WANDERWOMAN® TRAVEL TO BEAUTIFUL CRETE!
Includes:
10 nts at quaint hotels
10 breakfasts
5 group dinners
1 lunch
Visit to Local Winery
Cretan cook lesson
Knossos and museum tour
entrance fees
local transfers
Cretan dancing
services of tour escort &
private local Cretan guide
so you can relax and
enjoy your vacation!
FLAVOR OF CRETE!
Easter 2016 Travel Adventure!
Email us to be notifed of dates & pricing
Come explore Cretan mountain villages, medieval port towns and ancient archaeological sites galore.
This very special tour of Crete provides an inmate view of the traditions, history, cuisine, and passion for life of the Cretan people. Learn myths and dances rooted in the distant past, and feast on delicious traditional Greek cuisine!
For a tour application form
Discover the flavor of Crete: the food, the culture, the myths , the music & dances! Small group size- leisurely pace
Wanderwoman small group Cretan tour Itinerary :
HERAKLION (Herakleion, Iraklion, Iraklio): 2 nights
We begin our journey in the modern capital of Crete, Heraklion, which in ancient times was the center of a flourishing goddess-worshipping culture. Discover Mediterraean cuisine Cretan-style at a welcome dinner while getting aquainted with fellow travelers. Visit the Heraklion Museum with finds dating from the Neolithic period to the Roman era. Explore Knossos archaeological site known for its labyrinth-like design, which has been the source of myths ancient and modern. Explore the Archanes region with its ancient olive groves and small villages. Visit a traditional village home for a family style lunch.
CRETAN MOUNTAIN VILLAGE: 3 nights
Travel serpentine roads through the mountainous countryside of Crete. Visit an ancient cave, where the Great Mother Earth Goddess was worshipped, and the Paliani Nunnery, the oldest in Crete, with its 2000 year old sacred myrtle tree where locals and visitors still bring offerings. In our village home, nestled in the foothills of Mount Ida, get a real taste of traditional village life. Meet local artisans, learn traditional Cretan cooking, feast on local delicacies, and learn Cretan dancing. There will be opportunities to learn traditional weaving and bread making or to take a guided hike in one of Crete’s scenic gorges.
CRETAN MOUNTAIN VILLAGE: 3 nights
Travel serpentine roads through the mountainous countryside of Crete. Visit an ancient cave, where the Great Mother Earth Goddess was worshipped, and the Paliani Nunnery, the oldest in Crete, with its 2000 year old sacred myrtle tree where locals and visitors still bring offerings. In our village home, nestled in the foothills of Mount Ida, get a real taste of traditional village life. Meet local artisans, learn traditional Cretan cooking, feast on local delicacies, and learn Cretan dancing. There will be opportunities to learn traditional weaving and bread making or to take a guided hike in one of Crete’s scenic gorges.
TRADITIONAL VILLAGE RETREAT: 1 night
Next to a small traditional-style mountain retreat reclaimed from the passage of time and restored as an “eco-resort” with organic gardens, walking trails, traditional accommodations, and a scrumptious restaurant.The guest-houses have been built from the foundations of the old village houses with local materials –keeping to the architecture characteristic of the area, and furnished with restored furniture from the surrounding villages. This special place epitomizes the coming together of the past and present, which creates the unique flavor of Crete.
HANIA (Chania, Xania): 2 nights
From our nature retreat travel to the coast with stops to explore more traces of Crete’s ever-present past. In Hania, which is known for its picturesque Venetian port, our hotel is located at the harbor’s edge overlooking the lighthouse with its Egyptian minaret-style shape. With our guide explore the history of the old port including the remains of the Minoan settlement of Kydonia that stood here over 3000 years ago. On our final evening in Crete enjoy a special farewell dinner at one of Hania’s finest modern restaurants.
