Shore Excursion from Heraklion port: Knossos Palace, Archeological Museum of Heraklion & Heraklion City Tour

Overview

You will meet your guide at the Port of Heraklion, to start your Minoan Civilization tour. Your three stops for the day are the famous Minoan Palace of Knossos, the Archeological Museum of Heraklion and Heraklion City Center.

Arriving at the legendary Palace of Knossos, you will have a chance to admire the most important archeological sites of the island of Crete. Your guide will walk you around the impressive facilities and through various important rooms, including the Throne Room of King Minos, considered as the son of Europe and Zeus. You will be astonished by the construction of the palace, the advanced technology, the luxury materials, the architectural plan and the drainage and water supply systems. You will admire the colorful columns and frescoes of Blue Ladies which decorate the walls of the palace depicting scenes of the everyday life and of other various ceremonies of a rather sophisticated society.

Following the palace exploration, you will walk the famous Labyrinth of 220 000 m2, the work of the famous Daedalus, which hosted the mythical Minotaur.

Second stop of the tour will be at the Archaeological Museum of Knossos. Discover, with the help of your guide, all the secrets the museum’s exhibits hold and educate yourself on the impressive accomplishments of the ancient civilization. Archeological Museum of Heraklion hosts the fresco of the Prince of Lilies and the Phaistos Disc, one of the great treasures in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion and also one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in the field of archaeology.

The last stop of the day is Heraklion city center. Your guide will lead you through City Highlights, the Liberty Square, the Morozini Fountain, a fountain of lions embraced by nymphs dancing around them, the St. Marcus Basilica from the Venetian Period, the Venetian Loggia, the administration and authority building during the Venetian period, the Archiepiscopal Church of St. Titus. In your free time you can go shopping in the historical center of the city with its Venetian style buildings.

Your tour will come to an end with this stop and you will be driven back to the port for your cruise.

Highlights

• Knossos
• Minoan Palace of Knossos
• King Minos & throne room
• Frescoes of Blue Ladies
• Daedalus and Icarus
• Minotaur
• Labyrinth
• Greek Mythology
• Archaeological Museum of Heraklion
• Fresco of Prince of Lilies
• Phaistos Disc
• Minoan collection
• Historic center of Heraklion
• Saint Mark’s Basilica
• Morozini Square
• Venetian Loggia
• Saint Titus Cathedral

Additional Info

• Bring sun protection (sun cream, hat, sunglasses); temperatures can reach over 86°F (30°C) during summer.
• Low heeled comfortable shoes are recommended due to some uneven and slippery paths.
• Appropriate clothing should be worn in places like monasteries and churches (no shorts, no hats; shoulders should be covered).
• Last minute reservations: We do accept reservations up to 48 hrs prior the tour. Full payment for the trip is required upon the confirmation of the reservations. All the last minute reservations are non-refundable.
• Lower rates for larger groups (20+pax) available upon request!

COVID-19 HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES 

At GeoTravel our highest priorities are compliance, environmental protection, health, safety and well-being of our staff and clients.

Our staff and partners are informed and trained in accordance with the guidelines set by Greece’s public health organization (EODY) to meticulously maintain the last hygiene protocols and cleaning procedures.

Our staff always uses personal protective equipment (face masks, shields and optional gloves) and the temperature is monitored daily to ensure a safe travel experience for our clients.

All our vehicles are regularly sanitized and all seats, armrest, sidewalls, overhead bins are intensively cleaned and disinfected between use.

In addition, hand sanitizers are available to travelers and staff before entering the office or the vehicle.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a whisper audio system (for an extra charge) is recommended to be used by all the travelers and the staff in order to keep social distance guidelines.

Terms & Conditions

Amendments
Geo Travel reserves the right to accomplish any amendments on regular shore excursions’, one day tours’ programs & timings and also abort a specific program/timing during the season. For any previous booked tour/timings which have been cancelled, a new tour program or timing will be suggested as a replacement. If the replacement does not satisfy you, you will be granted with a full refund.

Any scheduled tour or visit, in case of delay due to bad weather, damage of the vehicle used for transportation or any other reason is postponed to the next few days, and if this is not possible it is permanently canceled and no claim is made against the office for compensation as the reason of the cancellation is “force majeure”.

 It is emphasized that the travel agency is not able to anticipate or control circumstances that are foreign to its sphere of influence and may lead to the cancellation of the trip or damages due to non-performance or faulty performance of the agreed travel services.

Typical examples of such cases are: strikes, accidents, diseases, epidemics-pandemics, organic disturbances due to local conditions, altitude, climate, due to meals not included in the itinerary or due to insufficient hygiene conditions due to external factors, external factors, injuries, wars or terrorist acts, airstrikes, earthquakes, weather conditions, fires, epidemics, toxic infections and any other emergency or «force majeure». In the above cases, the travel agency is not responsible for repairing any damage caused by them.

Insurance
Our clients are covered by the professional indemnity insurance of our office as well as from the bus transfer insurance which is obligatory in Greece. Our buses are fully insured. Concerning the rest of the tour, if the clients wish to be covered by commercial general liability, it is upon request and a matter upon negotiation with our clients with an extra cost.

Cancellations

In case of cancellation due to withdrawal the following cancellation policy is acceptable:
7 days prior service:                    pay 50% on the total
3 days prior service:                    pay 75% on the total
24 hrs and less prior service:     pay 100% total

Notes

1/ In all above cases, bank expenses that occur for the refund will be deducted from the payment.

2/ For large groups (15 people or more), some expenses, due to their nature, (example: restaurants, prepaid entrance fees) might not be refundable, if the cancellation comes within 4 days before service, whatever the cancellation reason is.

3/ by reserving one of our services you agree with the above terms.