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While hiking has always been popular among outdoorsy people it certainly has relieved a strong hype among broader parts of the general, urban community. With this in mind locations such as New Zealand, Patagonia or Canada have been riding this wave and tours of their great walks are typically booked out months in advance. There certainly is a good reason for this run on hiking reservations, as the places mentioned surely are spectacular, there really is no reason to look this far for a dose of nature's best. The Samaria Gorge in my opinion is one of those spots that easily compete with mother nature's other masterpieces, as it truly has it all. Mountains, trees, rivers full of clear and drinkable water, plenty of sun and a day at beach for those brave enough to finish the 6-8h trail. As a European citizen was I not aware of this islands beauty and strongly urge everyone visiting to stop by and enjoy the view.…
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Date of experience: October 2020
2 Helpful votes
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Did the Samaria Gorge hike with Io Tours, and it was definitely the highlight of my 3+ week trip throughout Greece. It is a fairly strenuous hike but so worth it. The various terrain that you go through and the scenery is magical. There are some washrooms along the way, and natural springs where you can fill your water bottle. We started with an early morning bus ride (6:30am pick up) from Chania to the top of the gorge. From here it is 13km to the end of the gorge, plus another 3km to the town of Agia Roumeli where there are restaurants and a beach to swim at. I think the entire 16km took me about 5 hours. Here a ferry takes you to the nearby town of Sougia where the bus is waiting to take you back to Chania, ending around 9pm.…
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Date of experience: October 2020
2 Helpful votes
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+1
My wife and I walked the Gorge on 12 October 20. I'm 61 and she's 56 and we'd describe ourselves as moderately fit. We did the 13kms between top and bottom ticket offices in 4.5 hours at a steady pace with a couple of brief toilet stops. It's not particularly tiring (it's all downhill after all) but certainly requires concentration as the trail is all loose stones and very uneven. The constant downhill motion also made us suffer the next day with very stiff joints. Trainers are fine (we both wore them) but I must admit walking boots could have make the going a bit easier in places. In terms of logistics we were staying in Chania and drove up to Omalos around 9am. We parked right by the ticket office/park entrance. There's a cafe there if you need last minute supplies. At the other end we took the shuttle bus (my wife had sore feet) for the last couple of km from the park exit down to Agia Roumeli where we had time for a swim and very late lunch (plenty of good tavernas). We then boarded the 5.30pm ferry to Sougia (about 1 hour) where various buses were waiting to collect ferry passengers. We wanted a quicker option so booked ahead for a taxi to take us from Sougia back to our car. Long day out and a very memorable one.…
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Date of experience: October 2020
3 Helpful votes
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+1
It was a spontaneous trip and I didn’t have any expectations or experience in hiking.. all what I wanted to see was the mountains. Due the high wind there wasn’t any ferry trips waiting for you, so the only option was to walk to some point and then come back. What a trip.. you really need to be careful and watch your step, hear the surroundings due the falling rocks or trees.. during the hiking I heard two smaller rocks falling and a tree other side of the river. The views and the mountains are amazing.. you really feel the power of the nature. You just want to stop often to enjoy the view. It was recommended to go to stop 4 Ag. Nikolaos and then turn back.. I wanted to go further as the nature is always changing and wanted to see more.. but I was glad that I went back .. don\t underestimate going back uphill. After 3hours and according to pedometer, 140 floors I was back. My legs were tired, in some point during the hiking they were shaking.. I needed some resting time and a big meal, next 2 days my legs were hurting, but it was all worth it. It was the best part of the Crete and the driving there was also amazing experience .. calm mountains with stunning views. If the full trip seems too much then this is also one way how to enjoy the Samaria Gorge.…
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Date of experience: October 2020
2 Helpful votes
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Do it! It was one of the highlights of our vacation. If you go with a tour guide BUY YOUR BREAKFAST FROM THE DAY BEFORE! They took us to a very expensive and bad place. Take your breakfast and some snacks with you!
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Date of experience: September 2020
3 Helpful votes
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