Comfy bus, guide Thomas was efficient and gave helpful briefings before hike. Pick up at 6am, have breakfast and use toilet in omalos. We did our research in advance and packed our breakfast, the breakfast choices there are rudimentary (eg. Pastries, boiled eggs) but get the job done and makes sense given the amount of ppl. Early 8am start to the hike before the bigger crowds. Guide stays behind to help people at the back, so you get to hike independently without waiting which is nice. The hike is longer than 16km, almost entirely downhill or flat, with rocky/slipper terrain - good shoes are a must. It's not too challenging, just long, took us about 5 hours total. There are toilets and water springs along the way (so don't pack too much water). At the end you can get drinks and food and swim at beach. Overall, a very beautiful hike, def worth it, but a very long day because of the transit, ending after 8pm. Wish we could leave right after the hike and not wait until 5pm for the ferry!

An excellent day overall. Guide provided plenty of information and organised everything for us to get on the ferry and bus at the end of the day. The timings given made sure I wasn’t walking too much in the heat of the day. The gorge itself is very scenic so definitely worthwhile doing the hike

The hike is very scenic. It starts with a steep descent down to the gorge. It became obvious that it would become more difficult the further I went down. Rain was predicted for Samaria. My guide did what a good guide must do- he encouraged me to return to the top. I was grateful for his advice. The ride back to Chania was very foggy with small rocks falling along the road along with herds of sheep and goats on the road. Disappointed I didn’t finish, but happy I had the experience. I would recommend taking more water and eat more in the early morning as it is a strenuous trip.