old trees and along a river by fresh-water springs. Along the way, you’ll have spectacular views of Crete’s most beautiful mountain range, and you are also likely to see mountain goats roaming in the wild. You will be accompanied by a professional mountain escort who speaks English, German and French. Your escort will be there to explain all the necessary information about your hike and provide you with the tickets for the entrance and ferry.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
▪︎ Pick-up and drop off (in Panormo, Scaleta, Adele, Platanias, Missiria,Stavromenos,Sfakaki ,Rethymno town, Atsipopoulo, Kavros and Georgioupoli) Pickup is from your hotel or the closest point accessible by a vehicle. You'll receive specific pickup information in a separate email from the local partner (please check your spam folder). All the pick ups from Rethymno old Town will be from the bus stop of church of four martyrs (4 martyres church).
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Pickup begins up to 10 minutes before tour starts and is done from central meeting points near the hotels, only in the areas of Rethymno town, Atsipopoulo, Kavros Gerani and Georgioupoli
- Swimming suits
- The 5 to 6-hour trek is challenging. You must have good trekking shoes or at least a sturdy pair of trainers
- This trek is not recommended for children under the age of 8, pregnant women or anyone with health problems
- Comfortable shoes
- At the time of booking please mention your hotel name and location. You will be notified by email about the pickup point and time
Reviews(2)
It was a very hot and strenuous hike. I had tech neck from looking down most of the time to watch where I was stepping. Bring a cooling towel if it's hot to use in the river. Take the bus to the beach at the end for 2€.
thank you for the review
It was a well planned day out and the guide George was amazing and so lovely. The views here are absolutely beautiful and the boat ride was gorgeous and relaxing. However, it was hard work and suitable footwear should be worn. it is very steep with no railing/fencing and rocks that are not in place so are slippery and almost impossible not to fall over. (Fell over 3+ times and injured my ankle, could have just been me, slightly clumsy). At times, you can’t focus on looking at the view as you are looking at your footing. I saw many people with sticks which looked a lot easier. This walk is very challenging, and feels alot longer than 16k with no service, no emergency phones, defibs, or many check points/places to stop along the way so in event of an emergency, could be fatal, maybe bring first aid kit?. It took us around 6 hours and we are both quite fit and young. At the end of our trip we were informed someone had passed away due to a heart attack which was so shocking to hear and really puts things in to perspective. Must be awful for those involved. Overall, although the company are great and the gorge is gorgeous but it is somewhat dangerous and you definitely need to be fit and have done hikes like this, to attempt this. Not really suitable for kids or old people, definitely didn’t realise how challenging this would be, proud we completed it. The beach at the end is lovely, pebbly though.
They were indiscriminated and you hit us. Where is it our fault, and you give us 3 stars? Before you book the tour, we clearly state that it is prohibited for pregnant people and those with heart or blood problems. That is why we have a guide with you who walks at the end, in case something happens