Knossos, Crete, Greece
Olive grove on Crete, Greece
Rethymnon on Crete, Greece
Cretan village accommodations
WHAT TO EXPECT
The Flavor of Crete tour is somewhat more structured than our other Greek trips so that we can visit small villages and somewhat hard-to-reach places. We interweave villages with costal towns to provide as much of the flavors of Crete as possible. Yet we have kept the itinerary leisurely with time to relax. The group size is limited to approximately 7 to 15 travelers.
Price includes: 11 days / 10 nights accommodations; domestic transportation in Crete by mini bus; locally guided private sightseeing tours with official Greek tourist guide from Crete and entrance fees as per itinerary; and services of our Wanderwoman tour director for duration of trip. Also included are 10 breakfasts, 5 dinners, 1 lunch, and welcome reception.
TOURS & ACTIVITIES
Privately guided tours with our Cretan guide include the archaeological site of Knossos , the Heraklion Museum, otherarchaeological sites, Paliani Nunnery, Arkadi Monastery, ancient sacred caves, a hike in one of Crete’s scenic gorges, awalking tour of the old town of Rethymnon and the old harbor of Chania. Other activities includes wine tasting at one of Greece’s best wineries, Cretan dance lesson, Cretan cooking class, olive oil tasting,and opportunities to learn weaving and traditional bread making, and eating great Mediterranean cuisine!
ACCOMODATOINS
While staying in the villages of Crete the accommodations are simple traditional style rooms in quaint country inns. In the port cities of Heraklion, Rethymnon, and Chania we’ll stay at 3 and 4-star hotels within walking distance to restaurants, shops, and points of interest – giving you freedom to explore right out the door! The accommodations are simple but comfortable. Each room is different, but all rooms have private baths, and most have direct dial telephones, and TVs. Some of the hotels do not have elevators, so be prepared to carry what you pack. Backpack style or small-wheeled suitcases are recommended.
GETTING TO THE ISLAND OF CRETE
The group will meet in Heraklion. Our tour begins at 3 pm. Both Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air have serval nonstop flights from Athens to Heraklion daily. .Although airfare is NOT included we will gladly help with making your flight arrangements. Also we can help you with any pre or post tour arrangements in Greece and beyond. SUGGESTION: You may want to arrive a day early to rest after your international flight before the tour begins. We are happy to assist you with making arrangements.
PRICE: Email us to pre-register for early booking price
Price is based on double occupancy, bu tis subject to change until reserved.
Single supplement applies to private room
If you are traveling solo and would like to save on the cost of a single room we do have a roomshare opportunity available.
We may be able to arrange for a triple room if three are traveling together.
RESERVATIONS
To reserve your space call or email Eurynome Journeys for an application form and terms and conditions. We will hold your space for up to two weeks at which time a $600 deposit per person is due. Within 90 days of departure payment in full is due.
This is an active vacation involving walking and climbing stairs and thus requires a certain degree of physical fitness.
It is NOT suitable for those with limited mobility. All group activities are NON-SMOKING.
Combine this trip with Greek Island Getaway and SAVE $100
NOTE: Eurynome Journeys reserves the right to change itinerary and/ or make reasonable substitutions at anytime to ensure the safety and comfort of group or as deemed necessary by tour director.
KNOSSOS (Cnossos) Archaeological site myth and history
The archaeological site of Knossos on the island of Crete is believed by some to have been King Mino’s palace told of in ancient myths. Here according to tradition lived a terrible beast, the Minotaur, half bull and half man. The powerful king demanded an annual tribute from Athens of seven youths and seven maidens who were sacrificed to the Minotaur in a labyrinth. Excavation started at the site in 1901 by Sir Arthur Evans revealed a labyrinth like structure beneath the palace floor. Evans imaginatively partly reconstructed the palace, bringing to life the ancient splendor of Minoan culture, making the site unlike any other on Crete. Evans’s findings indicate that the Great Mother Goddess was once worshipped here. The myth of a sacrifice of young Athenians on Crete may have stemmed from a fertility ritual to the Goddess dating back to the second millennium B.C. E.. www.interekriti.org.
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