The White Mountains to the Libyan Sea
Chania is given settled nights at either end of the trip, with the middle built around the Samaria gorge and the villages of Sfakia that follow it. Loutro, reachable only by boat or on foot, gives the trip a genuinely quiet stretch before the return to the old town.
- Length
- 7 days · 6 nights
- Months
- May – June, September – October
- Stops
- 4
The route on a map
1 · 3 nights
Chania old town
A Venetian harbour with a lighthouse and restored townhouses behind it.
2 · 1 night
Sfakia
The mountain town at the gorge's southern end, where the ferry to Loutro departs.
3 · A day here
Samaria gorge
Sixteen kilometres from the Omalos plateau down to the sea, a full day's walk.
4 · 2 nights
Loutro
A whitewashed village reachable only by boat or on foot, with no road access.
Day by day
Day 1
Arrive Chania
Sleep · Chania old town
Flight to Chania, fifty minutes from Athens, or the overnight ferry from Piraeus; evening at the Venetian harbour.
Day 2
Villages and the plateau
Sleep · Chania old town
A drive up to the Omalos plateau to see the gorge entrance, back via the Apokoronas villages for dinner.
Day 3
Into the gorge
Sleep · Sfakia
The full Samaria descent from Xyloskalo to Agia Roumeli, then a small boat along the coast to Sfakia.
Day 4
Boat to Loutro
Sleep · Loutro
A short coastal ferry from Sfakia; afternoon swimming from the rocks below the village.
Day 5
Aradena gorge
Sleep · Loutro
A shorter walk up through the Aradena gorge and its abandoned village, back down by evening.
Day 6
Return to Chania
Sleep · Chania old town
Boat back to Chora Sfakion, then the mountain road north over the Askyfou plain.
Day 7
Depart
Departure
Morning flight or ferry.