Rethymno · Amari
Tastings under 2,000-year-old olive trees
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The Experience
Fewer tours than Chania, but the one that treats olive oil as a subject in its own right is here.
Four things to know before you pick.
The Amari Valley experience is a grove walk and a structured tasting. Nothing is pressed in front of you. That is deliberate — it is about learning to judge oil, not watching it made.
The meeting point is at Pigi, near Rethymno, with free parking at the football stadium opposite. A transfer can be requested for an extra fee but is not in the price.
Four oils are poured against a four-course degustation menu. Pairing is the whole method — you taste what each oil does to food rather than sampling it on bread.
Three hours outdoors under the trees on uneven monumental-grove ground. Comfortable shoes, a hat, and a jacket outside high summer.
Photo Gallery
Trees that were old when Venice ruled the island.
Three ways to get at Cretan olive oil, and what each one actually gives you.
| Feature | RECOMMENDED Guided Olive Oil Tour | Drive to a Mill Yourself | Buy a Bottle in a Supermarket |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you actually do | Grove walk, guided mill visit and a structured tasting of 3–4 oils, with a guide who knows the zone | Turn up at a producer's shop, look around, taste whatever is open on the counter | Read a label in an aisle |
| Seeing oil being pressed | Yes, if you go November–February — and the operator tells you which you are getting | Only if you happen to arrive during harvest and the mill admits visitors that day | ✗ |
| Learning to taste properly | Taught directly — bitterness, the peppery throat catch, how to store it and what to cook with | Rarely — shop staff pour, but structured tuition is not the point of a retail visit | ✗ |
| Getting there | Hotel pickup included on most tours; 104 pickup points on the Chania day tour | Hire car or taxi, on mountain roads, and someone has to stay sober for the tastings | Walk to the shop |
| Cost per person | $10 for a farm walk, $11 for a mill visit, $45–137 for a full day with transport and food | Free entry at most producers, plus fuel, parking and the car itself | €5–15 a bottle |
| What you take home | Oil bought at the gate, usually in travel-safe packaging, plus knowing why it is good | Oil bought at the gate | A bottle you cannot yet judge |
| Best for | Anyone who wants to understand the product, not just own some | Drivers with a full day free and a producer already picked out | Stocking the villa kitchen |
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WINE & OILThe Amari Valley
One operator here treats olive oil the way a wine region treats wine — as something you learn to judge.
Rethymno does not have Chania’s volume. What it has is the most specialised olive oil tasting on this site: three hours in a monumental grove in the Amari Valley, four oils poured in sequence, and a four-course menu built to show what each of them does to food.
The Amari Valley olive oil tasting costs $108 for three hours, which makes it the most expensive per hour on this site. It is also the only one where the money buys instruction rather than transport.
The table is set under the trees in a grove where some specimens are around 2,000 years old. You walk it first, which is when the harvest and extraction material lands — why fruit has to reach a press within hours of picking, and what changes in the oil if it does not. Then four oils, each against a course, with tuition on finding the bitterness mid-tongue and the peppery catch at the back of the throat, on storing oil so it does not oxidise, on which to cook with and which to finish with, and on how to read a label in a shop.
That last part is the return on the price. The skill transfers: once you can recognise a fresh, peppery oil you can buy well anywhere, for the rest of your life.
Two practical notes. Transport is not included — you drive to Validé at Pigi and park free at the football stadium opposite, or arrange a transfer with the operator at extra cost. And no press runs in front of you at any time of year, by design. If you want both, pair it with a mill visit or come during the November-to-February harvest and do the two on separate days.
The rest of Rethymno’s inventory is day-trip shaped: routes that pair Lake Kournas, the Argyroupoli springs or Georgioupoli with an olive oil mill stop, generally from around $28. They are pleasant days out and the mill stops are real, but they are sightseeing tours with an olive component — closer in spirit to the buggy safari than to the Amari Valley tasting. We have not given them individual pages, because on review volume and depth they sit behind the eight tours we have.
Rethymno is the middle of Crete, roughly an hour from Chania and an hour from Heraklion, which makes it the one base from which both coasts’ tours are reachable — though very few operators will actually collect you from here for a western or eastern itinerary. In practice, book Rethymno’s own tasting, and treat Chania or Heraklion as a separate day with its own drive.
Guest Reviews
Ratings and review counts are the tour operators' live figures on GetYourGuide and may shift slightly day to day.
"We had such an amazing experience and learned a lot about the olive oil, its history, the different types and about Crete in general. Aspassia was the perfect guide and is so knowledgeable about anything involving olives. Would highly recommend the activity to anyone, it was a highlight of our trip. Beautiful property as well."
"Very attentive and friendly hostess. We felt very comfortable, had a wonderful experience, and learned a lot of interesting information. Highly recommended!"
"We had such a wonderful time! It was such a beautiful tour filled with information and history and delicious olive oil! We would highly recommend to anyone that wants a more authentic and traditional experience."
"An exceptional setting, a lovely person, an enchanting break in the midst of the ancient nature of Crête. Many thanks for this discovery and olive oil tasting."
"A very nice visit. We had a very nice meeting, tasted excellent dishes and learned a lot about olive oil. I highly recommend this excursion. Thank you again very much"
"We had a wonderful experience and learned so much about olive oils and the different types of olive trees. With only three pairs in the group, it felt like a private tour—plenty of time to ask questions and also hear insights from others. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend the experience. Apasia was great by the way."
"Very good and private! The food was excellent and I he olive oils too! Thank you so much!"
"The tour and tasting was great, Aspassia did a great job explaining everything about the differend olive oil and all the trees. The food was nice and fresh, good instructions on how to taste the food and all the different elementa of it. The location of the tasting was perfect, in the middle of all the olive tree in the shade. We enjoyed our evening and thank you so much for the hospitality :)"
Read all 69 verified reviews
See All ReviewsFour oils, a four-course pairing menu and a walk through a 2,000-year-old grove — three hours, rated 4.9 out of 5. Starting from $108 per person.
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The Amari Valley tasting, transport and what you learn.
It is the only one that treats olive oil as a subject rather than a stop. Three hours in a monumental grove, four oils poured in sequence against a four-course menu, and direct instruction on tasting, choosing, storing and cooking with oil. Nothing else on the island goes that deep on the product alone.
No. You make your own way to Validé at Pigi, where there is free parking at the football stadium opposite. The operator can arrange a transfer on request for an extra fee, which is worth pricing before you compare the $108 against tours that include hotel pickup.
No, and that is by design at any time of year. This is a grove walk and a structured tasting. If you want to watch a press run, pair it with a mill visit at Kolymvari or Heraklion and come between November and February, when the machinery is actually working.
The operator describes the grove as monumental and around 2,000 years old — considerably older than a working commercial planting, which is why the walk through it is part of the experience rather than filler between courses.
It is the highest cost per hour on this site and the most specialised experience on it. The return is a skill that transfers: once you can find the bitterness mid-tongue and the peppery catch at the back of the throat, you can buy oil well anywhere. If you would rather have a day out with lunch and several stops, the full-day Heraklion and Chania tours cost the same or less.
Yes — several day trips pairing Lake Kournas, the Argyroupoli springs or Georgioupoli with an olive oil mill stop, from around $28. They are sightseeing days with a genuine mill component rather than tasting-led experiences, and on review volume and depth they sit behind the eight tours covered in detail here.
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