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Spinalonga & Agios Nikolaos Tour
4.3
45 Ratings
Iraklio
Explore Spinalonga & Agios Nikolaos: boat trip, Venetian castle tour, swim in Mirabello Bay, and shop in Agios Nikolaos.
Explore Spinalonga & Agios Nikolaos: boat trip, Venetian castle tour, swim in Mirabello Bay, and shop in Agios Nikolaos.
Duration:
10 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Spinalonga - The island of Spinalonga (Greek: Σπιναλόγκα) is situated in the Gulf of Elounda in northeastern Crete. Initially, Spinalonga was not an island; it was part of Crete. During the Venetian occupation, the island was separated from the mainland for defensive purposes, and a fort was constructed there. Besides the abandoned leper colony…
- Spinalonga - The island of Spinalonga (Greek: Σπιναλόγκα) is situated in the Gulf of Elounda in northeastern Crete. Initially, Spinalonga was not an island; it was part of Crete. During the Venetian occupation, the island was separated from the mainland for defensive purposes, and a fort was constructed there. Besides the abandoned leper colony and the fortress, Spinalonga is renowned for its small pebble beaches and shallow waters.
- Κολοκύθα - Delight in swimming in the crystal-clear waters of Kolokytha Bay. Enjoy this experience with your children!
- Agios Nikolaos - Agios Nikolaos is a medium-sized town with a charming small-town atmosphere, offering plenty to explore. It faces the sea at three points: the Lake and port, Kitroplatia Beach, and the Marina. Lake Voulismeni in Agios Nikolaos is truly cinematic. Locals still remember how the Germans sank their weapons there during their retreat from Crete in World War II. Another local legend suggests that the lake is bottomless. Regardless of what you believe, you will be captivated by the lake’s enchanting beauty. It is surrounded by cafes and restaurants, making it a lively spot for both locals and visitors.
What's Included
- Pick-up from your hotel (at the specific tourist bus stop, outside of the hotel. No more than 800 m)
- Lunch
- Transportation by boat
- Drop-off at your hotel
- Information about the route and Agios Nikolaos during the bus ride, excursion on Spinalona island
- Transfer with air-conditioned bus
- Pick-up from your hotel (at the specific tourist bus stop, outside of the hotel. No more than 800 m)
- Lunch
- Transportation by boat
- Drop-off at your hotel
- Information about the route and Agios Nikolaos during the bus ride, excursion on Spinalona island
- Transfer with air-conditioned bus
What's Not Included
- Ticket entrance to Spinalonga (discounts apply for some age groups)
- Boat ticket and Lunch citizens over 12 years old
- Boat ticket and lunch - Child (4-12)
- Ticket entrance to Spinalonga (discounts apply for some age groups)
- Boat ticket and Lunch citizens over 12 years old
- Boat ticket and lunch - Child (4-12)
Additional Information
• An exciting journey along the north-eastern coast of Crete with a boat trip along the picturesque Mirabello bay.
• Accompanied by a professional guide, you will stroll through the streets of the Venetian castle and learn about the interesting history of the fortified island of Spinalonga.
• Continuing your voyage, the ship will moor in Colokita Bay,…
• An exciting journey along the north-eastern coast of Crete with a boat trip along the picturesque Mirabello bay.
• Accompanied by a professional guide, you will stroll through the streets of the Venetian castle and learn about the interesting history of the fortified island of Spinalonga.
• Continuing your voyage, the ship will moor in Colokita Bay, where you will have free time for lunch and swimming in the crystal clear waters of Mirabello Bay.
• A walk through the snow-white town of AGIOS NIKOLAOS, with many souvenir shops and boutiques around the bottomless lake Vouliazmeni.
- If an infant does not sit on lap in the bus, It is necessary to pay a child ticket.
- After booking we will contact you to arrange the pick-up. Please, note, if you do not provide your pick-up details up to 24 hours before the tour, we do not guarantee the pick-up. For pick-up from different location, please, contact us.
- Pick-up from the specific bus stops next to the hotels. From Area 1: all the villages between Amudara/Heraklion/Karteros/Amnissos/Kokkini Hani/Gournes/Gouves/Analipsi/Anissaras/Hersonissos/Stalida/Malia/Sissi
- Area 2: Sises/Fodele/Agia Pelagia/Ligaria/Achlada/Mades/Ammoudi/Rodia/Palaiokastro/Pantanassa /Linoperamata/Gazi
- Monday: English, German, French, Polish
- Tuesday: English, Polish, Russian
- Wednesday: English, German, French, Polish
- Thursday: English, French, Polish, Russian, Italian
- Friday: English, German, French, Polish
- Saturday: English, German, Dutch
- Sunday: English, French, German, Polish
Location
Heraklion Archaeological Museum
Chatzidaki
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.3
(45 Ratings)
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Heidi
Jun 30, 2025
What a lovely day! - Such a fun trip. Our tour guide gave us great information. The stops were fun and interesting. The swimming was beautiful and refreshing, and the food was delicious. Thank-you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christine
Apr 29, 2025
Great day out - Such an interesting area with an amazing tour leader who moved between 3 languages to ensure all her guests were catered for.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
183soniah
Aug 19, 2024
Explore the place - I booked(spinalonga island trip) it’s was amazing experience with -status MLB travel agency from sart to finish everything was organized and perfect.
