Samaria Gorge: Crete's Scenic Hiking Adventure

Experience the untouched beauty of Crete on a hiking tour of the Samaria Gorge. Traverse unspoiled terrain, swim in crystal waters, and explore traditional villages at your own pace.

Duration: 14 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Omalos - Early in the morning, you will be picked up from designated spots around Chania via a luxurious bus and reach the starting point of your tour in Omalos Plateau around 7am. The panoramic view of the gorge from the plateau is a photophile’s delight, so after short stop for pictures and/or breakfast, you will hop on the bus and depart for…
What's Included
  • Air-Conditioned Luxury Bus
  • All Fees and Taxes
  • Full Liability Insurance
  • Hiking Escort
What's Not Included
  • Personal expenses, extra beverages or meals
  • • Boat Fare: 14 euros //Up to 12,99 yrs : 7,00 €
  • Entrance fee: EU CITIZENS: 0-17FREE/ 18-64(10,00 €)/ 65+ (FREE)
  • Entrance Fee: OTHER NATIONALITIES: 0-4FREE/ 5-64(10,00 €)No discount for 65+ (10,00 €)
Additional Information

Prepare for an extraordinary journey through one of Europe’s longest and most stunning gorges! This full-day hiking adventure is perfect for nature enthusiasts and active adventurers. Hike approximately 16 kilometers through awe-inspiring landscapes, towering cliffs, ancient forests, and the renowned narrow passage known as the “Iron Gates.” Along the…

