The 14 Best Heraklion Vineyard Tours

1.Matala Beach, Caves, and Winery Full-Day Tour from Heraklion

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 40 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $112Our pick

Travel from Heraklion across the Messara Plain to Matala Beach in a small-group Mercedes Vito tour. Add an €11 winery tasting, swim, visit the €5 caves, and enjoy a BBQ lunch with wine and water. Drivers such as Mario and Andre provide local stories along the way.

“My tour guide Mario was great ! The food was good. A lot of wine and the beach was really beautiful. I got to really see a different side of Greece”

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2.Matala Beach – Caves & winery Full Day tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 37 reviews · 8 hours · from $110

Travel from Heraklion in an air-conditioned 4x4 Mercedes Vito to a Cretan winery, the Messara Plain, and Matala. You’ll taste local wines, swim beside the famous caves, and eat a traditional lunch with wine. Guides including Nikos, Dimitri, and Andreas have led this relaxed, well-paced day.

“War alles super, nur im Weingut hätte man mehr erklären!”

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3.PRIVATE-Winery+Olive Oil Factory-Old Villages-Old Wind Mills

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 26 reviews · 7 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $361

Spend 7.5 hours with a local driver-guide visiting an olive oil factory, old Cretan villages, mountain roads, vineyards, and a winery. Taste olive oil and raki, add five local wines and lunch, and enjoy a private outing with guides such as Spyros, Nikos, Ed, or Stavros.

“For all you passengers on cruise ships, this is a perfect tour to go with to be able to see & experience all of Crete in a day. The communication was great and very accommodating by helping us arrange a few of our cruise friends to all be in the same van together. Spyros, a true Cretan who knew everyone on the island was an excellent host & guide. He was informative and took us to all the local places sharing the cretan lifestyle and beautiful wineries. The Olive Oil factory was amazing! Perfect tour to see and learn all about Crete. If I could give this tour 10stars I…”

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4.Shuttle Service – Wine Tasting & Tour @ Lyrarakis Winery

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 21 reviews · from $91Best value

Travel by private air-conditioned vehicle from Heraklion to Lyrarakis Winery in Alagni. Tour the cellars and museum corner, then taste five Cretan wines beneath the pergola with rusks and olive oil. You can upgrade locally for additional wines and food.

“Wines were excellent and the local food samples to match the wines were superb. Beautiful surroundings.”

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5.Discover Taste of Crete: Guided Winery Tour and Tastings

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 16 reviews · 4 hours · from $129

Join a small group of up to eight for a four-hour Cretan wine tour with pickup, guided visits to Paterianakis and Lyrarakis, and 10 tastings. Guides such as Victor share local history and help tailor the day. Lunch, cheese, and charcuterie are optional extras.

“We had a modified itinerary and new venues we attended were carefully chosen to take into account my wife’s mobility limitations. Janna was really great, and we greatly appreciated her informative insights.”

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6.Minoan Crete from 3.000 BC: Knossos Palace & Museum with Wineries from Heraklion

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 14 reviews · 8 hours (approx.)

Spend about eight hours with a private guide and chauffeur visiting Knossos, the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Messara wineries, the Venetian harbor, and local restaurants. Flexible pickup, skip-the-line help, Wi-Fi, snacks, and personal planning are included. Wine tastings, meals, and admission cost extra.

“Great experience. Guide was knowledgeable and had a lot of helpful tips. While we did a lot it was a great experience”

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7.Minoan Path: Knossos Palace, Winery Visit, Lunch at Archanes

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 12 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $240

Travel by private, air-conditioned vehicle from Heraklion to Knossos, a Peza winery, and Archanes. You get a five-wine tasting, cellar visit, and local Cretan lunch. Roula or Alexander may drive, but a guide and the €20 Knossos ticket are not included.

“Our tour required flexibility because the palace unexpectedly closed half the day we were arriving. This company was on top of it; texted with me and we agreed to change the order, add a beach, take out the winery, add an olive oil tasting. The oil was the best we had tasted in the Greek islands so far. I was glad the tour company was able that last minute. The beach we got to relax at for a couple hours was in a beautiful resort area. We didnt want to leave. Then the meal in the village was truly authentic, service was great. Glad we picked this tour.”