Ricardo was very kind with us highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sophie_m
Aug 7, 2024
Do it! You’ll love it. - History of Spinalonga. Great tour guide, very clear in multiple languages. Thank you Panos! The opportunity to swim in the gorgeous water. Mix with other tourists. A BBQ lunch with salad and beverages were included. It was fun shopping in Agios Nicholas too. I would do it again.
Review provided by Viator
Deons2024
Jul 20, 2024
A Great All-In-One Tour - A combination of historic sites seeing, crystal blue beach relaxation, town visits, a cruise, decent lunch, and all at a good price, this tour has many in one. I had a very enjoyable time and I bet you will to.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
817jeroens
Aug 21, 2024
New fans of tourguide Jeanet! - Very nice organized tour. Especially the tour guide Jeanet was great! Especially the variety in activities was very nice. It was a bit annoying that the tour was trilingual, we did not know this in advance. With regard to booking, the organization could do better. Only at 11pm the night before we had been informed that we had to be at the bus at 8.45. But despite this had a very nice day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pennae
Oct 14, 2024
A well-managed but very large tour group experience - There aren't many tour options available for Spinalonga on a Monday, so I was glad to find this company. The tour ran smoothly, with connections from Heraklion and many, many resort areas in the east of the island. However, you do need to expect a very large tour group. We were two double-decked tour buses, of approximately 100 people, split into language groups (English/French/German on one bus, and Polish on another bus). The groups were split again upon arrival in Spinalonga into single-language groups, and the guides were very good.
The tour I was on flipped the itinerary so we went to Agios Nikolaos first, followed by Spinalonga and finishing with a swim and 'lunch' (3:30pm by then). I would have preferred the original itinerary because it would allow lunch to be at lunch time and an afternoon drink at Agiios Nikolaos rather than spending time hunting for a snack to tide over.
Overall, the tour was fine. I just wish I had known just how big the group would be. Although it was very well managed, I do prefer smaller tour groups.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mark_c
May 1, 2024
50/50 enjoyment - Agios Nikolaos is beautiful and we enjoyed the day overall! That said, we were disappointed in the Spinalonga portion.
We were told once we got off the boat we would be split by language and go with a tour guide. This turned out to be very disorganized once we reached the island, with several guides trying to make sense of the crowd and who was taking whom. We were then told there was no one to conduct the English tour for another 30-40 minutes and that we could walk around if we wanted or wait for a guide. We took some photos and wandered but figured we would have a better experience seeing the island with a tour guide.
Once we met with a guide she described and led us through a single street and repeatedly asked if we had seen the other highlights of the island, scoffing when we said we had not. This was frustrating, as we were led to believe that a tour guide would be the one to “tour” us through these highlights.
After finishing her “street tour” we only had fifteen minutes before our boat was scheduled to leave. We rushed to explore on our own, but missed out on most of the highlights.
In waiting for the tour guide we were led to believe that she would show us around the island; we wish someone would have said to explore most of the island on our own. If you find yourself without a tour guide after arriving, we suggest exploring the island on your own.
Review provided by Viator
Tjjones12
Sep 22, 2025
The worst tour I did in Greece - Sadly, this tour was my only regret when visiting Greece, and my friends and I all agree that it should be avoided. The tour guide was nice, and Spinalonga island itself is pretty interesting. But the way the tour is set up was just an absolute nightmare and huge waste of time. Since I'm the one who booked it, I had to apologize profusely to my friends who got stuck along for the ride.
We got picked up in Heraklion, so we were the first ones to get on (and off) a completely full double-decker bus that we would be stuck on for the next 12+ hours. The bus is advertised as being air-conditioned, but it was very hot and everyone was dripping with sweat, pressed up against the people next to them. I watched the clock, and we spent over two hours JUST driving through crowded side streets picking different people up all over Heraklion and Malia. That's not even counting the time it took to get from destination to destination - JUST the pickups. Then we did it AGAIN dropping everyone off on the way back. The tour ran way over schedule, which ruined plans we had for later in the day.
TLDR; We spent 8+ hours on an oppressively hot bus for a few hours of sightseeing and a swim. 12+ hours total made us miss out on other plans we had made. It's the only excursion my friends and I regret in Greece.
Suggestion: This could be fixed by charging a little bit more money for the tour and having ONE pickup in Heraklion, ONE pickup in Malia, etc. Think about how awful the exerience is for the people who get on the bus FIRST when there are so many scattered stops.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Whymewhymee
Jun 27, 2025
Use a Different Company. Not Worth the Money - If you want to visit Spinalonga, use a different tour company. 1) The air conditioner on the bus didnt work on a 41C/105F day. 2) Instead of 1 central pickup locations, there were 10 separate pick-up/drop off areas that added 2 hours each way for travel with no direct pick up or drop off. 3) The “lunch” was not served until after 3:30pm even though the first pickups started at 7am. 4) The food was mediocre at best. There was uncooked veggie patties for vegetarians and dry/heavily salted pork. 5) The pick up from the boat was a 10 minute walk even though buses were allowed to pick you up at the port. 6) The Spinalonga tours are separated by language which is nice. However, there are no announcements about which language is which tour.
Review provided by Viator
