Samaria Gorge Full-Day Private Hike with a Certified Mountain Expert

Vangelis is a brilliant guide. He is really professional and experienced as well as a very friendly and considerate guide. Vangelis was my private guide for the Samaria Gorge walk, just me and him for the day and he is very easy company, sharing interesting information and also being guided by me about the pace I like to walk at. I really do recommend Vangelis, whether you are 1 person or a small group wanting a private guide. He is punctual and very well organised. I don't think you would find anyone better to be your guide for any hike or walk, I thoroughly recommend him.

My friend and I wanted to hike the Samaria Gorge and thought about doing it on our own, but we are so happy we went with Vangelis. He met us at our hotel in historic Chania, took us to an Inn for breakfast, coffee and sandwiches to tuck into our packs. . We parked at the start of the Gorge and Vangelis guided us through the ticket process. From the start of the trail forward he set a pace we could keep up with. Along the way he gave us history of the gorge, kept us updated on what the expect and greeted all the park rangers by name. The Gorge is beautiful and we had great weather. The end was where having a guide really paid off. We swam, had time for dinner, and caught the boat back with little stress. Vangelis got us back to the car and back to our hotel avoiding the mass crush of busses at the ferry. Vangelis made a challenging hike a great memory. Ask him for poles if you like.

We had a great day with Vangelis! He is very knowledgeable and helped our family complete the hike at the gorge. We appreciated his kindness and patience with our questions before starting the day. It is a long, challenging hike, but beautiful and worth it!

Terri W.United States

As fate would have it, rains a few days before this tour had damaged the lower portion of the trail, and it was entirely closed for our intended hiking day. We asked Vangelis to take us instead to hike the Agia Irinis Gorge, which is about half the distance of Samaria Gorge but also very challenging, scenic, and with far fewer people. It turned out to be a fine alternative, and Vangelis was very helpful guiding my traveling companion who unlike me had no experience with the type of rocky terrain encountered here. He continually checked with us on the pace and need for breaks to drink water, etc. The trail disappears into boulders at several points, and would have been difficult without a guide to find the best route down. He also took us on an informative 2+hour walking tour of old town Chania upon return, which filled the extra hours hiking Samaria would have taken. Highly recommend!

Vangelis is one of the best tour guides I have used. He reached out well in advance of this tour and quickly responded to questions -- everything from the type of shoes to wear (hiking shoes are a must!) to what to bring with us. As the excursion drew near, he monitored the weather in case we needed to change the hike at all, which we did, the night before the hike. Not many guides will give guests this much attention. I rate Vangelis A+++ !!!

Vangelis is an excellent guide-punctual, helpful, knowledgeable, nice. Kept us on schedule. Samaria gorge is a great hike. We recommend it. We did it downhill. You need to know somethings. Sturdy shoes are a must as this is a very rocky hike. Poles should be used for some hikers (Vangelis has them). The all day hike including the initial car ride, the 7 hour hike, the optional bus ride (we did it at 2 euro per person), the boat ride, the taxi and ride back took 13 hours. It was worth it- all very tired.