Best 9 Factory & workshop activities on Crete Island

Travel through stunning natural landscapes up into the mountains of the Kissamos region on this 7-hour tour from Chania. Stop at a traditional family winery, established in 1993, and learn about the varieties of wine they produce and their ideas for modern farming processes and wine production. Taste award-winning local Vidiano, Muscat of Spina and some international varieties such as Grenache rouge, Syrah and Mourvèdre that each have a unique taste due the local terroir. Next you’ll visit a traditional village and see the oldest olive tree in the world, with an estimated age of 3,000 years. This is a day filled with tasting different wine expressions of noble grapes and a variety of delicious foods. Head to another winery in the Kissamos region to taste a special local blend of white wines with Vilana, Vidiano and Assyrtiko varieties. Walk through the idyllic landscape of the vineyards and visit the family’s olive oil factory. Learn about extra virgin olive oil production. The wine tasting here will be accompanied by a tasting of extra virgin olive oils and local pure products, creating combinations your palate will never forget. You’ll also learn the Cretan way of saying goodbye drinking the award-winning Tsikoudia.

Join a tour with all of Crete’s most iconic products. All the areas that you will visit are famous for their vineyards, the olive groves, and their wine production since the Minoan era. Even today they are considered the largest areas in Greece for cultivating grapes and high-quality olive oil. Stop at a local olive mill and take a tour of the olive grove and after the olive mill where you can taste fresh olive oil. The second stop is a family-owned winery that uses organic methods for cultivating. You will get a tour around the vineyards and the winery and taste 4 wines. The next stop is a unique distillery and then an ancient wine press. Raki is the most famous Cretan spirit. Take a tour of the distillery and enjoy a traditional lunch before finishing off the tour with a visit to a pottery studio located in a traditional village that is famous for its pottery.

This tour is for those who would like to get to know Cretan culture and traditions while enjoying a four-hour off-road excursion. You will visit a modern olive mill, so that you can see how olive oil is produced, and you can also enjoy the opportunity to sample some of the oils. After this, you will explore some myths and stories hidden After that you will climb 600 metres above sea-level on an off-road route. You will travel through the Lefka Ori woods and you will be stunned by the panoramic views from the trail. Later, you will meet a shepherd who will show you how Cretan cheeses are made and you can try some of the cheeses he makes himself.   Finally, the evening will come to a close with a traditional evening meal. There will be lots of food and traditional dishes for everyone to enjoy, and the evening will leave you with fond memories of your day spent exploring Crete. 

About During the first part, the visitors will taste 3 samples of Savouidakis Extra Virgin Olive Oils which come from Koroneiki variety of Crete and will learn how to recognize their positive characteristics, «fruity”, “bitter”, “spicy”. They will also learn how to recognize a defective olive oil from a quality one -by tasting 2 extra samples- and in the last part of the session we will discuss on how we can make our cooking recipes boost by simply using the right olive oil. What makes this activity unique? If you are an olive oil lover, our workshop is designed for you! Have you ever thought that olive oil could hide so many pleasant flavors and aromas? Did you ever imagine that each food recipe needs its specific olive oil? Have you ever wondered whether the olive oil you choose for your table is of good quality or not? By attending our workshop all the above questions will be answered and you are going to discover the positive aspects of extra virgin olive oil that you did not know they existed. Feel free to enjoy our “Love at First Tasting” experience.

About Our Visitors can experience a guided olive oil tasting session by an educated olive oil taster- in our visitable area in Agia Varvara. In our facilities they will also be able to watch step by step everything that has to do with olive oil labeling and storage. What makes this activity unique? It is of major importance for our customer to be able to judge and select the finest Olive Oil for their table. But we here to provide something more than that. We want to educate people to judge a quality olive oil instead of a defective one. We are dreaming of people accepting nothing less than quality olive oil for their daily nutrition. We invite our guests to embark on a delicious journey which will absolutely stimulate their senses. Above all trying Savouidakis Products is a “Love at First Tasting” Experience.

Benefit from pick-up at your hotel in Rethymno, and then journey by bus to the stone church in Kotsifu Gorge. Marvel at the steep cliffs and dramatic rock formations of the canyon, and then make your way to the historic plateau of Askifou. Stop to take souvenir photos of beautiful Plakias Bay, and then drive up into the mountains to visit the traditional village of Kallikrati. Swim in the deep blue waters of the Libyan sea. Stop for a coffee in the village of Argyroupolis near the Roman site of Lappa and marvel at the waterfalls. Next, go to beautiful Lake Kournas and enjoy a well-deserved traditional lunch in a typical village tavern at your own expense. Get a magnificent view of the lake and mountains before you drive back to Rethymno and get dropped off at your hotel.

Our first stop is on the Monastery Selinari Saint George, a few kilometres away from Mallia village. The tradition says that travellers must stop at the monastery when passing by in bid of good luck. Our trip continues with the story of oil production which takes place in Vasilakis fabrica, in Neapolis village. A full guided tour around the factory, taste olive oils and local products. The fabrica of family Vasilakis begins over 150 years with a small stone olive mill one of the first in the valley, producing life-giving olive oil for the family and their little community for many years. Today, “Vassilakis Estate” is one of Crete’s top producers and exporters of superior extra virgin olive oil. The next generation of the family, the fifth, is now actively involved in running the award-winning olive business. Next stop, takes place in Bioaroma place which located in Ag. Nikolaos, a marvellous tour exploring the natural wealth of Greek land by creating high-quality organic cosmetics and fragrances. We have the opportunity to see the way of use steam distillation process. Steam distillation is the most common way to extract aromatic compounds (essential oil) from a plant. During the steam distillation process, steam passes through the plant material. The combination of heated steam and gentle pressure causes the essential oil to be released from microscopic protective sacs. This privately-owned, 100-acre botanical wonder acts as a nursery for Crete’s unique flora and fauna, preserving hundreds of different species of aromatic herbs, plants and trees – natural treasures gifted to us by Mother Nature. Our tour ends in the picturesque town of Ag. Nikolaos with the famous lake. The lake becomes one with the sea through a narrow canal and is surrounded by red rock formations and lush vegetation, with numerous restaurants and cafes around it.

Crete is traditionally known for its olive oil which ranks among the finest varieties in the world. Heading towards the village of Melidoni we arrive at our first stop, the Paraschaki family olive oil press. Through the guided tour, we learn all about the harvest, production and bottling of Cretan olive oil throughout time, and we taste their excellent olive oil varieties. Our next stop, the Honey Museum, awaits us just a few meters away from the olive oil press. There, we have the opportunity to learn about the bees, the history and production of honey from the experts. After the tour, we enjoy a coffee in the unique environment of the Apithano Honey & Museum garden. This unforgettable, delicious, and aromatic experience takes us to lunch and guide at the traditional taverna – folklore museum in the village of Asteri, where we enjoy delicious dishes made with care and love.

At this journey you will visit the oldest olive tree in the world, the Monumental Olive Tree witch has been declared as “natural heritage monument” due to its special ecological and historical importance. After you will visit a a family owned company specializing in the artisan production of organic olive oil using millstones and presses.There you will have the chance to taste the unique flavor of Cretan Extra virgin olive oil and learn about the techniques Cretan use for thousand of years to produce it.