Crete · 1-DAY TOURS
71 tours
Crete keeps its best day trips spread across four regions and one very long coast road, so where you are based decides a lot. These 15 come out on top: price, running time, departure point and who each one suits.
A full-day guided loop of Agios Nikolaos, Elounda, and Spinalonga Island, with boat views and a swim stop off the coast.
“Lovely day trip. The guide was very good and the transportation was spot on. Loved visiting both places and it was well worth the extra 20€ entrance fee into the island of Spinalonga. We would highly recommend this trip.”
From Chania, ride an air-conditioned coach to Elafonisi, Crete’s famed pink sand beach, with Topolia Gorge views and guided stops.
“Mona & George were beyond gracious, hospitable, timely, informational and patient. Elafonisi is very beautiful in October. Two lounges could be rented for the whole day for €20. An inexpensive beer is less than four euros and an ice cream is four euros. The beach is very beautiful although I wouldn't call it pink. The water is of a variety of blues but always clear.”
Guided west Crete day trip: Rethymno, Chania and Kournas Lake, with hotel pickup and air-conditioned coach.
“super day long day out but well worth it chania was so lovely am going back there”
Rethymno to Preveli, Damnoni, and Plakias with waterfalls, palm-forest river swimming, and gorge views in one long day.
“Our guide Barbara was very good! The transportation was great and on time! Would recommend x”
Elafonissi Beach day trip from Chania with pink sand, 4 hours to swim and explore, plus a stop in Elos Village for lunch.
“The beach and island is absolutely beautiful and we did locate some of the famous pink sand (here and there). Our young driver was very skilful navigating the narrow Cretan roads and did a fantastic job at getting us safely to/from the destination. The pickup from a pre-determined location was on time and our guide made every effort to make sure everyone was happy. Please note the activity offers many pick-up locations, however not necessarily from Your hotel, so you may need to travel to a pre-determined spot. The bus itself was a little cramped (I measure about 5'6" or 176cm) and my knees where against the seat in front…”
Cruise from Chania to Balos Lagoon and Gramvousa, with an air-conditioned bus, ferry tickets, swims, and a Venetian fortress climb.
“It was a great experience and I am happy that I booked this trip. Eirini was an amazing guide. She had a very friendly and positive attitude. I will always remember on the way back, after a day at the beach, she asked us if we would like to hear some interesting facts about Crete. We all said yes and she started telling us some nice things about the island, while the sun was slowly setting. It was a highlight of the trip for sure. Balos was beautiful and we also enjoyed the trip to Gramvousa Island. I highly recommend this day trip.”
Hike Samaria Gorge to Agia Roumeli, swim in the Libyan Sea, then ferry back to Chora Sfakion. A long day with big payoffs.
“I was only in Crete for one full day and I chose this activity. So glad that I did. The hike was amazing and I got to see so many different things along the day. We had bus time, the hike took me about 4-5 hours, we had beach time, and a ferry ride. It’s a long day (16 hours from pick up to drop off), but well worth it.”
A long day from Chania to Elafonisi’s pink sand, with coach comfort, guided stops, and a traditional Elos lunch break.
“What a great trip this was! Daphne was such an amazing tour guide. She shared so many cool and interesting facts along the way - from the olive trees, the animals, the food and the traditions. Would 100% recommend this tour. There are a few tricky roads to navigate that would be better taken by someone as experienced as our coach driver. Felt we were in the safest hands. The restaurant we stopped off at for lunch - Kamares - was absolutely incredible! It was one of my favourite places to eat on the whole island. You must go!”
Bus day trip from Rethymno to Chania’s old town and Venetian Harbour, with guided explanations and hours to shop and roam.
“A very well organised trip to Chania from Rethmyno. Clear instructions on where our pick up/drop off would be and our guide was very friendly and helpful. Would be good to have a toilet on board as even though the journey is shorter some people with medical conditions may need access to a toilet more readily and this wasn’t disclosed at time of booking. Didn’t affect us directly but would have in the past! Largely a German tour group but our guide spoke English and French also and we appreciated her going through the map and explaining the city areas before we arrived. Would recommend!Read more”
Rethymno to Santorini by fast ferry, then a guided bus loop through Oia and Fira, with caldera views and free time to explore.
“With Getyourguite all was excellemt The trip to Santorini was a dream!! Def worth it The comunication with platanos tours was however the least to say bad. They emailed me wrong on the departure CITY, ignoring my emails, my whatsapp messages ....really really bad”
Heraklion to Santorini by highspeed boat, guided bus to Oia and Fira, Caldera views, plus an optional volcano trip for extra time.
“It's a shame your company is, by advertising and making profits, causing travellers like myself and thousands of others to descend on a little island clearly totally unable to cope with the volume of tourists and so spoiling what should have been a quiet and enjoyable day. Nowhere to relax, nowhere to enjoy the beauty, just the most stressful and suffocating experience I've ever encountered - too many people!!!!!!!!!!”
Full-day bus and boat trip to Gramvousa and Balos Lagoon from Rethymno, swim stops and fortress views for about $64.
“Alles hat gut geklappt. Unser Guide hat gut deutsch gesprochen( Auch englisch). Alles auf den Programm haben wir gemacht und man hat auch genügend Zeit gehabt bei beiden Orten. Würde es nochmals buchen”
Guided day trip from Heraklion to Santorini with a fast ferry, Oia and Fira time, bus tour, and optional volcano cruise.
“Santorini itself was beautiful. The problem was the sheer amount of people ( I'm talking thousands) and coaches there due to the cruise ships We only had 1 hr 20 mins in Oia, and less than 2 hours in Fira. By the time we'd queued in the traffic, and queued to take photos of the domes in Oia, and had lunch in Fira, there was hardly any time to do anything else before we had to be back on the coach.”
From Rethymno or Chania, ride a boat to Preveli’s palm beach, walk Kourtaliotiko gorge, then return via the south coast.
“Great trip to three wonderful beaches. Unfortunately the cost only covered the bus transport. Everything else, such as mandatory boat ticket (€13 per person) and sun loungers on the beaches (€10-€15 per set per beach) cost extra.”
Heraklion day trip to Gramvousa and Balos with bus pickup, ferry cruise, Venetian fortress views, and swim time in Balos lagoon.
“The trip was perfect and I would definitely go again. Our pick-up was on time and Kostas was a great guide. The bus ride from Malia took about 4h but seeing the beautiful beach in Balos was all worth it! A must see while in Crete. Would definitely recommend. Organization was perfect.”
