You can always hike the Samaria gorge without a tour. Samaria gorge is a national park and the trail is excellent. A tour guide might be able to give you more information as you hike through your descend on Samaria gorge.

There are toilets, areas for water and rangers stationed alonf the route if help is needed. And one thing to be certain is that you will never be alone and there is no way you can get lost.

At the top of Samaria gorge and the entrance – Xyloskalo you will find the ticket office. The ticket costs 5 euro and the entrance to children up to 15 years old is free. Don’t throw away your tickets until you exit, as there might be ticket control.

This is done for the safety of the visitors, since rangers know how many people have entered and exited the National Park.

There are toilets located in many places along the trail in Samaria gorge.

The start of the trail is somewhat challenging that you roughly descend 500 meters in the first 3.5 km. Although the trail is well defined with stone steps and handrails to hold.

The rest of the trail is easier, but you still need to be very careful not to slip on any rocks. Keep in mind that depending on the season that you will visit, there might be some water in some areas that need more attention.

Samaria gorge is definetely a family activity. It is a long descend though and if you are not in shape of carrying your kid if needed it would be better to trust that it can descend the 13km of the trail. Having said that if distance is not a problem, only the first 3.5 km are a bit steep. after that it is a fairly easy trail.

According to the rules of Samaria National Park you can take your dog with you only if it is on lease, since the free movement of any animals accompanying visitors is not permitted.

Samaria gorge is open from Mid April or May to end of October. There is no exact date that Samaria gorge might be closed besides the winter period, but there are cases of heavy rainfall or extreme weather conditionsss, that the entry to the public might be forbidden for your own safety.

After you finish your hiking to Samaria gorge you end up in Agia Roumeli. 

From here you can 

take the line ferry to Sougia, Paleochora, Chora Sfakion

Get a samaria water taxi to any destination you wish

Get to Sougia and let us help you with your transfer to the entrance of Samaria gorge to pick up your car.

You have two choices. You can either start at the top (Xyloskalo) or the bottom entrance (Agia Roumeli). Although the 1230m of ascent it is a better choice to ascent the gorge from Agia Roumeli If you have knee problems.

Keep in ming of course that ascenting Samaria gorge is not an easy task. Especially on the last kilometer that the ascent is very steep. Ascenting the gorge of course will have you crossing roads with all the people that are on their descend. To avoid the crowds you must start at an early time from Agia Roumeli (before 8) and when you arrive the abandoned Samaria village make a stop up to 13.00 or 14.00 so most of the crowd has passed and then start again to the top entrance Xyloskalo.

The depth of the gorge is between 200 and 1000 meters and the width reaches to 3 meters in its narrowest part (Iron gates).

The descend of Samaria gorge is about 1300 meters.

If you going from Agia Roumeli to Omalos plataeu it is advised to get an early start to avoid the crowds with an intermidiate stop at Samaria village and after 13.00-14.00 continue your ascent.

If you go with the crowd and decide to descend Samaria gorge from Xyloskalo to Agia Roumeli, you can start at a later time to avoid the direct sun on the middle of the day, since the lower part of the hike has less trees and shades.

Make a note that you need to be physically fit to complete the whole gorge. If you feel like it you can hike for a shorter distance or take the ferry to Agia Roumeli and hike 3 km up to the final portion of the trail with an easy ascent and descend.

Make a note that you need to be physically fit to complete the whole gorge. If you feel like it you can hike for a shorter distance or take the ferry to Agia Roumeli and hike 3 km up to the final portion of the trail with an easy ascent and descend.

To complete all the trail from top or bottom entrance you need to enter between 07.00 to 13.00. So The last entry to finish the entire hike is 13.00

The last admittance in Samaria gorge is by 16.00 and they must all exit by 18.00.

If you want to do part of the gorge,

you can enter from 13.00 to 15.00 from the top entrance and you are allowed on the first two kilometers of the trail, specifically from Xyloskalo to neroutsiko.

or you can enter from 13.00 to 16.00 from the bottom entrance and you are allowed on the first two kilometers of the trail, specifically from Agia Roumeli to Afentis Christos.

Samaria gorge can be quite challenging, so it is advised to be in a good physical state when you decide to hike through it. If you suffer from a heart condition, breathing problems, knee problems or disorders, high blood pressure or you are a pregnant woman it is strongly recommended not to go the full trail for your own safety.

Besides any health problems, you should follow precisely the instructions provided by the park rangers and the warning signs and you should not deviate from the main path for any reason. 

It is advised to dress in layers because it is much cooler at the top than the bottom of Samaria gorge. Dressing in layers will help so you can adjust to the temperature. You dont need to have hiking boots to go through Samaria gorge, but keep in mind that on the lower part of the trail you might find river rocks that will be slippery.

Good shoes should be in your checklist and if you are prone to injuries some shoes with ankle support are adviced.

• Your water bottle, that you can refill on the way. It is very important to keep hydrated.
• Sun cream and a hat or a hoodie tshirt for protection from the sun especially for the end of the trail that has very little shade
• Some food as fruits and light snack as there is no food available inside the National Park.
• Good shoes nwith notched soles so you dont sleep on the steep path.
• Some plasters in case of blisters.
• an extra pair of socks
• some medicine for bees and wasps bites
• some extra pairs of comfy clothing
• Climbing canes can be usefull for the first 3 km of steep descend.
• Beach towel and swimwear in case you feel like swimming in Agia Roumelo beach at the end of the gorge.
• Charged cell phones in order to contact someone if needed. Be aware that there are only a couple of points that you get reception, so you should make any arrangements and prebook your Samaria taxi in advance.

Samaria gorge is 97.2 km away from Chania

There are several ways that you can reach Samaria Gorge National Park.

If you are a large group or you value your time, you can ask us for a quote, to pick you up directly from your hotel and transfer you to Samaria gorge. We offer transfers to Samaria gorge from Chania and other cities in Crete.

Another common way is to book a guided Samaria gorge tour. You can find tours in most cities and resorts in Crete or you can ask us for a tour guide to arrange it for you.

If you dont mind the long waiting hours you can use the public transport (KTEL) and catch one of the buses that go to Omalos from Chania every morning (during the months that the gorge is open). Once you finish your hike you can get a water taxi to Sougia or the line boat to return to Sougia, Chora Sfakion or Paleochora. From any of these cities you can catch a bus to Chania again. On the followink link you can get the timetable to Samaria public Bus Service.

You can have someone to drive you to Omalos and pick you up

And finally you can go to Omalos plateau with your car and trust us with your transfer to Omalos – Entrance of Samaria.

From any other city in Chania you have the following options.

You can either catch a public bus from Chania at an early time, so you then can catch the morning bus from Chania.

Rent a car and drive to Samaria and on the way back book a transfer to Samaria entrance from Sougia.

Or book your transfer to Samaria gorge from any city and have us pick you up from the door of your hotel!

Of course there is a map. You can download a Samaria gorge map here.