Walking with a group

Walking with a group doesn't mean walking in a pack, with the exception of organized bus trips to the gorge of Samaria.
In the end deciding whether you want to come to Crete and organize your own walks, by yourself, with friends or family or if you should book a walking tour with a specialist is entirely up to you.

Advantages of walking with an organized tour:

• I think that the biggest advantage of booking a walking tour with an established company is that the itinerary will have been planned by people with good knowledge of the area and that you will see more than you would on your own, especially if you don't know Crete and come for the first time.
• You will have someone knowledgeable at hand to ask questions which may not be easily answered using a guide book.
• It is safer to walk in a group with a guide should an accident happen.
• You will not lose your way and waste time retracing your steps or wondering if you are on the right path. Maps of Crete are not very good and the paths are not always visible or signposted.
• Most of the time luggage transport will be taken care of so that you will only have to carry a day pack.
• Transport from the airport and to the beginning of the walks will be arranged for you. This is important in Crete because public transport to remote paces is often non-existent and using a hire car would force you to return to your starting point
• You will not have to take care of looking for accommodation, finding out where the good restaurants are. You can just relax and leave someone else to take care of these things.
• If the alternative is coming to Crete on your own, being with a group will provide company, especially at meal times where sitting alone can be a little akward and, well...lonely.

Disadvantages of organized tour:

• You will have less flexibility choosing the dates for your holiday.
• You may not always be able to walk at your own pace and stop when you decide to stop.
• You do not know who you are going to spend your holiday with.
• Organized tours will often work out more expensive than doing it yourself. But beware, this is not always the case because through their contacts with restauranteurs, trasport companies and hotel owners they will often be able to get lower prices than you would get on a one-off basis.

What to watch for when choosing a company to book a tour with:

• You need to choose the group carefully to match your own interests and level. This is not always easy to know in advance.
• Although large travel companies have started to offer their own walks in Crete it might be preferable to look for a specialist in activity holidays. They might be more knowledgeable when creating their programmes.