Private Full-day East Crete Tour From Heraklion

The tour to east Crete was wonderful experience, with Kostas the very friendly driver.Very nice green landscape of the mountains

Our Private Full-Day East Crete Tour from Heraklion was one of the highlights of our trip to Crete! My husband, our friends, and I had such an incredible day exploring East Crete, and the experience was even better than we could have imagined. From the very beginning, everything was seamless and well organized. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, patient, and attentive. They made sure we were comfortable throughout the entire day and took the time to share the history, culture, and stories behind each place we visited. It truly felt like we were experiencing Crete with someone who genuinely loved the island and wanted us to fall in love with it too. Having a private tour made the experience so much more personal. We never felt rushed, and there was plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful scenery, take pictures, ask questions, and simply take in everything around us. Traveling with our friends made it even more fun, and we came away with so many wonderful memories and plenty of laughs. What stood out the most was how well we were taken care of. The attention to detail, hospitality, and genuine care throughout the day made us feel comfortable and welcomed from start to finish. If you’re visiting Crete, I highly recommend this tour! It was an unforgettable day filled with beautiful places, fascinating history, great company, and memories that my husband, our friends, and I will talk about for years to come. We are so grateful for such a wonderful experience!

Kostas was a great tour guide. We took his private tour of East Crete. He was friendly, talkative and very knowledgeable. He took us to an olive oil factory, Zeus Cave, Knossos Palace and many other sites. The tour seems to be customizable, so let him know if there are specific sites that you wish to see. The tour included lunch at a traditional Cretan restaurant and was amazing. Kostas also had traditional Cretan treats for us to try at each stop. I would definitely recommend this tour.

Extremely disappointed with this tour. We booked and paid for an all-day excursion, woke up at 6:00 AM to be ready for pickup, and the tour guide never showed up. We tried repeatedly to contact the guide and the tour company, but no one answered and we were completely unable to reach anyone. As a result, we wasted an entire day of our vacation waiting for a tour that never happened. There was no communication, no explanation, and no effort to notify us or make alternative arrangements. I understand that unexpected issues can occur, but leaving customers stranded without any communication is unacceptable. I would not recommend this company based on our experience and hope they improve their reliability and customer service in the future.

We had the best day with Kostas. Brilliant, funny and so accommodating. Took us all over Eastern Crete, from oil factory to tiny villages. He is so good, keeping his name on file .

Kostas was amazing as a driver and tour guide! In addition to seeing amazing sites and getting tons of information, he also helped us experience the smells of fresh fruit and flowers, the tastes of his countless homemade treats, and the hidden treasures must tourists will never see. His communication before and after the tour was amazing, he even sent us a customized itinerary for our next day where we were exploring alone after the tour was over! Thanks for the hospitality Kostas!

I don’t even know where to start for our driver was Kostas. He was waiting for us at the port when we got off the ship and he stayed in contact through chat before I got to the port. He was very responsive, very responsible and he picked us up in an amazing vehicle, we were a total of six people. He was so knowledgeable. He took us to amazing places. I cannot tell you how knowledgeable he was. He took us to where he thought were the best places to see Crete. I highly recommend him. I have never had such an amazing.

This experience was well beyond what we hoped for! Our day started with Kostas picking us up at our hotel in a lovely VIP minibus is pristine condition. We discussed the itinerary, told him we were completely flexible, and off we went! Our first stop was an olive oil factory where we learned about the process and the importance of first press (cold press), the use of words like refined (avoid this and the process of second press (don't put this in your body). We sampled some amazing EVOO and continued on our way. One of the reasons this tour was incredible is because we got to see several little villages in Crete via the back roads instead of the highway. We enjoyed breathtaking views while listening to some of the history related to the island. Ultimately our goal was to get to Plaka and Agios Nikolaos so we could enjoy the east side of Crete, the path we took was anything other than the normal route - and it was completely worth it! The best part was along the way we enjoyed breathtaking views, delicious homemade snacks (we love you Kostas' mama), and enjoyable thought provoking conversation. This tour was anything other than ordinary and all four of us cannot stop talking about how much we enjoyed it. From the views, to the windmills and fantastic food, you will not be disappointed in you Mr day with Kostas. This is perfection!

