Have endless fun with your kids in Crete Island with these kids-friendly activities! Discover educational tours, exciting games, & interactive adventures perfect for kids.
Start your day by meeting your guide at the farm, where you will have a cup of coffee before taking a basic riding lesson to make sure you feel safe and comfortable while riding a horse. Then, hop on your horse to begin your ride out into the mountains.
After riding for about an hour, you’ll arrive at the top of the Finikia mountains, where you’ll stop for a break. Help yourself to a soft drink, or fruit, and take a moment to admire the amazing views and snap a picture or two. In the distance, you can spot the nearby mountain of Archanes, the place where the Greek God Zeus is said to be sleeping.
Then get back on your horses and make your way back to the starting point. After riding for about another hour, you’ll arrive at the stables and then sit down in our lovely garden for a delicious traditional Cretan lunch/dinner, including homemade wine with an amazing horse view!
After lunch, have a seat out in the garden of the farm, help yourself to some more wine, or enjoy a few more minutes with our horses. At about 12:30 PM, you will head back to your hotel or apartment.
Alma de Creta run this guided street-food tour through the old town of Chania, using the city’s food to tell its history. The walk moves through the historic neighbourhoods and market alleys, with a guide connecting what you are eating to the Venetian and Ottoman periods that shaped it, and to the Mediterranean diet that grew out of them.
The tour walks the old town and eats as it goes, with the history carried in the food rather than delivered at monuments. Three threads run through it.
First is the street food itself, the produce, the ingredients and the everyday dishes sold in the city’s alleys and markets rather than plated in restaurants. Second is the history, from Venetian and Ottoman Chania through to the modern city, told through what people cooked and traded in each period. Third is the Mediterranean diet, explained as the practical result of local ingredients and growing conditions rather than as a health slogan, how traditional produce and culinary practices actually fed generations here.
Alma de Creta also run private tours from Chania, Heraklion, Rethymno and Elounda, shore excursions from Chania-Souda, Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos ports, and tailor-made itineraries for groups and individuals.
The walk stays inside the old town and its market streets.
We recommend this tour for the way it frames the food. Plenty of Chania food walks hand you a plate and name the dish. This one connects what you are eating to who was ruling the city when it appeared, Venetian, Ottoman, modern Greek, which turns a tasting into an explanation of why Cretan cooking looks the way it does.
The Mediterranean diet angle is genuinely worth having explained on the ground. It is one of the most talked-about and least understood things about this island, and standing in a market in Chania while somebody walks you through the actual ingredients is a better introduction than any amount of reading.
Alma de Creta is a Chania-based operator with a broad programme, private tours from four bases, shore excursions from three ports, and tailor-made itineraries, so if the street-food walk suits you, there is a route to a longer day with the same team.
The listing carries a strong TripAdvisor standing across a substantial number of reviews, which is the signal we would read for an operator of this size.
Two practical notes.
Confirm the current itinerary, start time and price directly with the operator, since the tour programme is set by them and changes with the season.
This is a walking tour through old-town alleys, so comfortable shoes and sun protection matter more than they sound in a city setting.
Book direct, come hungry, and ask about the periods behind each dish.
The tour is a guided walk through Chania old town. Alma de Creta also run private tours, shore excursions from Chania-Souda, Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos ports, and tailor-made itineraries.
Contact Alma de Creta directly for current dates, prices and the meeting point: almadecreta.com, info@almadecreta.com, +30 693 239 9091.
It is a guided street-food walk through Chania old town, using the city’s food to explain its Venetian, Ottoman and modern history.
The guide connects the food to the history of the city and the Mediterranean diet, explaining how local ingredients and practices shaped daily life in Crete.
Yes, private tours from Chania, Heraklion, Rethymno and Elounda, shore excursions from three ports, and tailor-made itineraries for groups and individuals.
The walk covers the historic neighbourhoods and market alleys of Chania old town.
Contact the operator directly by phone, email or through their website.
Yes, the whole tour is on foot through the old town, so wear comfortable shoes.