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8.Minoan Luxuries: Ancient Palaces, Messara Wine Routes & Matala

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 11 reviews · 8 hours (approx.)

Travel privately through southern Crete with a guide such as Irini, Alexander, or Maria, stopping at Agios Myronas, Gortyna, Phaistos, a Messara winery, Odigitria Monastery, and Matala. Expect flexible pickup, a chauffeured vehicle, archaeology, local wine, seafood, and time by the sea.

“Our private tour was outstanding! Stavroula and Hector are a great team- we learned so much about the history/culture of Crete and traveled in safety and comfort. By the end of our day trip it felt as if we were with long time friends or family. My friend and I now would like to visit Crete again and spend a week or two.”

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9.Heraklion Private Half-Day Gastronomy Diaries Experience in Lyrarakis Winery

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 8 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $276

Spend about five hours with a private guide and sommelier, traveling from your Heraklion-area hotel to Lyrarakis Winery. Taste local wines, olive oil, cheeses, and Cretan dishes beneath an old olive tree, with vineyard views and a relaxed, personal pace.

“We had an amazing time. Kallia was knowledgeable and fun. The food was outstanding. We will never forget this experience and highly recommend it.”

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10.Minoan Path: Knossos Palace, Winery Visit, Lunch at Archanes

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 7 reviews · 6.5 - 8 hours · from $229

Spend 6.5 to 8 hours visiting Knossos, touring a family-run winery, tasting five indigenous Cretan wines, and eating lunch in Archanes. Your English-speaking driver handles private transport, while the Knossos visit is self-guided. Past tours have featured Roula and Aggeliki.

“Roula is the best! An amazing lady that not only organizes your day perfectly, but also did her best to make the most for you out of the trip! A fun day that covers Knossos Palace, a bonus to quickly see the town and museum of Heraklion after the planned winery visit, ends nicely with a traditional lunch 🥰 Thank you Roula, you are a star!”

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11.Knossos, Olive Grove, Winery – Distillery with Tastings & Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · from $219

Travel from Heraklion with a private driver such as Anthony or Roula to Knossos, a family olive farm, a Cretan winery and raki distillery, then lunch in Archanes. Tastings, transport, and pickup are included, but Knossos admission and a palace guide are not.

“Our driver, Roula was absolutely lovely. She was so informative with the history of Crete. We loved learning about the Olive Farm and Olive oil process. Great family! The winery visit was also wonderful! Another great family! Both places fed us a little something and we were stuRead more”

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12.Private Wine Tour at Peza Valley – 2 Wineries and Lunch at Peza

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · from $335

Join a private tour from Heraklion with guide Yanni, visiting Stilianou and Lyrarakis wineries for 10 Cretan wines, vineyard and cellar time, then a traditional lunch at Peteinos Alaniaris in Peza village.

“Fun! Safe! Personable! We were nervous in a new country but wanted to try amazing wines and Greek food. Everything was perfect. The tour company were extremely accommodating! Mr. Yanni made us feel at ease, was curious and funny. Read more”

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13.Minoan Luxuries: Ancient Palaces, Messara Wineries & Matala

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2 reviews · 8 hours · from $436

Travel privately through south-central Crete with guide Stavroula and driver Stefanie. Visit Saint Myronas, Gortyn, Phaistos, a family winery, and Matala Beach. Your vehicle includes water, fruit, snacks, Wi-Fi, and USB sockets, while meals, admissions, and wine tasting cost extra.

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14.Private Cretan Gastronomic experience Winery visit with Tastings & Cooking Class

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 2 reviews · from $207

Travel by private air-conditioned vehicle from Crete’s north coast to a local winery for five organic wine tastings, then cook and eat a four-course Cretan meal in Ano Archanes Village. The experience is private for up to four people and includes lunch, wine, and free village time.

“Fantastic organisation, car turned up as expected. Amazing picnic in the wine cellar Tour was very informative and fun, great knowledge.”

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