This experience was well beyond what we hoped for! Our day started with Kostas picking us up at our hotel in a lovely VIP minibus is pristine condition. We discussed the itinerary, told him we were completely flexible, and off we went! Our first stop was an olive oil factory where we learned about the process and the importance of first press (cold press), the use of words like refined (avoid this) and the process of second press (don’t put this in your body). We sampled some amazing EVOO and continued on our way. One of the reasons this tour was incredible is because we got to see several little villages in Crete via the back roads instead of the highway. We enjoyed breathtaking views while listening to some of the history related to the island. Ultimately our goal was to get to Plaka and Agios Nikolaos so we could enjoy the east side of Crete, the path we took was anything other than the normal route - and it was completely worth it! The best part was along the way we enjoyed breathtaking views, delicious homemade snacks (we love you Kostas’ mama), and enjoyable thought provoking conversation. This tour was anything other than ordinary and all four of us cannot stop talking about how much we enjoyed it. From the views, to the windmills and fantastic food, you will not be disappointed in your day with Kostas. This is perfection!

Kostas was very knowledgeable about all things. He had treats from his mother at every stop. Very good driver. It was a long day as we also hired him to Taxi us to Chania.

Kostas was a great guide, knowledgeable, kind and funny. We had a fun full day of site seeing, swapping the cave of Zeus which is closed for Malia palace which I am told is better preserved than Knossos We had numerous pleasant stops along the way to Spinalonga island finished off with a great meal in Nikolaos. Special thanks to Kostas’s mum for a the home cooked treats along the way!

The experience was great , we had a fun time with Kostas our guide. He was very flexible and knowledgeable

We had a brilliant day with Kostas. We saw everything - an olive oil factory, Malia ruins, quaint villages, beautiful beaches and so much food. Every time we stopped Kostas gave us his nuns home made treats yummy 😋 Would thoroughly recommend Kostas tour to anyone in Crete for the day.

Touring with Kostas was a wonderful experience in many ways. He was very knowledgeable about differrent areas on the island, and was flexible about visiting sights that we preferred to see. We visited some beautiful towns and villages, and enjoyed lunch at a lovely hilltop restaurant with amazing views. Additionally, Kostas has a superior command of the English language, the importance of which cannot be underestimated. We strongly recommend this tour operator!

Stegakis Grand Prestige is a first class experience! My wife and I were visiting Crete for the first time on a cruise ship so we knew hiring a private driver was the best way to see the sights we wanted to see during our limited time in port. Kostas was incredibly professional, knowledgeable and flexible and helped us curate a dream itinerary. We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful and comfortable vehicle, Kosta’s stories and the little surprises he offered around every turn, including a sample of his family’s “In-Crete-Ble” honey, which was the best we’ve ever tasted. It is evident that he takes great pride in his work and in delighting his clients. Our time with him was one of the highlights of our trip. We look forward to visiting Crete again for another tour with Stegakis Grand Prestige!

Kostas provided our group of 13 an incredible guest experience from start to end! We were coming off the cruise ship spending the day in Crete. Kostas’ passion for Crete, its history, food, culture, and people was evident in how he orchestrated the tour! He was attentive to our needs & even accommodated our request to add a stop to an Olive Oil factory. Kostas was punctual for our 8am pick-up time and return to ship. His driver navigated the winding roads safely in a manner respecting the comfort of his passengers. Overall the tour was informative, passionate, friendly, funny, and insightful. There were also a couple of nice surprises along the way! It was certainly a highlight of our entire trip to Greece! Thank you Kostas!

Excellent day. The guide tailored the tour to include our interests, was friendly, easy to spend the full day with, drove really well. I'd thoroughly recommend this private full day tour. We loved every minute and it’s been the best day of our holiday.

Amazing trip. Very flexible itinerary with Nikolas. He had cold water and snacks ready for us. He shared so much great history and information and tailored our trip perfectly to suit two kids.

Kostas was amazing! Our cruise ship decided to cut our day on Crete 1 week prior, and Kostas rearranged the itenerary for us to have the best authentic Crete experience! I traveled with Family and Friends (celebrating our big 50), and eveyone thoroughly enjoyed Kostas quick wit and humor (he had us all laughing throughout the trip). All I can say is book with Kostas and you will NOT regret it. It will make your trip to Crete unforgetable. I will always remember the Olive Oil tour as we had farmers in our group, and enjoyed seeing the olive harvester!! Kostas provided homemade snacks that were delicious and his own honey (super yummy).

