Crete: 8-Day Self-Drive – Minoan Sites, Beaches & Venetian Towns

About this experience

Crete is the largest and most diverse of the Greek islands, an island that feels like a country, with five distinct mountain ranges, the longest gorge in Europe, some of the Mediterranean's finest beaches, 5,000 years of continuous civilisation, and a culinary tradition ranked among Greece's very finest. This 8-day self-drive tour (car rental included) explores the full length of the island from east to west. Begin in Heraklion, where the Archaeological Museum houses the world's finest collection of Minoan treasures, and where the optional cooking and dance lesson at Arolithos provides an unforgettable first Cretan evening. Day 2 visits Knossos, the legendary Minoan palace, home of King Minos and the Labyrinth, before a boat trip to Spinalonga Island, the hauntingly beautiful former leper colony made world-famous by Victoria Hislop's novel 'The Island.'. Agios Nikolaos gives you time to explore eastern Crete: the Museum of Rare and Endemic Plants, ancient Lato, exotic Vai palm beach, and the 15th-century Toplou monastery. The long drive to Matala passes through Ierapetra (Crete's southernmost city) and the Aba waterfall before arriving at the famous cave-dotted beach. Day 5 crosses the south coast via UNESCO-listed Faistos, the breathtaking palm-backed beach of Preveli, and optional Samaria Gorge to the romantic Venetian city of Chania. A boat trip to Gramvoussa and the iconic Balos Lagoon fills Day 6. The tour completes with.