Embark on an adrenaline-pumping tour aboard an innovative jet boat combining boat and plane technology. Glide across the water at top speeds and gaze at Crete’s vibrant shore from the water. Take a break from your adventure to go swimming and snorkeling.
Climb aboard the jet boat at Hersonissos Port to begin your exhilarating journey. Feel the thrill of making fantastic 360° maneuvers at high speeds, and experience how the boat dashes across the ocean and stops quickly. Stay safe at all times as you ride a stable vessel steered by a professional.
During your fun ride we explore places like Malia,Stalis and Analsipsi and after we enjoy a stop at Saint George’s Bay, a paradisiac location, to unwind from the speed. Seize the chance to go swimming and snorkeling in crystal-clear waters before making your way back to the port.
Take a trip to the Cretan Mountains as you ride a horse along the paths and hilltops of the mountains. Admire the panoramic view of Giouhtas mountain and Agios Silas village.
Start your day by meeting your guide at the farm. Take a basic training session to make sure you feel safe and comfortable while riding a horse. Then, hop on your horse to begin your ride out into the mountains.
Stretch your legs with a short break made during the trip with breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape of the mountains. Refresh yourself with a glass of orange juice and take amazing pictures of the beautiful scenery. Feel the fresh Mediterranean breeze at the top of the mountain.
Beginners & advanced riders are welcome!
This fishing trip takes you out from Kalyves with a working local fisherman for 3 hours along the Chania coastline, to spots that do not appear on any map. Two departures run: a sunrise trip at 08:00 with a traditional Cretan breakfast aboard, or a sunset trip at 17:30 with wine and homemade delicacies. Both include swim stops at hidden coves along the way.
The trip follows the fisherman’s own working knowledge of the coast. Four things fill the 3 hours.
First is the departure from Kalyves, on the Apokoronas coast east of Chania, and the run out to the fishing grounds. Second is the fishing itself, learning techniques that have been used on this coast for generations and casting your own lines in clear Mediterranean water. Third are the swim stops, at coves along the shoreline that are reachable only from the water. Fourth is the food and drink: a traditional Cretan breakfast on the morning trip, or wine and homemade delicacies as the light goes on the evening one.
The coastal views between stops are part of the trip rather than the gap between the parts you paid for.
The boat works the Apokoronas coast east of Chania.
The trip covers the boat, the fishing and the food.
Included:
Places are limited, so book ahead in season.
We recommend this trip because it is one of the few things on this coast run by the person who actually does it for a living. Most boat trips from Chania are tourism products with a boat attached. This is a fisherman taking a small number of people to the places he fishes, which is a different proposition and produces a different kind of afternoon.
The choice of departure is the practical strength. A sunrise trip with breakfast aboard and a sunset trip with wine are genuinely different experiences on the same water, and having both means the trip fits around the rest of your day rather than replacing it.
Three hours is the right length. Long enough to reach real fishing spots and swim properly, short enough that it is not the whole day, and short enough for children and less confident sea travellers.
The listing carries a strong TripAdvisor standing across a solid number of reviews, which for a one-boat operation is the signal worth reading.
Two things to check.
Confirm which departure you have booked, since the morning and evening trips carry different food and a five-and-a-half-hour difference in start time.
Contact the operator directly about numbers, as a small boat limits places and the trip is described as having limited spots.
Pick your departure deliberately, bring a towel, and book directly.
The boat departs from Kalyves, on the coast east of Chania. Two departures run: 08:00 with a traditional breakfast, and 17:30 with wine and homemade delicacies. Each trip lasts about 3 hours.
Bring swimwear, a towel, a hat and sunscreen.
Contact the operator directly: fishingtripskalives@gmail.com, +30 690 756 6222.
Each trip lasts about 3 hours, on either the morning or the evening departure.
The sunrise trip leaves at 08:00 with a traditional Cretan breakfast aboard, and the sunset trip at 17:30 with wine and homemade delicacies.
Yes, breakfast on the morning trip, and wine with homemade delicacies on the evening one.