An absolute fabulous trip with Kostas. True Cretan hospitality! We cannot thank him enough for his kindness towards us. We hope to see you soon! A must book trip on the island.

I cannot recommend this company enough...from the original planning discussions with Kostas (responsive, helpful, friendly) to the actual tour of eastern Crete in a comfortable, clean van with our driver/guide and new friend Dimitris....our group of six could not have been more pleased with the experience provided by SGP... Dimitris was a wonderful informative "guide" of the area and provided great suggestions/options as the tour progressed. He was super flexible to any changes/alterations that we wanted to make. I don't think that you can go wrong in choosing SGP as your tour provider in Crete.

We had a great time on our tour. Highly recommend this tour with Kostas especially if you are only staying a few days.

Kostas was such a hospitable and knowledgeable guide. A source of all things historical and cretian we were impressed by his communication, attention to detail and general care for our experience. I would highly recommend Kostas whatever your needs may be as he was able to customize eveything to our needs; make recommendations and changes as needed and on the fly. We stopped at the most wonderful local taverna in herklion during our travels and really were able to maximize our short time in this beautiful place. If you’re thinking about booking Kostas and his team don’t think anymore and book! Thank you!

Kostas was an amazing guide and driver extremely knowledgeable and professional. We loved our stops with the Zeus Caves being our favorite. Kostas had special treats and shared experiences throughout our tour. We highly recommend Kostas.

Kostas was such fun tour guide! Make sure to bring your sense of humor. He is also so caring & thoughtful. He goes out of his way to make sure that you get the most experience in your tour. He has connections with the locals & make things happen. We’re so bummed to find that the Olive factory was closing for the day, Kostas used his charm & persuaded them to give us the tour & he performed his ‘how to drink Olive the right way’ performance for us😆 He’s also very organized, he came prepared with packaged of snacks that he treated us with at each stops. Each of those snacks represented authentic Greek foods & some of them were prepared by his mom & crops from their own farm…how thoughtful! We had three young adults & two adults but I think any age group would have a great time with Kostas.

An absolutely brilliant tour with Kostas! If you want a trip anywhere in Crete, I couldn’t recommend him highly enough. Kostas sorted a fantastic itinerary - based exactly on the sort of tour we wanted. This included some great historical sites, a boat trip, and the best off-the-beaten-track coastal village for lunch and a swim you could ever imagine 👌 He’s exceptionally knowledgable about all things Crete and ancient history too (if you want him to be!) Clearly knows the island inside out. Really great full day out for us and for the kids. Kostas’s vehicle is superb -absolutely top-end and really comfortable with loads of room. Great communication beforehand - we booked at really short notice when we were already in Crete - but he sorted everything very quickly and very easily. Tailors everything to what you want. Top stuff 👍👍

The best tour I had while in Greece. Kostas is by far the best tour guide I've ever had. Family was able to see different sites of East Crete. Car used for this was the most comfortable for our family. At each stop he gave us homemade food including his own families honey, which was amazing!!!! Kostas made the trip very informative and was able to make it very enjoyable with his jokes! Learned a lot of the history of Crete and Greece. Took us to authentic Greek restaurant and helped our family order food with dietary requirements. If go to Crete highly recommend this tour and ask for Kostas!

Great tour guide in the Heraklion area- knowledgeable personable, fun, energetic and responsive. Pretty day for our early September tour of the area and Kostas suggested touring the Leper colony first- great suggestion because we were able to beat most of the crowds and enjoy the boat ride over and the walk around the island which makes up the Leper colony before the noon sun. Loved it. Kostas provided good background on the history of the colony so that we could appreciate the site. We especially wanted to tour the Cave of Zeus (which closes earlier in the day starting in September than in the summer months) so Kostas suggested a quick drive through the pretty but more travelled lake area since we decided to pass on the shopping. We stopped for a few scenic observation point pictures and then headed to Cave of Zeus. Moderately challenging walk up and many stairs down, but really enjoyed seeing it. A very special treat was the late lunch location that Kostas picked at a family run restaurant in the mountains near the Cave— incredible grilled lamb, BBQ goat, oven roasted potatoes, wild greens (amaranth), fava spread, cheese stuffed zucchini blossoms— all wonderful! Enjoyed with some very pleasing Cretan red and white wines. Kostas then explained to us the Cretan tradition that restaurants offer complimentary dessert and a shot of raki after lunch. The raki is often house distilled and is a potent alcohol that takes some getting used to, but the tradition grew on us as we traveled through Crete. Kostas toured us in a luxurious Mercedes van with captain chairs facing a table and provided many local Cretan specialties for us during the day including partireis, honey coated dough, cookies, healing local herbs for teas (along with the very interesting stories of the tradition of their use) and locally gathered honey along with background of bee keeping on the island of Crete and the healing use of homey. The honey had an incredible flavor and Kostas shared samples of all these goodies with us. A native of Crete, Kostas enhanced our trip with the historical and cultural background that he provided. Truly delightful. All of our group was wowed by his knowledge and his fun-loving approach to showing us Crete. We would definitely tour with him again

