Moderate day walks are interspersed with more strenuous excursions, 4-6 hours per day (excluding breaks) on hilly to mountainous areas using well kept, sometimes stony paths. The walks are mostly unsurfaced tracks; footpaths, mountain trails and some tarmac roads.
Start: Vamos Finish: Loutro/Chora Sfakion
Arrival in Vamos by taxi (it can be arranged in advance) or by public transport from Chania or Heraklion Airport. Afternoon stroll through the picturesque village of Vamos.
A pleasant walk through the agricultural landscapes of Apokoronas. You will walk along several villages to the seaside town of Georgioupolis. Good views, a monastery, scattered churches and the oldest olive press of Western Crete will please you in this first walking day of the tour.
Challenge: 4 hours, 12 km, 100m ascent, 325m descent
You will make a round walk from the village of Nippos, embedded in the lush green area of Apokoronas. Cypresses & olive groves cover this hilly area. On the background; the Lefka Ori, covered with snow in winter and spring, make you feel like walking in a painting. After the walk you will travel comfortably by taxi to your next accommodation on the Askifou plain, in the Lefka Ori (White Mountains).
Challenge: 4 hours, 14 km, 400m ascent, 400m descent
Today a challenging walk in the mountains is programmed. You will walk upto 1300m at gaze at 2000m peaks, covered with snow in spring. There are no villages in this area; you may bump into a shepherd with his goats or sheep. You can imagine that this area, the center of Sfakia, was very suitable to hide oneself when needed. The way back down to Askifou is via a beautiful old path through dense forest. Now and then you have great views to the Askifou plain.
Challenge: 6 hours, 16 km, 700m ascent, 700m descent
At the end of the walk today you will have reached the southern coast of Crete!
Again, a short transfer from the hotel brings you to the village of Imbros where you can get some supplies in the mini market, before entering the second famous gorge of Crete: the Imbros gorge. You will be walking for about two hours along a rocky riverbed with loose stones and rocks alternated with easier sections. The landscapes here are other-worldly; at its narrowest point, the Imbros gorge is only 1.60m wide! When you sit and have your picnic lunch and listen to the silence it will be hard to imagine the immense forces that created this impressive landscape.
At the end of the gorge you come to Komitades where you may relax and have lunch in one of the taverns. Then you continue your walk through agricultural fields and across the Sfakiano gorge until you reach Chora Sfakion, located on the Libyan Sea. You may end you day with a refreshing swim.
Challenge: 4 hours, 12.5 km, 350m ascent, 1.100m descent
From Chora Sfakion you climb through the Ilinga gorge to the authentic village of Anopolis. Here you meet locals in the kafeneion and you may try one of those excellent Sfakiana pitta yourself: a sort of pancake with cream cheese and honey. This will give you energy for the rest of the walk. You will descend along a terrific path to the village of Loutro, hidden in a tiny, perfectly round, bay. Loutro is only accessible by ferry or walking and there are no cars. Throughout the walk you will have splendid views of the sea and Loutro. You spend the last 2 nights of this tour in Loutro.
Challenge: 4,5 hours, 6,6/10,2 km, 180/600 m ascent, 240/670 m descent
Via a steep zig-zag path you climb up to the village Anopolis. From here you walk further onto Ancient Aradhena, located on the edge of the impressive Aradhena Gorge. A spectacular path takes you down into the Aradhena gorge which you follow until you reach the coast. During the last part of today´s walk you will follow a path along the coast back to Loutro. It is possible to make a shorter walk of 4 hrs. today via Livaniana (a tiny village) and then descend via the Aradhena Gorge to the sea. It may be necessary, depending on your departure flight tomorrow, to travel today back to Chora Sfakion by ferry and on to Chania or to Heraklion
Challenge: 4 hours, 15,7 / 8,7 km, 840/460 m ascent, 840/460m descent
Today you travel back to Chora Sfakion by ferry in the morning and, from there, by public transport or prebooked transfer to Chania or Heraklion Airport. Departure from one of the most beautiful areas of Crete.
In this part of Crete the choice of accommodation is limited. The accommodations we have chosen are optimum choices having in mind the atmosphere, comfort and hospitality. All rooms have private facilities and almost always a balcony or terrace.
Extra overnight: You can book additional night(s) at any of the accommodations along the way. We can also book a hotel in Chania city or Heraklion city for you before and/or after the trip.
The houses are usually separated into smaller independent units. In the houses you will find characteristic features in the building, sometimes you find traditional sofa beds that are on a vide in the room. Furniture is all in traditional style, but meets todays demands for comfort. Hand made traditional embroideries make that you can really feel like a local Cretan citizen of a rural village. Every house is unique; there is always a kitchen or kitchenette and a comfortable bath room, a TV and a terrace or garden. Some houses also have fire places.
At an altitude of 800 metres in Askifou Village, Panorama features an outdoor pool. It features accommodation with White Mountains views. Its restaurant serves Cretan cuisine and local delicacies.
Located on the best location in town. The tidy rooms are equipped with shower/toilet, a fridge, TV and air-conditioning. From the balcony you can enjoy the great view over the bay of Chora Sfakion and the surrounding mountains. The hotel is on the quay, close to the beach, the port and the seaside taverns. The hotel also offers a restaurant for evening dinners. The restaurant uses local ingredients, such as fish, meat and vegetables, to prepare local specialities.
If you need a hotel with a convenient central location with good transportation to all parts of the island and the comfort of a hotel that faces directly on to the sapphire Aegean and is next to picturesque harbor and the town’ s beach… then you will enjoy staying at Hotel Kyma built in 1917 as a villa in Chios town.
This trip is bookable from April to October, starting any day of the week, subjet to availability.
Please notice: temperatures can be very high in the months of Summer for walking. We highly recommend booking this trip in Spring & Autumn
Arrival in Vamos
The nearest airport is Chania (CHQ). There are direct charter flights from some European countries directly to Chania, as well as domestic flights from Athens (ATH). From Chania Airport(CHQ) to Vamos is possible by public bus, but is is not a good connection. You are advised to take a taxi from the airport to Vamos. It is possible to prebook a taxi with S-Cape Travel from Chania to Vamos at extra costs. The distance is about 30km, so a taxi is not too expensive.
Heraklion airport (HER) has direct connections with many European airports. From the bus station in Heraklion city (6km from the airport, accessible by bus or taxi) there are direct buses to Chania (duration trip 2 hours). The bus also stops in the village Vrysses, near Vamos, and a taxi transfer from Vrysses to Vamos is included in this package.
You may travel via Athens Airport (ATH) and take the night ferry from Piraeus to Chania, leaving daily around 9 pm and arriving in Chania at 6 am the next morning. There are cabins with comfortable berths on board and all cabins are en-suite.
Departure from Loutro
From the last overnight location, Loutro, you travel per ferry to Chora Sfakion in 20 mins and continue by public bus to Chania or Heraklion. In case your flight departs in the morning you have to either book an extra night in Chania or Heraklion or book a private taxi transfer from Chora Sfakion to the airport as to be on time.
You can also take the daily overnight ferry from Chania back to Piraeus.
We can send you GPS tracks of this trip upon request and after booking.
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