Crete

Art & Craft Workshops

Explore the Palace of Knossos and learn the traditional craft of pottery on this tour of Cretan culture and heritage. After pickup at your hotel, start your day at the Palace of Knossos, one of the birthplaces of the modern world. Visit the palaces, the villas and other excavated buildings. Continue to a traditional pottery village in the mountains, driving on pretty roads lined with olive trees. See how Cretans have produced their wonderful pottery for thousands of years. Enjoy the fantastic opportunity to try your hand at this ancient craft, with the guidance of a master potter.  During the tour, enjoy a delicious lunch at a local restaurant with wine or water included. At the end of a wonderful day, start the drive back to your hotel, where you’ll be dropped off.

Discover what it feels like to breathe underwater in a safe environment with an introduction to scuba diving off a beach close to Chania. Following pick-up from your hotel in the city, head to the dive center in Almyrida to meet your PADI instructors for a pre-dive theory lesson. Benefit from 1 instructor per 2 adult students and 1 instructor for every child for maximum attention. Your friendly instructor will be with you throughout for your comfort and safety. Once you feel confident, dive to a depth of 8 meters with your instructor to marvel at the marine life beneath the surface of the sea. Choose from a morning or afternoon session to suit your schedule, and relax in the knowledge that all diving equipment will be provided, along with full insurance for your peace of mind. Photos and videos of your experience will be taken throughout, and sent to you free of charge as a fantastic souvenir of your time in Crete.

Discover the breathtaking beauty of the Lasithi Plateau on a day trip from Heraklion. Admire the remaining windmills and the drainage system that dates back to the Venetian Empire. Pass through traditional villages such as Psychro. Visit the Dikteon Cave, where Zeus is said to have been born. Continue to the village of Tzermiado and enjoy lunch in an authentic tavern before going to the Keras Kardiotissas Monastery, known for its remarkable murals. Next, visit the Minoan Palace of Knossos and learn the legend of the settlement at sites such as the Throne Room and Royal Chambers.

Visit and draw Chania Town with an artist/guide and draw some of the most remarkable places around the area. The old port, old market, picturesque streets, churches and old district of Chalepa are all there for your inspiration. What's more, you can take your own drawings home as a souvenir. Learn about the rich history of the city during your drawing tour. This tour is also recommended for solo travelers, as it will still run even if there is only one person. Your guide is an artist and has a Master of Arts from the University of Paris and works as a hiking guide in summer and gives art lessons during winter. Visit the most remarkable places in Chania with all the materials to paint and draw supplied. Experiment with pencils, pastel, tempera, acrylic and more. Get basic or advanced instruction, depending on your level. And beginner's are most welcome too.  

Start your day of dancing at the Arolithos Traditional Cretan village. Upon your arrival, you will be met by the warm and welcoming staff with a serving of traditional raki and nuts. As you enjoy your local delicacies, your friendly staff will give you a run-down of the 2-hour dance lesson. During your course, you will learn to dance the Greek and Cretan way. Under the tutelage of a professional dancer, you will learn the most famous and popular dances of Greece and Crete. You will be taught how to dance the famous Zorba, Sirtaki, Kalamatianos, Anogianos and many others.   After your dancing lesson, you will take a 30-minutes visit to the Musem of Rural History and Folk Craft where you will learn about the various historical traditions that exist in Crete. At the end of your day of fun, you will be given a CD with Greek and Cretan music for you to take home and enjoy. 

Experience the traditional Cretan way of living on this private tour. Get picked up from your hotel in Heraklion or Agios Nikolaos and drive through the countryside in a private minibus. A driver and tour guide will accompany you safely and will share stories about the local area with you. Visit traditional villages, walk around hundred-year-old olive trees, and take memorable photos of the majestic landscapes. Then, visit a Cretan farm and learn how its famous olive oil is produced. Collect milk and make your own cheese with the help of the local farmer. Taste it together with other local fresh products. Afterwards, you will join a hands-on cooking class, where you will learn to cook Cretan recipes. Feast on your own creations, which will be accompanied by other local dishes. Finally, participate in a ceramic woskshop and learn how to create pots and ceramics with your own hands. At the end of this experience the driver will take you back to your hotel.

Enjoy the tranquility and beauty of Crete combined with their warm hospitality. This 5-hour tour takes you to a small paradise on earth. Hop aboard a minibus to be taken to your destinations in comfort. First, visit the picturesque Monastery of Savanthiana, a hidden gem in the hillside villages of Crete. The way to the monastery offers a breathtaking view. Admire the beauty of the spectacular gardens. Marvel at the stunning mosaics that are found in every corner of the monastery. Learn about the history of this nunnery. Drink a cup of coffee or a Cretan herbal tea offered by the hospitable nuns and see the ornate weavings and handicrafts made in this monastery. After this peaceful visit, make your way to Rodia to meet Katerina, a Cretan artist. This mother of 3 followed her heart and talent to open a small workshop in a traditional house. She lovingly restored the house and now makes beautiful jewelry and the traditional Komboloi. Join Katerina to create your own Komboloi or worry beads. Pick the pearls and ribbons of your choice and get expert help to complete your personal rosery. Afterward, follow the narrow street to the quaint traditional Greek café run by Katerina’s mother. Taste a homemade Cretan lunch and enjoy the breathtaking views of Heraklion.

Start your Rethymno excursion with a visit to Maria's traditional wood oven bakery, passed down from generation to generation, in the picturesque village of Axos. Here, enjoy a short demonstration on how to make traditional Cretan baked goods, like paximadi, a twice baked bread, and smell the freshly-baked biscuits coming straight out of the oven. Close off this visit with a sip of local Raki, a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy. Next, continue further into the village and meet another local resident, Mr. Giorgos, who makes spectacular, oversized wooden sculptures. Using wood from local fallen trees, some of his sculptures are three meters high, including the iconic image of Hercules killing the lion of Nemea. Carry on to visit Mrs. Antonia, who is known for her traditional embroidery and weaving techniques. Learn how Cretans have used sheep's wool to create intricate patterns over the decades, and follow the process from start to finish from the spinning of the wool to the weaving in a traditional loom. After another drink of warming Raki, visit the ancient St. George of Diskouri Monastery to learn about Crete's long-standing religious customs. Marvel at the premises, full of colourful flowers, and verdant trees and bushes, all carefully tended to by the nuns. The monastery resembles a small fortress, as it was built during the last period of the Venetian rule when they were protecting the island from the potential invasion of the Turkish army. End your tour with a delicious traditional lunch in the historically important village of Drossia, and in the most famous tavern in the area. Tuck into pork, potatoes, and salad, or a vegetarian option, as your guide recounts the island's history.

Be picked up at your accommodation and travel through the Krousta forest. Be enchanted by its rich fauna and flora as you journey east, towards the settlement of Kalo Horio on the lacy coast of Merambello. Arrive at the shepherd's hut surrounded by mountains. Here you will meet the shepherd’s wife and create unique traditional recipes, such as cheese pies, fresh pasta, stuffed vine leaves, Gamopilafo goat with rice, and much more.

Experience a unique tour that is part traditional baking class, and part cultural experience in a small village on Crete. Visit Vatos village and take the breadmaking knowledge with you when you leave. Master the fundamentals and learn traditional techniques as you practice making bread using a stone mill and a wood oven. Take a tour of the village while you wait for the dough to rest. See the village school, traditional water faucets, and the cauldron used for making raki. Go back to your dough after 45 minutes and shape the bread into its final form. Move over to a traditional family home where you'll savor a home-cooked lunch of Cretan food alongside your freshly-baked bread.