Excellent Private tour in a new, clean Mercedes mini bus to Zeus’s cave, several quaint villages, Spinaloga Island (former leper colony) and more. Our wonderful guide, Kostas, was great!! We had a scrumptious lunch at a family run eatery with an incredible view and also sampled many traditional homemade treats and delicacies. At least moderate uphill walking is required to visit the cave of Zeus but you can also just sit at a local cafe should you choose. This is a very unique, one of a kind tour of lesser known but fantastic sites and scenery and a highlight of our stay in Crete! Thank you Kostas for showing us traditional Crete!!

We had a great time with Kostas. He had a large and very nice Mercedes sprinter van. He was very knowledgeable and will customize your trip. One of the best things is that at every stop, he gives you homemade treats that his mother made. Would HIGHLY Recommend!

Angie was a wonderful tour guide and driver. She took us all over to the just right spots on Crete. We has such a great day!

Kostos conducted our tour. We were blown away by the whole day. He pampered us and catered to our every need. He tailored the tour to whatever our hearts desired. The vehicle was basically a limousine van with the most beautiful interior. It was like sightseeing from a luxury cafe. He had water and snacks galore. All homemade by his mother. He also gave us honey from his Fathers retirement hobby hives. He even invited us to come visit his family next trip. I cannot stress enough how this tour was the highlight of our 2 week Greek adventure. Definitely book it!

Christos is an amazing guide. He is so knowledgeable and shared many non tourist food and lots of history with us.

Outstanding service going beyond any expectations, I strongly recommend this tour and transfer service.

My family group of eight booked with Kostas and had an amazing tour of Crete! During our cruise, we booked six different private tours, and the whole family agreed that Kostas was our favorite. He was extremely friendly, and we enjoyed hearing all of his stories about the island. One of our favorite places we ate on the entire trip was going to a non-tourist neighborhood restaurant that he recommended, which was delicious! The kids on our trip also loved Kostas, and still talk about the tour to this day. I couldn't recommend this one higher!!!

Wow! We had such a great time with our guide Angie! She was easy to communicate with and find after we got off our ship. She took us to everywhere we asked to go, even though we changed our minds a couple of times. She was so flexible and accommodating! We saw the leaper colony, drove up to Zeus’ cave (didn’t go in, but the drive was gorgeous!), the Knossos Palace, and even the famous windmills. It was a lot of driving (Crete is quite large!), but we didn’t mind the scenery. She also told us lots of stories about the places we were seeing and Crete life in general. We got stuck in line at Knossos Palace, so her business partner came and escorted us to the entrance with prepaid tickets (we just paid them back, and that was so helpful as we were so short on time)! She made sure we tried some original Greek food at a brief lunch stop, and then gave us goodies to carry back with us. We had so much fun with her that we hugged her bye when we left. Highly recommend!!! FYI, she cannot go into the sites with you, but she will tell you what you need to know and will keep in communication with you all on your journey.

We had a wonderful day with Kostas in Crete. He was very responsive & planned our day to include the eastern side of Crete since we were on a cruise stop in Heraklion. We wanted to see Knossos & enjoy some of the countryside & he made it happen. The weather wasn't the best, but we still enjoyed the views & stops & some special treats that he provided. He took us to a restaurant where we could enjoy a traditional local meal & it was amazing! Fun day!