Swim stops at hidden coves are part of both departures, at places reachable only from the water.
The boat departs from Kalyves, on the Apokoronas coast about 20 kilometres east of Chania.
No experience is needed. The fisherman teaches the techniques used on this coast and you cast your own lines.
Crete Private Guide run this private walking tour of Chania old town, covering about 3 kilometres in 4 hours from the Agora covered market. The route takes in the Venetian fortifications, the Arsenals, both cathedrals, the old synagogue, the Turkish mosque, the Chania gardens and the Egyptian lighthouse, with food tastings along the way and a wine tasting of four local varieties at the end. Marketed as The 4 Winds, it runs in Greek, English and French with private transport included.
The tour starts at 09:00 and walks a loop of the old town, stopping to eat and drink as it goes. Five parts make it up.
First is the Agora, the covered market, which the tour visits rather than passes. Second is the old town circuit: the Venetian fortifications, the Arsenals where the galleys were built, the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox cathedrals, the old Jewish synagogue, the Turkish mosque, the Chania gardens and the Egyptian lighthouse. Third are the tasting stops, made in conversation with locals rather than at set counters, loukoumades, pasteli, tsikoudia, frappé, graviera and mizithra cheeses, olives and paximadi among them. Fourth, the guide takes you to chosen spots for photographs and video. Fifth is a wine tasting at a selected venue, with four local wines from area wineries made from Cretan grape varieties.
The whole route covers roughly 3 kilometres on foot.
Everything is inside the old town of Chania.
The tour is priced per group rather than per head, and covers everything on the route.
Included:
Group pricing runs from €360 for one person to €930 for eight, which works out from about €115 per person on the larger group sizes. The tour covers the Chania and Rethymno regions; pick-ups more than 25 kilometres from Chania city centre carry an additional €20 to €100 depending on distance and group size.
We recommend this tour for the range it covers in four hours. The Agora, the Venetian arsenals, two cathedrals, a synagogue, a mosque and the lighthouse is the full religious and civic layering of Chania, Venetian, Ottoman, Jewish and Greek, and most old-town tours pick two of those and leave the rest. Doing it at walking pace with tastings threaded through is a better way to absorb it than a lecture at each stop.
The food is specific rather than generic. Loukoumades, pasteli, tsikoudia, graviera and mizithra, olives and paximadi are what Cretans actually eat and drink, and tasting them in conversation with the people selling them is the part visitors remember.
Being private throughout is the third reason. You set the pace, the guide answers your questions rather than the group’s, and transport from your accommodation is built into the price.
Two things to weigh.
The published rating rests on a very small number of reviews, so treat it as encouraging rather than settled and speak to the operator before booking.
It is a walking tour in an exposed old town, starting at 09:00 and running four hours. Comfortable shoes are a requirement rather than a suggestion, and summer heat builds quickly on the route.
Wear real shoes, come hungry, and check the pick-up distance before you book.
The tour starts at 09:00 at the Agora covered market and runs 4 hours over about 3 kilometres. Private transport from and to your location is included within the Chania and Rethymno regions.
This is a walking tour, so wear comfortable shoes. Pick-ups more than 25 kilometres from Chania city centre carry an additional charge.
Contact Crete Private Guide directly: creteprivateguide.com, info@creteprivateguide.com, +30 690 650 5872.
The tour runs 4 hours and covers about 3 kilometres on foot.
The tour starts at 09:00 at the Agora, the covered market in Chania old town, which it visits as its first stop.
Tastings include loukoumades, pasteli, tsikoudia, frappé, graviera and mizithra cheeses, olives and paximadi, sampled in conversation with local sellers.
Four different local wines are included, all from wineries in the area using Cretan grape varieties.
Yes, it is private and priced per group, from €360 for one person to €930 for eight.
The tour is offered in Greek, English and French.
CRETAquarium is one of the largest aquariums in Europe and the public face of Thalassokosmos, the biggest marine research complex in the Mediterranean. The ticket covers a full day’s entry to 60 habitats holding more than 2,000 sea creatures and over 150 species, from Mediterranean stingrays and scorpionfish to sharks, jellyfish and tropical clownfish. Entry starts at €15, and the aquarium holds a 4.36 rating across 2,716 reviews, it ranks 17th among all GetYourGuide experiences in Greece.
