Excursions

Planned excursions for the week leading up to our wedding!

Below you will find the excursions that we have planned for the week leading up to the main event.  Please review this information and sign up for the excursions that you are interested in attending.  Please indicate the number of persons in your party that will be part of each excursion.  Once we assess the level of interest for each planned activity, we will revert with final confirmations.

Phaestos Palace and Matala

(Monday, August 30) - €89 per person

This excursion will include a visit to Phaestos Palace, which is approximately 2 hours by coach from Elounda Beach. This is one of the most important Minoan palace sites in Crete.  Phaestos is a fascinating maze of walls, stairways and courtyards on a hillside, overlooking the Messara plain and the Libyan sea.  The site was built as early as 3500 BC and it includes ruins of a grand stairway, theater area, palace workshops, storerooms and an archive room where the Phaestos disc was discovered.  Its hieroglyphics are the earliest known Minoan script; it can be seen in the Irakleio Archaeological Museum. 

After the visit to Phaestos Palace, we will drive approximately 20 minutes to visit the Matala Caves, located in the beach town of Matala.  The caves in the cliff of the Matala Bay were created in the Neolithic Age.  They are part of the imposing mountainside that overlooks Matala beach.  Matala was the port of Phaistos during the Minoan period. It has been suggested that the caves were once used as tombs.  The town remained for most of its history as a sleepy fishing village but everything changed in the 1960s, when hippies from all over the globe arrived in Matala to live in the caves.  Among the most famous ones was Joni Mitchell, who lived in the caves of Matala for several weeks.  She immortalized the caves in her 1971 song “Carey”.  Eventually the hippies were driven out by the Greek Orthodox Church and the military junta.

Chania & Rethymnon tour

(Tuesday, August 31) - €126 per person

We will be visiting the two most beautiful and historic towns on the island of Crete, Chania and Rethymnon.  Chania is by far Crete’s most gorgeous town, filled with colorful, old Venetian buildings which form a ring around a sheltered harbor.  The earliest settlers of the town were the Minoans; many others followed including the Venetians and the Ottomans.  There is perfectly preserved evidence of all those cultures, from the Venetian City Walls and the Ottoman mosque of the Janissaries to the Jewish Etz Hayyim synagogue.  In addition to its beauty and rich history, Chania is THE shopping destination on Crete, for anything from jewelry to Cretan-style leather boots. 

Rethymnon is one of the most well-preserved Venetian old towns on the island of Crete. Its 16th-century buildings are stunning examples of ancient architecture, and the monolithic Fortezza reflects both European and Moorish influences. Our visit will include a walking tour in the old city to explore the exceptional architecture.

Knossos & Lassithi Plateau

(Wednesday, September 1) - €94 per person

Knossos was the seat of King Minos beneath whose palace, according to legend, the bull-headed Minotaur hunted its victims in the Labyrinth built by Daedalus. In reality, it was the hub of the Bronze Age Minoan empire that ruled the Aegean more than 4,000 years ago.  From the Palace’s central court and the Throne Room to the vivid dolphin frescoes and the giant earthenware jars that the Minoans used to store olive oil, this archaeological site is filled with highlights and it is one of the most historically important destinations in the world.

Our excursion will include a visit to the Lassithi Plateau which is one of the few areas in the Mediterranean with permanent inhabitants at an altitude over 800 meters. There are many small villages on the plateau which maintain their traditional color and character. As part of our excursion, we will drive to the village of Psychro to visit the birthplace of Zeus: the Diktean Cave. In myth, this is where Rhea, goddess of the earth, hid Zeus after his birth, to protect him from Cronus, who had a bad habit of eating children.  The Plateau has also attracted anthropological interest as DNA analysis of Minoan bone samples more than 4,000 years old, revealed a close relationship to DNA samples drawn from the modern population of the Plateau.  These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the Plateau served as a Minoan place of refuge and that the current inhabitants of the Plateau carry the maternal signature of the Minoan population.

Samaria Gorge

(Thursday, September 2) - €150 per person

This is one of the most striking areas of natural beauty in all of Greece!  At 11 miles of length, the Samaria Gorge is the third longest in the world (the Grand Canyon is first).  It cuts its way through the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) from the Omalos Plateau to the Libyan Sea.  Peaks soar on both sides of the gorge, flanked by pine woods and wildflower meadows.  Beginning at 4,100-ft. above sea level, it emerges on the coast, close to the little village of Agia Roumeli, after passing through a narrow pass known as the “Iron Gates” (Sideres Portes)!!

However, the schedule for this excursion is rather aggressive!  We expect to leave the hotel around 4.30 am and to not return until after midnight!  The gorge crossing itself should take approximately 5 hours; at the end of our crossing, we will catch a boat ride for approximately one hour and then board the coach to return to Elounda, which is approximately 5 hours away.

Spinalonga tour

(Friday, September 3) - €64 per person

We will rent a kaiki, a traditional wooden Greek boat, from the hotel to Spinalonga Island, which is located directly across from our hotel.  After touring the island, we will transfer to the seaside village of Plaka for lunch and then return to the hotel via coach.  Nicknamed as the island of the living dead, Spinalonga, lies at the natural harbor of Elounda. Despite being a small barren island of 85 acres, it carries a long history and holds a special place in the Greeks' hearts, while it preserves its beauty notwithstanding its dark past. 

A little-known fact is that Spinalonga was not always an island. It is believed that in 1526, the Venetians destroyed part of the peninsula of Elounda to create an island, which was fortified to safeguard the port of ancient Olous. Olous had remained uninhabited until the mid-15th century when it gained commercial value due to its salt-pans. The inhibition of the city, along with the pirate raids and the Turkish threat, made the fortification a necessity and resulted in Spinalonga becoming one of the most powerful sea fortresses in the Mediterranean.

Spinalonga remained under Venetian rule even after the rest of Crete was occupied by the Ottomans. In 1715, however, the Ottomans managed to conquer the small island, banishing the Venetian presence from Crete completely. Eventually, in 1903, the Turkish left the island and it became once again a part of Greece.

Despite its rich heritage that stretches all the way back to antiquity, Spinalonga is known across the world as the host of the leper community from 1903 to 1957, and as one of the last active leper colonies in Europe, reaching a number of nearly 400 inhabitants during the outbreak of the illness. 

Pricing is approximate and will be adjusted based on numbers. Pricing includes luxury coach and guide and doesn’t include entry fees.

Sign up for the excursions

If you are interested in signing up for any of the excursions, please fill out the form below in order to help us get a head count, and make sure that we got you covered!