Samaria the Lazy Way, from Chania

We really enjoyed this hike, it was very beautiful and easy if you have hiked before. Make sure to bring some good shoes and water! I wanted to provide more information on how the actual day will go since it was a little confusing. Thankfully me and my husband were able to figure it out with another couple doing the lazy way with us. 1. They pick everyone up from the hotels separately and meet at the main bus before 8am, they will text you around 5pm on the day before your actual pick up time to get to the main bus. For us our pick up time was 6:10am 2. Once you’re on the main bus you drive to the first stop and the tour guide goes over some information for the hike (for the regular hike there’s more info than for the lazy way) also if you get motion sickness you should bring medicine. One girl on our bus got sick during the ride up the mountains. 3. Take a picture of the info the guide gives you and of the map, it will tell you the round way tickets you need to buy for the ferry boat 4. Once you are at the first stop you can get off the bus and use the restroom and get a snack or drink for 10min 5. You will return to the bus (the hikers doing the entire trail will start the hike at this point). They transferred us to another bus at that stop that takes you to the boat. This takes 1hr and you’ll get to see more views and goats on the road 6. You will get to the boat around 9:00, there is a ticket line and the boat leaves 9:15. We barely made it on the boat because the ticket line was very long. We were the first couple from our group to buy tickets and the boat was ready to depart so the ticket worker told the rest of the group that they could also buy tickets on the boat. 7. The boat ride is about an hour to get to the island and once you are there you can start the hike or grab food/drink at one of the stores in town or use a restroom. There is also food, drinks and a restroom on the boat. 8. Walk through the town and the trail will be more on the right side of the island there are signs that lead you to the trail 9. The hike to the gorge is about 2.5miles from the first trail sign. You will reach the entrance of the park before the gorge and will pay entry fee there. Keep the ticket since you will need to show them it on the way out of the park 10. You can walk more if you want but we tuned around to eat lunch and enjoy the town some more 11. There is a beach so if you want to relax after the hike bring a swimsuit and towel 12. The whole group will meet up at 4:30 at a designated taverna this place is a little hidden but on the right side of the island near where there trail started with signs to direct you to it 13. You will check in with the tour guide at 4:30 since she has a list of the hikers 14. The actual boat back to Sougia leaves at 5:30 make sure to confirm the name of the boat from your ticket as there may be multiple boats docked on the island 15. You can board before 5:30 to get a good spot on the boat 16. Once you are back on the boat you will find your original bus and your tour guide will make sure you’re on her list again 17. The ride back everyone is tired so you can take a nap but they will take you back to your original pick up spot or hotel. We got back to our hotel around 8:30pm It’s a very long day for sure but it was definitely worth it and a lot of fun!

Our “tour guide” Patti wasn’t much of a tour guide when it came to the “Lazy Way” of experiencing Samaria Gorge. On the way to the ferry, she briefed the regular hikers, and then, at the end of her briefing, she checked travel vouchers. At this time she told us “Lazy Way” travelers the details of our trip. She spoke so quickly my family and I were unsure of all but two details each, and only learned the most important information by collaborating with other travelers, who were also hazy on what Patti had said. Hikers were able to take a photo of a paper with important information on it. There was no such helpful document for the “Lazy Way” travelers. My family and I made the best of the trip, but would definitely not recommend the “Lazy Way” tour, or Patti as a guide for it.

While it was nice to have transportation to and from the gorge that is about the only positive thing I can say about this tour. I was one of two people doing the “easy way” and we were basically left to our own devices. We weren’t given any instructions on how to walk the gorge in the way we wanted to all the tour guide said was where to meet at the end of the day. I would’ve preferred some sort of tour for the “easy way” but I’m not exactly sure what I paid for.