The Essence of Crete:Private Olive Oil, Wine & Distillery Journey

Soto, our tour guide, was really good! We had a great and educational day…visited an olive oil factory and tasted amazing olive oil, had an awesome time at a 5-generation family winery and tasted 6 delicious wines, and had an amazing experience touring a winery and raki distillery owned by 2 brothers! We got to bottle our own wine and taste many flavors of raki. An excellent day! Highly recommend!

Excellent!! 5++ Soto was incredibly informative and friendly. Really enjoyed the personal experience visiting the 5 generation run winery and the enthusiastic raki distillery family.

My husband and I went to Crete as the first destination for our honeymoon, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. Specifically, this tour was fantastic. We lucked out, and upon pick up, were informed that we would be the only attendees. Our tour guide Joseph was incredibly friendly and charismatic, while remaining professional the whole time. By the end, we felt we had made a friend. We agree with the description that this wasn't "touristic," but we experienced the island in a beautifully rich and vibrant way. We learned about the history, culture and economy of the island through the nature, villages, farms and people we saw throughout the tour. We really couldn't have asked for a better experience. While this is a glowing review, this tour isn't for you if you only want to do the tastings. What made this so amazing for us is that we weren't treated simply as patrons at a restaurant, but immersed in the customs and treated as a guest in all of their homes. These were family businesses, and they were clearly sharing a part of their cultural identity as well. This tour isn't for you if you are close minded to other people's way of life either. They deserve respect from all of us that want to visit, and this experience is more than worth the price. It absolutely *is* meant for you if you're an inquisitive person, open to experiencing how Crete and its people live and work. Please book this tour if you love trying new things and want to support locally owned businesses! Joseph was a wonderful tour guide. He is a local that clearly loves his island so much. From picking local herbs for us to smell, to walking us through Cretan traditions, to teaching us about the history of the island and how it affects modern day, he was constantly enriching the tours with all 5 senses. He left no question unanswered, and even indulged the ones about mythology and ancient civilizations. He told us he doesn't usually do this particular tour, but definitely request him if our review speaks to you. I have to reiterate that my husband and I could not be happier with this tour experience. We wish everyone we met well, and hope to come back again with friends in a couple years. Truly, we started the tour with a "yassas" and ended with "yassou." If you book this, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Yamas!!

Our tour guide, Soto, contacted us the day before to arrange pick-up from our hotel. During the trip, we learned a lot about Crete, its history, people, and lifestyles. We met the owners of the olive plantation, the vineyards, and the raki distillery and there were tours, tastings, and Greek snacks. Many thanks to Soto for the fantastic day and a definite recommendation to all visitors to Crete.

My wife and I had an amazing private tour with the local guide who made the whole experience feel authentic and welcoming. We got to try some fantastic local wine (tasting was run by a sommelier), olive oil, and Raki, and each stop was well-planned and enjoyable. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable and shared so much about life on the island, which made it more than just a tasting tour. It felt like a real insight into Cretan culture. I highly recommend this tour if you want something personal and memorable!