Dream Tour Deluxe – Authentic Crete
The Dream Tour Deluxe is our shore excursion for anyone who wants to experience Crete rather than tick it off. Instead of the familiar postcard views we head into the mountain villages of the Heraklion hinterland, stop wherever it is worth stopping, and round off the day with lunch in a family setting. You are collected directly at the cruise terminal and accompanied by an English-speaking guide from the first metre to the last.
Idyllic Mountain Villages Instead of Coach Parks
As soon as Heraklion is behind us it turns quiet. The road winds up into the mountains, olive groves to the left and right, and between them villages where the day still begins in the kafenion. We stop where it is beautiful, not where there is room for four coaches. In the villages there is time for a short stroll, a chat with the locals and, of course, photographs. Your guide is at home on Crete and explains along the way why the houses are built the way they are, and what the little roadside chapels are all about.
Lost Places and Sites with a Story
The tour includes places that appear in no guidebook: abandoned farmsteads, old mills, walls behind which a whole village once lived. Crete has an eventful history – Ottoman rule, Venetian traces, the German occupation in the Second World War – and in these places it is still tangible. We take the time to explain how it all fits together. This is not a history lesson, more what a local who knows the island and its stories would tell you.
Landscape, Herbs and Wildlife
Between the villages, wide views open up again and again across valleys and plateaus all the way to the sea. Along the route you get to know the plants that grow here: thyme, sage, oregano, wild fennel. On Crete these are not decoration but part of the kitchen and the household medicine cabinet. If you are lucky you will see griffon vultures circling above the slopes – with a wingspan of almost three metres they are among the largest birds of prey in Europe.
Lunch with Cretan Hospitality
We eat in a taverna where they know us. What comes to the table is whatever the day provides: meze in many small bowls, fresh vegetables, grilled meat, with bread, olive oil and regional wine. For dessert there is a raki, as tradition demands.
Tour Highlights
- Mountain villages in the Heraklion hinterland, away from the coach routes
- Abandoned farmsteads, old mills and places with a story
- Cretan herbs: thyme, sage, oregano and wild fennel
- Chance of spotting griffon vultures above the slopes
- Generous taverna lunch with meze, grilled meat and regional wine
- Tasting of home-made olive oil, olives, thyme honey and raki
At a Glance
- Duration: approx. 6.5 hours
- Available: daily
- Type: private tour
- Guide: English-speaking
- Start: pick-up directly at the Heraklion cruise terminal
Good to Know
- Pick-up at the Heraklion cruise terminal once your ship is cleared; we agree the exact time with you in advance.
- We plan around your ship’s actual port time and bring you back in good time.
- Bring sturdy shoes, sun protection and a hat in summer, plus a jacket in the cooler months.
- There is little walking involved – the tours work well with small children or limited mobility. A walking aid or rollator is no problem, just tell us when booking.
- Vegetarian, vegan and allergy-friendly meals are available on request.
Booking the Dream Tour Deluxe
Tell us which ship you are on and how long you are in port, and we will fit the Dream Tour Deluxe around your day ashore. You are under no obligation until everything is confirmed.
This tour is one of our shore excursions in Crete.
