Tour Description

Trip Itinerary

• 1 1st day Arrival in Chania or Heraklion Arrival in Chania or Heraklion airport, meeting with our tour guide and boarding the bus that will take us to our hotel in Axos Rethymno where the family of the mansion will welcome us with traditional Cretan dishes and tsikoudi. After settling in, we'll tour the picturesque narrow streets of the village and head to the woodcarving museum located inside the village
• 2 2nd day Visit to the – Cooking class Our day will start with a tour of the farm where we will talk about the trees and bushes that grow in the area, we will smell and learn about the magical properties of the aromatic plants and herbs of Crete and we will meet many domestic animals and birds in the their natural environment. We will visit the privately-owned mitato where we will make cheese and taste local cheeses, while then we will get to know the ripening area. Immediately after, all the guests will pick fresh vegetables from the vegetable garden and the farms, which they will cook in a creative cooking class, which they will then enjoy by having lunch in the restaurant of the mansion, thus obtaining a complete dining experience full of colors and aromas of Crete
• 3 3rd day Day trip to Anogia Undoubtedly the most famous village of Rethymnon, Anogeia, perched on the slopes of Psiloritis and at an altitude of 700 m., has a character of its own. We will get to know the local residents of Anogeia who keep it alive from generation to generation. those elements that remain unchanged over time, music, folk art and tradition. We will learn about the famous Cretan textiles that almost monopolize the merchandise of the shops in the main alleys and streets of the village, and we will visit the traditional cafes that are a point of reference for locals and tourists who stop to drink raki and taste Cretan delicacies. Then we return to the house of Nikos Xylouris, the late Nikos Xylouris, the most famous lyre player of the island, the "Archangel of Crete".
• 4 4th day Margarites - Ancient Eleftherna - Arkadiou Monastery - Rethymnon Our excursion will start from the village of Margarites in Rethymno: The area is the largest pottery center in Western Crete and one of the largest in Greece. It has a long tradition in this field. The main reason is the excellent quality and in large reserves, raw material available which is none other than the clay soil. During our visit there, our interest will be monopolized by the innumerable decorative ceramics found on walls and courtyards, pots, jars and pottery of all kinds and sizes. Ancient Eleftherna. The city is the most important archaeological site of the prefecture of Rethymno, which has not yet been fully excavated and is expected to yield many more valuable findings. The city of Eleftherna was founded by the Dorians around the 9th century BC. and was inhabited until the early Byzantine years. It seems that its strategic position at an altitude of 380m, at the point where the roads connecting ancient Kydonia, Knossos and Psiloritis crossed, played a part in its long-term course. Arkadiou Monastery is a historical Monastery in the Rethymno Regional Unit of Crete. It is located on a fertile plateau 23 kilometers southeast of Rethymno on the island of Crete in Greece. The present katholikon (church) dates from the 16th century and is characterized by the influence of the Renaissance. The monastery played an active role in the Cretan resistance to Turkish rule during the Cretan uprising of 1866. 943 Greeks, mostly women and children,[ sought refuge in the monastery. After three days of fighting and on the orders of the abbot of the monastery, the Cretans blew up barrels of gunpowder, choosing to sacrifice themselves rather than surrender. Finally, we will visit the city of Rethymno, where we have time for shopping and a walk in
• 5 5th day Visit to the old city (Chania or Heraklion) After our breakfast we will depart for the airport with a stopover in the city center (Chania or Heraklion) where together with our guide we will visit the most important points of the old city.