The Samaria gorge was our highlight in Crete. 16kms mostly downhill so your calves & thighs & knees if a problem will let you know about it for a few days. There are many tavernas in Samaria at the bottom & swimming & then after a wait of ~ 2.5 - 3 hours you catch ferry 3/4 hour before bus back to Chania if that's where u are staying. Long day. Caught bus at 6 am & home ~ 8 pm but well worth the effort. 5 Euro to walk gorge & 11 euro on ferry. Just fo it !

Without any hiking experience, I decided to walk this Gorge with my boyfriend, it was a bit tough, but with enough water, a hat to protect the sun and enough rest breaks in between, it was certainly doable! And highly recommended, because the view was beautiful! You experience so much satisfaction when you have completed it. If you are in Crete, I would definitely take the time to do this outing. It took us about 6 hours. The guide/tour was also very well arranged. Picked up and brought home on time. Clear instructions, and we learned some interesting facts about Crete along the way. All this for a very good price.

The hike took us about 6 hours and about half way through, I thought to myself, "What are we doing?". But when we finished -- what an accomplishment! The hike itself is hours of walking over river rocks. The first couple of kilometres are downhill -- which is a bit hard on the knees. The tour company gave us a map of the route and of the break areas -- which was nice. There were plenty of stops and each had fresh water and sitting areas, some had ruins as well, which were neat to see.We did see some people who were really struggling -- if you have hip or knee problems, I wouldn't recommend the hike. I found the hike challenging -- I don't hike very often. But I was very proud of myself after finishing it.