Crete for Connoisseurs

Meet and greet at the airport then accompanied transfer to the hotel. Check in and dinner together.

You start today with a tour through the alleys to the market in Heraklion. For your ‘second’ breakfast you will visit a bakery where you can refuel with a typical Greek puff pastry, a bit of culture not to be missed. You will visit the Palace complex of Knossos, before ending the first day with a wine tasting.

A visit to the Crete botanical garden. Near Chania, nestled among wooded hills, it offers a host of innumerable native and exotic plants thanks to its mild climate. After a presentation of the famous “Cretan diet” and a healthy lunch, prepared exclusively from the organic products and herbs of the botanical garden, you will be transferred to Chania, where you will spend the rest of the day.

Today we go to the port of Agios Nikolaos. You will visit a herbal farm with a tour through the small museum, the production hall and the herb garden. You will get to see a modern olive press and learn how a young family builds on the traditional manufacturing processes of their parents and grandparents, leading the company into the future with modern equipment and the production of native and biological oils and olive products. You will also get to taste different types of oil and olive products. On the Lassithi plateau, vegetable and fruit cultivation is typical of the landscape. Enjoy a traditional vegetable dishcourgettes filled with rice and dill, it’s a real highlight. Served with “Tsikoudia”, as with the old Cretans!

In Rethymnon you will find the oldest Baklava bakery in Crete. Baklava is a sweet pastry specialty, made of layers of filo and filled with nuts and syrup. You will visit a baker who will make you look over his shoulder during the preparation but you will get to try the “end result”. After a stroll through the old town of Rethymnon, you can take a trip to the Agia Irini Monastery where the nuns produce their own sweets and handicrafts. In the afternoon visit a snail farm. Snails are a traditional part of Cretan cuisine and today they are recognised as a specialty. They are used as the basis of different dishes and sauces and are popular as “mezedes” (starters) to a “Tsikoudia”. In the garden of the family residence you will taste some of the specialities at the end of the day.

Today, Vivi will be waiting for you so you can prepare your lunch together on a short cooking course, where you will learn how to prepare hearty Greek food. While your lunch is cooking in the oven, you will visit a craftsman in his workshop and see how the traditional Cretan Lyra is made here. Afterwards there will be time for a leisurely walk before returning return for your lunch. In the afternoon you will visit a family-run winery. There will be a guided tour of the production hall and wine tasting with fantastic views over the Messara.

In the rural area around Anogia, you will discover the original Cretans and their last traditional villages with their own specialties. Before you see how the famous “Mizithra” cheese is made, you get to see a local lady creating traditional weavings and an Artist carving wood figures over his shoulder. During a lunch with “Tsidoudia” you will taste different variations of the famous cheese specialty. At the end of the day, visit one of the most beautiful dripstone caves in Crete.

Departure to the airport and return flight.