Spinalonga Island and Agios Nikolaos Tour: BBQ, swimming and exploration experience from Heraklion
3.4
21 Ratings
Elounda
Embark on a thrilling tour of Spinalonga Island and Agios Nikolaos, where you'll explore historical sites, swim in crystal-clear waters, and indulge in a delicious BBQ feast. Don't miss this unforgettable adventure from Heraklion!
Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Spinalonga (Kalydon) - Discover the seaside village of Elounda and walk amongst history on the island of Spinalonga.
  • Elounda - 10:30 Departure from Elounda with the boat
    10:50 Arrival Spinalonga
    12:30 Departure from Spinalonga and time for swimming
    13:00 Arrival Elounda
    15:00 Departure from Elounda to Agios Nikolaos
    15:15 Arrival Agios Nikolaos
    16:45 Departure Agios Nikolaos
    18:30 Arrival Heraklion.
  • Agios Nikolaos - Last stop the capital town of Lasithi, Agios Nikolaos. Relax in a café next to the bottomless Lake of Voulismeni and enjoy your walk to the local shops.
What's Included
  • Optional BBQ and Boat experience.
  • Convenient hotel pickup across multiple locations.
  • Guidance by multilingual professionals (English, German, French).
  • Comfortable travel with in-vehicle air conditioning.
What's Not Included
  • Entrance to Spinalonga (8 Euros or less for children/EU citizens over 65)
  • Personal expenses
  • Boat ticket and BBQ(12€ for adults, 6€ for children aged 5-11 years). Every Sunday 7€ WITHOUT BBQ
Additional Information

Experience the charming coastal town of Elounda and immerse yourself in the past on Spinalonga Island.

After exploring this historically rich place, our journey leads us to the hidden bay of Kolokitha. Among the most captivating shores in Crete, its isolated setting boasts white sandy beaches and tranquil, deep-blue waters, quietly neighboring ancient olive orchards. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to dive off the boat for a swim.

Leisure time is plentiful for you to swim in the transparent seas, with a BBQ served on the ship for your enjoyment. The menu comprises of pork chop BBQ, Greek salad, feta cheese, bread, wine or Fanta, and succulent seasonal fruit. (Note that EVERY SUNDAY, dinner is held at a local tavern, as there is no BBQ served on board)

After a brief time of tranquility, our journey leads us back to Elounda.

Our next stop is the scenic town of Agios Nikolaos. We make our final pause here, where you can savor a delightful coffee while overlooking the stunning lake, browse the traditional local stores for souvenir shopping, and unwind a little before we resume our journey home.

  • Take swimming suits
  • At the time of booking please mention your hotel name and location. You will be notified by email about the pickup point and time
  • Infants will be seated with their parents on the bus and will not have their own seat
  • Seats are assigned by the theater box office and will not be known in advance of the performance date
  • Pickup begins up to 90 minutes before tour starts and is done from central meeting points near the hotels, only in the areas of Panormo, Scaleta, Adele, Platanias, Missiria, Rethymno town, Atsipopoulo, Kavros and Georgioupoli
Location
Spinalonga (Kalydon)
Elounda Bay
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.4
(21 Ratings)
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1 star
Melissa_y
Sep 27, 2023
Lovely Day Trip! - It was a lovely excursion! The tour guides were extremely friendly and helpful! The coach was a nice size and had much needed air-con on it! Everything ran smoothly from pickup time to drop off! Thank you for a lovely experience! Also, the BBQ was AMAZING!! Absolutely delicious!!! ☺️
Review provided by Viator
Claytonthecat
Sep 9, 2023
Great fun filled and informative day out - A fantastic day in Crete! visited the beautiful villages of Agios Nikolaos and the spectacular Elounda Bay are we had a swim on one of the islands. Then took a boat to the fascinating Island of Spinalonga to see and learn about many centuries of Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman history on the island as a leper colony. Felt the trip could have been shorter if there weren't so many pick-ups on the way, but I suppose they can't do it any other way. Also we didn't have a guide for the first hour or so, just picking people up but it turned out well. Overall a 4.5* rating.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
938juddym
Oct 21, 2022
Excellent experience! The guide was fantastic. He even did the trekking with us. - Excellent experience! The guide was fantastic. He even did the trekking with us.. .. which I know is not common. Samaria is absolutely fantastic... but you need to be ready for a long 4 to 6 hours effort that is not not for everyone... the following day your caves will feel it... There's no easy part the first and the last (the canyon itself) are quite hard whilst the middle, though a bit easier still not super super easy... come prepared ... stretch before and after and at the end enjoy the Amazing Agia Roumeli beach and it's warm waters and beautiful (rocky) black beach. Will do it again and with the same tour operator
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ricardo_p
Oct 2, 2022
Very nice trip - The island and explanation were incredible. Very good trip. The barbacue was delicious. The tourist guide Johanna was very friendly and nice. The talk in the island was super interesting. CONGRATULATIONS to the guy that gave the talk. Such a prepared man. I highly recommend this tour :)
Review provided by Viator
Marionr594
Sep 21, 2023
Nice experience - Was a great experience and Spinalonga Island was very interesting. The boat trip was ok and bbq awful but seeing fantastic scenery made up for this
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Claire_r
Sep 13, 2022
Good but could do better - Although in the whole a good day there was a lot of travelling. The hotelpickups were very slow. Tickets on spinalonga should have been purchased along with your as we spent over 1/2 hr queuing to get on the island. Would have preferred more time on spinalonga. Also the olive oil factory visit was very rushed. Again more time would have been good. Went on to st Nicholas stayed for an hour which would have been better spent at the olive oil factory.
Review provided by Viator
Jen_c
Oct 3, 2023
Terrible apart from Spinalonga - I've wanted to go to Spinalonga for 25 years so was so looking forward to this trip. The guide on the bus was clearly in a bad mood, she kept standing up and telling people off if they were talking when she was and asking if they wanted the microphone instead of her. The person talking was Autistic and couldnt help talking! I told her when we got to Elounda that he was Autistic so she didnt shout at people again. We got to Spinalonga and had one hour there. The guide was with us for 45minutes, she was fantastic and held a black umbrella. We didn't have enough time to go to the Castle as we had to get back to the boat. VERY disappointed as I said above I've waited to go there since I was young!! There were too many people on the boat, when it came to being fed the food was thrown onto a plate. Very badly organised. I've given this three stars as I fulfilled my dream of going to Spinalonga. Otherwise it would of been one star.
Review provided by Viator
E8568gxjon
Jul 22, 2022
Mauvaise organisation - I waited 40 minutes for the bus which arrived late I had contacted the tour operator without an answer, the driver did not speak English and did not know if I should take this bus, then I did not guide me and asked me if my name was Alfredo I told him that no she answers me that I am not on the list, a real anguish for me I did not know where I should go the boat was too crowded and not enough room to eat the organization is to be reviewed
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Timea
Oct 12, 2022
Not worth the money! - Don't waste your time and money, it's nothing as advertised! You get 15-20 minutes by boat the rest is by bus, nothing is included apart from the bus drive and the guide who will quickly tell you on the bus what's next and that's it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
723krisztinam
Sep 30, 2022
Bad - Don't waste your time and money,it's not worth it. It's nothing as advertised,15 minutes boat trip for an extra charge,no BBQ lunch available on boat, no guide on site only on the bus,no time for swimming. I feel se sorry for wasting a full day on this!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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