Chania Town Trip Overview
There is more to Chania than the beaches and sunshine. Explore with SeabyBus the scenic heart of Chania, the Cretan countryside and its hidden gems. This half day tour starts from the Transfiguration Monastery at Kastelos situated on a rocky hill with a breathtaking view of the White Mountains and the Aegean Sea. Our next stop is the Olive and Oil Museum in Vatolakkos, an old olive oil factory with a unique folklore collection of more than 100 old objects used in the olive oil production, in basic agricultural tasks or in important household duties. Passing through picturesque villages, olive and orange groves, we reach Mulino Veneziano, an old water powered stone mill, where the visitors can watch the grinding of wheat into flour.
Our team- the leaders and the bus drivers- are born and raised on the island and know all destinations better than anyone. They are the best people to show you the heart of Crete – and all with a smile.
Safety, comfort and responsibility – that’s our motto.
Additional Info
Duration: 6 to 7 hours
Starts: Chania Town, Greece
Trip Category: Day Trips & Excursions >> Day Trips
Explore Chania Town Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Chania Town, Chania Prefecture, Greece
There is more to Chania than the beaches and sunshine. Explore with SeabyBus the scenic heart of Chania, the Cretan countryside and its hidden gems. This half day tour starts from the Transfiguration Monastery at Kastelos situated on a rocky hill with a breathtaking view of the White Mountains and the Aegean Sea. Our next stop is the Olive and Oil Museum in Vatolakkos, an old olive oil factory with a unique folklore collection of more than 100 old objects used in the olive oil production, in basic agricultural tasks or in important household duties. Passing through picturesque villages, olive and orange groves, we reach Mulino Veneziano, an old water powered stone mill, where the visitors can watch the grinding of wheat into flour.
Our team- the leaders and the bus drivers- are born and raised on the island and know all destinations better than anyone. They are the best people to show you the heart of Crete – and all with a smile.
Safety, comfort and responsibility – that’s our motto.
Stop At: Transfiguration, Unnamed Rd,, Chania 731 00, Greece
The Monastery of Metamorphosis (Transfiguration) is located approx. 10 km south of the city of Chania in the area Varypetros. This newly built monastery situated on a rocky hill under the ruins of the Byzantine castle “Kastellos” is part of the Monastery of Chrisopigi. This expansion is a continuation of the century long ascetic tradition of the monastery. The aim is the creation of an assemblage, where the structured and unstructured space is in balance so as to highlight the natural environment and its harmonious relationship with the buildings. This place was blessed with the presence, in 2002, of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who walked along the paths of the region and laid the foundation stone of the new monastery temple, dedicated to the Transfiguration of Jesus.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Olive and Oil Museum / Dermitzaki Folklore Collection, Eparxiaki Odos Alikianou-Skonizou 100m walking distance from the square of Vatolakkos, Vatolakkos, Crete 730 05 Greece
Built in the 18th century, the oil factory that houses the Olive and Oil Museum is considered to be the oldest among the six oil factories that the village Vatolakkos once had. Nowadays, it is the only surviving building of pre- industrial archaeology in the Prefecture of Chania. The building was refurbished, brought back to its initial form reviving the “fabrica” — as the olive oil factories were once called in Crete and turned into a museum. The Dermitzaki Folklore Collection consists of more than 100 old objects displayed in the Olive and Oil Museum according to their function. Most were used in the olive oil production, in basic agricultural tasks or in important household duties. The Museum’s collection also includes various objects of everyday life, giving visitors a rare glimpse into the lives and habits of the locals.The place was chosen by the director Yannis Smaragdis to shoot scenes of his film about the Cretan writer Nikos Kazantzakis.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Mulino Veneziano, Voukolies, Crete 73002 Greece
In the village of Voukolies, only 27 km south west of the prefecture of Chania, one of the mills that existed and operated in the area until a few decades ago, is restored and operates. The name Mulino Veneziano is due to the habit of the inhabitants to bring anything old to the Venetian era. The mill is restored and works reviving the grinding of grains. The process is done with a set of millstones. The bottom stone is fixed, the top one rotates and the slight gap between allows the wheat grains to getbetween the stones. Through the premises exhibits the visitors can form a complete picture of the process that starts from the plowing and ends up in the flour. Using all their senses, listening to the sound of the mill, smelling and feeling the flour, visitors get a true understanding of the production of a valuable product.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
