ali_b

My husband and I will be in Greece in June and July. We are staying in Heraklion at the Glaxay hotel and are looking to make our way to the Samaria Gorge for the long hike! Does anyone know if the bus system is reliable enough to get us there and back to Heraklion within the same day? We were thinking of having dinner in Hania before returning to Heraklion also, but are having trouble figuring out the logistics of the whole thing. Thanks so much for any help....

Patrick

You do realize, I hope, that the full hike is one way into the gorge. A bus can take you to the beginning of the hike, but at the other end, you need to take a boat to another point to get a bus to return.
We did it from Chania, and there are numerous "combination tickets" available, which provide you with the bus in the morning and a guaranteed place on the boat plus the bus home. I would assume that can happen from Heraklion too. It ended up that we probably could have done without the pre-arranged tickets, as nothing was completely filled, but it gave us some peace of mind to know we were booked. Since you want to stop in Chania, that's something you'd need to check out, but I can assure you that you can book the whole thing once you get there, and your hotel will certainly have all the information.
Note: I'm not talking about a package "tour", which I see no reason to do, but just a transportation "package".

brotherleelove2004

I think trying to get from Heraklion to Omalos, down the gorge to Sfakia and then back to Heraklion in one day is going to be a bit exhausting for you, especially if you plan to go back to Chania for dinner before returning to Heraklion.

Here's a link to the bus schedules to help you figure it out.

http://www.cretetravel.com/Bus_sched...a_Rethymno.htm

Why not take the bus to Chania the afternoon before the hike, have a nice dinner, spend the night and take a morning bus to Omalos, hike the gorge, then make your way back to Heraklion after the hike?

Patrick

That was a much better suggestion. I just looked up and see that the bus we caught from Chania was at 6 AM. Be aware that the gorge gets very hot in summer, so the earlier the start, the better. We also wished we had flipflops or sandals for the black beach at the end. When we took off our hiking boots, the black beach stones literally burned our feet.

ali_b

Thanks for the advice. We know it seems a little bit adventurous, but we're not sure when we'll be back so we figure let's do as much as we can!

We just didn't want to really get into one of those "group" things.....where the bus picks us up along with 35 other people. And maybe that's not even how it works....I do like the idea of a transportation package though!

I guess, is it worth it? Would we be better served to just go to Chania, walk around, eat....

Patrick

Hiking the gorge was a highlight of our month in Greece. Was it worth it?
Absolutely (including the morning ride on a bus filled with people to get there).

ali_b

Thanks to both of you!

We have decided that we will definitely hike it! Your responses have given us some things to think about and I think we've decided to go to Chania the night before, take the bus the next morning to the gorge...hike it (with sandals for the beach), then return to our hotel in Heraklion that night.

We leave for Santorini the next day and plan tol "relax" on the boat ride.

Retsina

I have hiked down the Samaria gorge 3 times, there are various alternatives to the well trodden tourist route as described by the above replies. One of these is to stay in Paleochora (SW of Chania). There is an early morning bus up to the start of the Samaria gorge, incidently also to the Ag. Irini gorge). Another gorge worth visiting is the Imbros gorge near Chora Sfakia. In the far east of the island is the Kato Zakros Gorge.

PS Don't stay in Heraklion it's a dump.

Patrick

We spent our final night on Crete in Heraklion, and I have to agree it is a "dump" compared to the entire rest of the island. It was OK for a night, and we considered it a "necessary evil" since our boat out to Santorini was from there very early in the morning.