Kostas was excellent! Quite a character to make things interesting! We opted for an off the grid interior tour of Crete to stay away from the crowds. A real taste of Crete. Great van with plenty of room as well. Very accommodating with a few surprises here and there!

Costos arranged a tour with replacement ideas and coming up with flex schedule since our tour fell on May Day and planned strikes shut down some of the normal stops of the tour. It turned out to be one of our favorite tours of the trip. It was relaxed and we had great stops taking in authentic Greek (Cretian) experiences. Highly recommend his company!!

Fantastic trip Well planned through out Our driver Kostas was great. Even bringing us cakes and goodies to try Excellent driver too We overran a little but Kostas was completely chilled about that The transport was very comfortable and luxurious 10 of us were very comfortable Totally recommend this tour

This trip was from the cruise terminal in Heraklion (though this is not a collection point on the app). Our tour was hosted by Kostas who arrived in his Mercedes minibus which is the height of luxury. He tailored the day to suit our personal choices including Spinalonga and mountain tours. Treated all day with snacks from his family farm and his mother's cooking we had the best of days.

You won’t regret booking this tour with Kostas. He is so attentive, caring and knowledgeable whilst also letting you enjoy your holiday in peace. He treated us to many local delicacies, explaining the local history of the island whilst the time did not concern him! We missed the last boat to Spinalonga because he kindly took us to a beautiful spot to swim but managed to somehow get another boat to take us! He is utterly magical and you will never regret booking this luxurious tour with him. We wish him all the very very best for the future.

We had a tour on 24/05/2022 stopping off at Knossos Palace, Platanus Tree in Krasi, Zeus's Cave, the Windmills in the Lasithi Plateau, and finished off with a visit to Spinalonga. Kostos was an absolute gentleman with a wealth of knowledge about all the locations. Throughout the tour we were provided with local treats, the van we travelled in was immaculate and super comfortable. Before we went to any sites we were told important information and the options available to us. we were also allowed to customise what we did. We also need to commend Kostos on being so accommodating when we left Spinalonga on the wrong boat that took us to the next town instead of the small village we departed from. Once we told him what was happening he very kindly told us it was not an issue and came to find us. We don't think he's ever had a group do this but took it with such good humour and we could see him on the shore making his way to where we were due to land. We can't recommend the tour enough and it's well worth it!

The day with Kostas was well planned, entertaining and educational! Lunch along the way was amazing. The tour of the Olive Oil Factory and Monastery was favorites of the entire group. Kostas is a top-notch tour guide!

The drive was beautiful. The stops were fantastic. Kostas was an excellent guide for food, culture, sites and history. He shared interesting stories and insight and we were able to experience the food and local culture that we would have missed out on had we tried to do it on our own. Our entire group, including teenagers! Had a wonderful time and would love to go back to Crete to find out what other adventures Kostas could guide us through.

Kostas was a wealth of information with a very comfortable vehicle and local tastings. He chose interesting stops and plenty of flexibility to stop where we would like

you can ride up and down, zigzaging left and right beautiful roads of Crete on a rented car, or you can leave it to Kostas and enjoy incredible views from his comfortable VIP limo listening to interesting stories about Crete, its history and people. You will visit the most interesting places, relax and get maximum of one day tour. Then you can go for his west Crete tour, and get the full picture. We did

Kostas is charming, professional and a excellent guide. He doesn’t rush, and let’s you pick your itinerary. The van is very comfortable and he is a great driver. Besides knowing a great deal about Crete he is knowledgeable on a variety of topics and the conversation is never boring. If you are looking for personalized experience and a fantastic guide this is it. One suggestion is for him to be more explicit about time limits, we felt guilty after we realized that we kept him with us longer than we should have and he was too nice to tell us.

Imponerende rundvisning på den nordøstlige del af Kreta. Engageret guide, Kostass, der begejstret fortalte om den lokale familieproduktion af appelsiner, oliven, honning, kager, m.v. Fortællingerne blev rundhåndet fulgt op af mange lækre smagsprøver. Vi så vindmøller, olivenproduktion og øen Spinalonga. Vi fik den lækreste frokost i Agios Nikolaos Maisstrali - et sted som guiden fandt til os via sit netværk, da vi spurgte om vejledning. Vi fik et indtryk af det kretenske liv og sammenhængen med naturen. Vi kom glade og trætte hjem fyldt med indtryk fra en meget spændende dag.