The Olive Oil farm and production demonstration, the wind mills, the views from the mountains and the little villages were all delightful. A glass of wine and some cheese at Spiros was especially wonderful.

This was a wonderful day. Our guide (whose name we regret to say we have forgotten) was wonderful. We were a group of just 6 tourists, and we got lots of chances to ask questions and find out about his life on Crete. Besides touring an olive oil factory, we learned from him firsthand about owning olive trees and harvesting olives. He had many stories that helped us to understand what life is like on Crete and in Greece generally. Zeus's cave was the best part of a day that was packed with interest and fun. The hike up the mountain, the walk through the amazing cave, and the eerie feeling of being in a place of ancient religious importance. There was a wonderful restaurant where we ate lunch, and several other cool stops on the journey. But in between stops, while we rode along, the scenery was amazing the whole time. I'm so glad we went. on this trip.

It was very entertaining and funny, Ed is the key too see a other site of Crete with lovely Jokes and interesting facts. GG

Our guide Ed was phenomenal. He was funny and engaging during the entire trip engaging both the adults and our two teenagers. The visits to local villages, stopping at various farms, vistas was great! We even got to try out some local fruit fresh from the tree and it was so good! We went on the olive oil factory tour. Ed did a wonderful job explaining the various stages of how they make olive oil mixed in with his own personal experience of owning olive trees. We followed up with a visit to the Zeus cave. Ed shared stories about Greek gods and was informative about the climb. He even sat with one of us who didn’t want to make the steep climb. We followed up with lunch. Ed took us to a family restaurant which was excellent. The house white wine was one of the best wines I have had. The staff were so generous. Our entire family was vegetarian and Ed made sure we had plenty to eat. Overall, Ed was such a great tour guide and really made us love Crete. We would highly recommend him and his company.

Simply amazing trip, highly recommend! We were planning this trip rather spontaneous, nevertheless pe-communication with (meeting) instructions went very smooth. Overall, the trip was amazing. The guide is a true local and made it into a very special and personal experience for every group member. The guide was very punctual at the pick up point and we enjoyed a very friendly welcome that made us feel comfortable from the start. After picking up the rest of the group we headed to the olive oil factory were we could enjoy detailed explanations and also jokes hehe :) We continued to the windmills and could not only enjoy the wonderful view but also learn about the local plants and herbs. During the tour the guide answered all our questions and could give us a great insight into the greek and especially Crete culture. I am very amazed by the welcoming mentallity of the cretan people and especially of our guide, who really turn this trip into the best experience. The cave was also interesting to see (and refreshingly cool also). We could take our time to explore and got picked up again afterwards to head to local locations for coffee and sweets and to explore local craftsmenship (pottery). By all means, we absolutly recommend this trip and the guide to anyone travelling to Crete! We will never forget this amazing day :) Johanna (GER) & Charles (FRA)

My boyfriend and I took the trip with Ed who was so warm, friendly, and amusing. He made the day very enjoyable and we laughed and learned along the way! There's nothing that beats meeting a real local and someone who felt like a friend who happened to be a tour guide. Ed gave genuine recommendations, was helpful, and gave us one of our best days ever on our Crete trip!

This was a nice change of pace on our trip. A lot of riding in the van and looking at the landscape. We did enjoy the strenuous hike to the cave. (Not for the faint of heart) The Olive oil factory was very interesting.

Wonderful tour! Great conversation and information from our generous guide who gladly shifted things around to fit our needs and desires.

We did’nt had so many days in Crete, so not so many choices from our side about the date for this tour, but they find a space and adapted to our schedule. Pick up on time, comfortable transportation with a really really nice guide (Dimitri) , a lot of knowledge on all levels, really nice organized !! Really worth the money according us, also resto for lunch in the mountains is really really good with local kitchen. Nice tours and never “forced” to consume of buy anything. Only can be positive about this !

Great tour! Nice stops and afcourse a great tour guide! We got all info we needed and asked for. We also ate delicious food on the way. Its handy that the tour guide knew the good places.

We have been on a lot of tours and this one was our favorite . Ed our guide made the trip a wonderful experience ! Every stop was magical. Ed is very knowledgeable about his hometown of Heraklion and the whole island of Crete. He kept us amused and educated about Crete. Thank you Ed for making our day with you the highlight of our trip!

Great tour with a very fun knowledgeable guide. The countryside was beautiful, with a different feel to the island. Definitely recommend this tour.

Stavros was very friendly, knowledgeable and funny. He made the day most enjoyable! We particularly liked lunch at the farm to table restaurant! We would highly recommend this tour. Thank you Stavros! It was so nice to meet and spend the day with you!

Stavros has an amazing tour, that I highly recommend if traveling with your family. We wanted to see some of the island’s highlights with our limited time on Crete. Stavros’ energy, humor, and knowledge was much appreciated. His stops are perfectly described in his booking, and he adds a personal touch with multiple local stops and drinks/snacks.

What a great tour! We did not get much sleep the night before due to jetlag but Stavros made it a very enjoyable day! The sites we stopped at were beautiful and restaurant that we ate lunch at was delicious (family owned and clearly everything is homemade; we saw many trays of food coming out of the wood fired oven out front of the restaurant). Highly recommend the tour and tour guide (Stavros)!

My friend Jo and I had a blast! There was supposed to be another group with us, but they cancelled. It was just the two of us and we we're still able to have the tour even though they don't usually do it for two. We experienced a real and authentic Crete. Highly recommend and the guide is very knowledgeable and funny.

The tour was fantastic. Great communication from the enquiry, with car seat and booster seat provided for our 3yo with no issue. Ed was fantastic, a Crete native and full of interesting info, from geology facts to history and mythology. We enjoyed all the stops on the tour, with the cave a highlight. Ed was fun and engaging and really great with our toddler, went above and beyond to keep him happy. We never felt rushed, time to browse shops and do the cave walk at our leisure. Definitely recommend.

We had a great time on this tour. We wanted to get out of the city to see more of Crete and this tour was perfect for that. Ed is a wonderful guide, very knowledgeable & entertaining. We enjoyed each of the stops and appreciated Ed’s commentary. Highly recommend!

For us, this was a perfect tour. We loved being able to get out of the city and see the panoramic views of the sea, mountains and valleys with the help of the ever attentive and informative Stavros. While we did see several sites (Zeus’ Cave, oldest tree in Crete, Windmills, etc.) for us the scenic beauty was the chief attraction. Plus we loved the small group (only 4), safe driving, fabulous lunch of traditional Cretan food, small villages and our gregarious host, Stavros.

We had an amazing time on our tour across the countryside of Crete! If you're looking for an experience of the unseen villages, set amidst the most scenic mountains, roads cutting across millions of olives trees, traditional windmills, an exploratory tour to the olive oil factory book yourself a small group tour with Explore Real Crete and you'll have it all. Don't miss the visit to the Cave of Zeus, a small trek up the hill. And to make this journey and tour better, you have Ed who is the most gracious host! With this guy as your guide, you take home a bag full of memories, fun experiences, endless chats and a bottle of extra virgin olive oil from his own farm with a pack of oregano handpicked, dried and crushed by himself as a souvenir!!!