Location
Omalos
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(339 Ratings)
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Coates408
Jul 12, 2025
Superb trek and swim in sea - Super guide and very professional with advice. Saw people in flip flops and they were struggling. Need good shoes and some fitness. Last few miles were in the open and very warm. Lots of water springs taps on way down to top up water. Loved the beach afterwards and paid €10 for subbed and umbrella and two beers and loves the swim in the sea await jng the boat
Review provided by Tripadvisor
W4047qlannah
Jul 6, 2025
Breathtaking views and worth the work! - This hike was absolutely worth the work. While it’s not a challenging hike, it certainly wasn’t easy either. My husband and I have hiked all over the world and this was one of our favorites yet. The views were incredible, the transportation flawless, and the gorge was indescribable. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Racheldp7415ri
Jun 23, 2025
Amazing experience - The views were incredible! We're a fit couple in our early 30s from Canada that regularly hikes and it took us about 3.5 hours. It's all downhill over very rocky terrain so not an overly challenging one. Our only complaint was that because we finished the hike so fast, we had to wait about 5 hours for the ferry to come pick us up, so it was a very long day. 14 hour day in total that could probably be reduced to 10. But overall a great experience! Our guide, Ingrid, was lovely and the bus driver did an excellent job navigating the crazy Cretan roads!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Caseykm288qw
Jun 21, 2025
Great hike with beautiful scenery - Absolutely beautiful place to go and see! Would highly recommend doing this! We met another couple at the start of the hike and ended up spending the day with them doing the hike and we had a great day 😊 we now have great friends from this tour We got some great photos! I would say that it wasn’t super hard but just a lot of walking down hill on slippery rocks so wear good hiking shoes! The tour guide was so great she spoke multiple languages to help everyone there! She was so beautiful and very helpful
Review provided by Tripadvisor
340kristelw
Jun 19, 2025
Recommend! - This is a strenuous hike but if you have decent balance and hiking shoes it is a great sense of accomplishment. Local tips: there are 3 fresh orange juice stands at the end. You don’t have to stop at the first one. 3 euros for fresh squeezed OJ yum! Also 2 euros for the shuttle to town. Great way to support the town that supports the hikers. Description of the tour is lacking however, like bad chatGPT.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kirstin_p
Jun 14, 2025
Wonderful adventure! - Wonderful hike! They don't lie... It is tough, but worth it. Beautiful views and memorable adventure.
Review provided by Viator
Ruth_t
Jul 15, 2025
The hike was very nice.... - The hike was very nice. Mostly downhill. The guide doesn't hike with you. He gives you the instructions of how to safely hike yourself. Beach at the end is very rocky and very hot so bring shoes.
Review provided by Viator
Ianhf3370xt
Jul 12, 2025
Amazing home with stunning views and a nice swim in the sea! - The views were SPECTACULAR! We hike a lot and the Samaria gorge is one of the most beautiful hikes we have ever done. The Iron Gates are impressive, we saw the wild mountain goats (cri-cri), and the whole area smells of pine and mountain herbs like thyme. The terrain was not too rough compared to other hikes we’ve done. There are regular stations with water and toilet facilities, good amenities. There were lots of people hiking the day we were there so we would have had help if any accidents occurred. After the hike we went swimming in the beach at Agia Roumeli, which was a nice treat at the end of a long hike. We had lunch at a seaside taverna. Nicos, our guide was great. He thoroughly covered all the safety rules and things we needed to know, and made sure everybody was accounted for at the end. Very friendly and competent guide. The only criticism I have is that the description on the website did not exactly match the route we took. The description stated that we would be starting and ending the trip from the same point in Agia Roumeli. Hence we brought some extra bags with us to leave at the starting point and retrieve at the end when we were ready to swim. In fact, the starting and ending points are completely different: we started at the northern end of the gorge and finished at the southern end. We could not really leave by important items for later so consequently we had to cram everything we had into a backpack for the hike (very heavy). This is an error in the description that needs to be corrected. Also, nowhere in the description does it say how long the hike is (it’s about 16 km/10 miles). This is an extremely important piece of information for people to have to determine if they are up for an excursion like this. In summary, the tour was wonderful and we would definitely do it all again. We just felt that the description was a little misleading and incomplete.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gerard
Jul 10, 2025
THIS IS NOT A “HIKE”!!!! Beware! - I’ll start with this - we are from the east coast USA and are generally active and fit. We have hiked in Alaska, Vermont, Nevada, Switzerland, Iceland, Italy, and a host of other places…Hiking can be difficult and challenging, depending on how challenging the trails. Please beware - this is NOT your average “hiking trail”!! Where we come from they call this “bouldering”. Bouldering is NOT hiking - it’s its own thing. The “hike” starts with switchbacks down the mountain for about 3 miles. Challenging in that it is a fair decline with switchbacks and a lot of rocks, many that are smooth, dusty from dry earth, and VERY slippery. Even then, this was not horribly difficult but it will burn your quads, calves and glutes if you are not in shape. And if you’re not careful and watch your footing you will slip and possibly fall. And then, after the endless downhill switchbacks are over, and you breathe a sigh of relief, the ROCKS start. And not just little rocks on a trail - but big rocks, bigger rocks and boulders. The entire remaining 8 or so miles are nothing but that - rocks and bigger rocks and bigger than those rocks and finally literally boulders. It took my wife and I, 58 and 56, and my early 20s daughter and BF about 4 hours and 15 minutes to complete, halfway through cursing the endless rocks, slips, and treacherous all the way to the end. My 17 yo daughter and her friend completed the hike in 3 hours 15 minutes. They had bruises and a shin full of scrapes from slips and falls. All of us agreed that we could barely enjoy the scenery because we were too focused on where we were placing our feet with literally each and every step. So please, do yourself a favor and know what you are getting into - this is not just a “hike”!! Be warned and prepared. And if you’re not in shape, do yourself a favor and pay the 4 euros to rent walking poles as they will help greatly! Do we regret doing the Samaria George - not really. But it was literally 7am to almost 9 am and we could’ve done an easier gorge and then been sitting on a beautiful Crete beach!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Guide659855
Jun 12, 2025
very poot transfer-cant recommend - lets be totally honest - this was a bus transfer service only - the rest upu pod for yourself ( as per the booking details ) that os why it gets 2 stars the transfer was a hotel to hotel transfer -as confirmed we were picked up in time - all good The BIG ISS UE was the drop off -we had all done a 16k ttek whixj was amazing but then DUMPED on the street .. 1km from hotel .. and told “your hotel is that way !! “ not great and for this reason I cannot recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $47
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).