On our last day of our trip, we really wanted to go to the Samaria Gorge and honestly this was really worth it (one of the best highlights of my trip to Crete!). This is the 2nd longest gorge in Europe and really offers some amazing landscapes.
What to take with you?
This is a 4-6 hours hike depending on how fast you walk but this is a very rocky trail and goes down all the way long so make sure you have some good footwear. Also, don't forget your swimsuit as there is a very nice and refreshing swim when you arrive at the sea. The beach is a small dark pebble beach so does not hurt the feet but can be when it gets very hot during summer time! No need to take a lot of water, just a small bottle is fine as you can refill it very frequently during the walk. There won't be any place to buy food between the start where there is a small tavern where you can buy some snacks or small basic sandwiches and the arrival where you can find plenty of restaurants so take a few snacks/some fruit with you.
During summer, don't forget sunglasses, hats and sun cream!
Logistics to get there from Chania
I had read that you could either take public transport from Chania or take a "tour" that would drive you to the entrance of the park and then bring you back to Chania. In any cases, this is not recommended to use your own car as the starting point is different from the finishing point (except if you want to do it both ways but good luck!).
We managed to book it very easily at our hotel the day before. It was with Kyriakakis travel agency. It was very well organised so can only recommend (they even forgot to charge us for half of price of the trip!). The price was something like 15 euros per person to cover the park entrance and the boat (that brings you back from Agia Roumeli to Sougia and I think they were due to charge us another 20 euros for the bus ride from/to Chania (but as I said, we never got charged for this!).
So we left the hotel very early that morning (something like 7am or so) and came back around 6-7PM. The big coach drove us to Xyloskalo, the starting point of the walk, located around 1h-1h30 drive from Chania. To come back, you will need to take a ferry from Agia Roumeli to Sougia and then the coach is waiting for you there. The way back to Chania is a little longer as you are more on the East of the island but it also depends on the road traffic.
The hike
We were very lucky as we were one of the first two buses of the day to arrive on site. As a result, it was not very busy. It was a little crowded in the first 4km, but after that, people get spaced out very easily and we ended up doing totally on our own around the "Iron Gates", the very iconic part that gets very narrow and impressive. There are 2 or 3 big rest points along the walk where you can find some toilets. The walk starts to be much more impressive from 9km onwards. There are warning signs telling you not to stop walking due to falling rocks. Later on, you will also find a number of wooden pathways across the river. It can be a little acrobatic from time to time, but all good fun and not that complicated. You exit the park around the 13km and then have another 3km to walk in order to reach the seaside village Agia Roumeli.
In Agia Roumeli, there are plenty of restaurants if you are hungry or you can also rent a set of sun loungers/umbrellas (I think we paid 10 euros for a set plus two soft drinks included) and enjoy a refreshing bath on the beach. You normally have a few hours to spend there before the ferry comes to pick you up.
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