The ticket buys entry and the route through the tanks takes about an hour. Three things define the visit.
First are the Mediterranean habitats, which make up the bulk of the aquarium and recreate the caves and crevices where stingrays and rock-like scorpionfish live. Second are the open-topped shallow tanks, which let you look down on jellyfish and clownfish rather than through glass at them, a different perspective on species most people have seen before. Third is the research context: CRETAquarium belongs to the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, which studies climate impact on marine organisms here and rehabilitates injured sea turtles for release with local authorities and NGOs.
Benches sit through the halls, so the visit can be slow rather than a walk-through.
The aquarium sits on the coast at Gournes, between Heraklion and Hersonissos.
The ticket covers the gate and nothing else.
Included:
Not included:
We recommend CRETAquarium as the reliable wet-weather and heatwave answer on the Heraklion coast, and the thing that separates it from a commercial aquarium is what sits behind it. This is the visitor wing of a working marine research institute. The turtles you see being cared for are injured animals brought in by local authorities and released once recovered, and the research programme studies how climate change affects Mediterranean species. That context is not marketing, it is the institution.
The reviews back the basics. Visitors describe it as clean, well maintained, with large tanks and good variety, and singling out the turtles, the sharks and the dusky groupers. A British reviewer spent an hour and a half and made a point of the benches for sitting and watching. Another found it surprisingly bigger than expected and good value. An Israeli visitor praised having an explanation and description on everything.
The cafe outside under the olive trees comes up more than once as a good place to finish.
Three things worth knowing.
Value for money is the weakest score at 4.3 out of 5, and the price has moved. The bestseller listing shows €12 while the current price is €15, and a German reviewer noted the facility is from an older generation with a few tanks feeling overcrowded.
Queues build in the middle of the day. The operator states it gets very busy between 11:00 and 16:00 in summer with long lines, and GetYourGuide’s own review summary says travellers want clearer entry directions during busy periods. Buying ahead helps, one Italian reviewer got quick entry precisely because they had.
It is genuinely remote. A Polish reviewer described the surrounding landscape as looking like the end of the world and noted the bus stops quite far away, leaving a walk. Come by car or taxi.
Arrive outside the midday rush, rent the audio guide, and plan an hour rather than a morning.
The aquarium is at Gournes, Heraklion 710 03, reachable by car or taxi in about 25 minutes from Heraklion, Malia or Hersonissos. Allow roughly an hour inside.
If you miss your time slot the ticket stays valid for the day, but you lose the skip-the-line benefit. Comfortable shoes help; pets, smoking and alcohol are not permitted.
About an hour covers the aquarium, though reviewers who sat and watched the larger tanks report spending closer to two.
No guided tour is included. An audio guide can be rented at reception for €3 in a choice of 9 languages.
The aquarium holds more than 2,000 sea creatures across 60 habitats, covering over 150 species.
Between 11:00 and 16:00 in summer, when the operator warns of long lines at the entrance.
CRETAquarium is at Gournes, about 25 minutes by car or taxi from Heraklion, Malia or Hersonissos. Bus stops leave a considerable walk.
Your ticket stays valid for the rest of the day, but you can no longer skip the line.
Check dates and prices for CRETAquarium admission.
Board a comfortable air-conditioned semi-submarine vessel at the port of Agios Nikolaos. Discover marine life which inhabits the coastal waters of Agioi Pantes Island. Learn more about the flora and fauna you will see from the onboard audio guide.
See many different species of colorful fish as the boat crew feeds them. If you are lucky, you may spot curious sea turtles, dolphins, and seals who sometimes choose to investigate the vessel.
In the second part of the tour, take a seat on the main deck of the boat in order to admire the spectacular views of Agios Nikolaos Bay. Feel the sea breeze as you cruise through the bay before heading back to the port.
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