Crete: Zeus Cave, Lassithi Plateau, and Olive Factory Tour

About This Experience

This is the eastern Crete route, and the one to take if you are based anywhere between Malia and Ierapetra — the western tours simply do not collect from there. It pairs an olive oil factory visit with the Lassithi Plateau and the Psychro Cave, in a Land Rover carrying six people rather than a coach carrying forty.

The olive stop is a traditional factory where both the old and the modern production methods are explained, followed by a tasting of Cretan extra virgin. It is one stop in a full day rather than the day's purpose, which is the honest way to read a tour whose title leads with Zeus.

The rest of the route climbs to 1,000 m through olive groves and mountain villages to the plateau, famous for its windmills and reachable on this line only by four-wheel drive. The Psychro Cave — mythologically where Rhea hid the infant Zeus from Cronus — is a steep descent on worn stone, and the €15 adult entrance is paid on the door rather than included. Lunch is at a family taverna with homemade wine or raki, and there is a pottery workshop where you get hands-on at the wheel.

At $112 it is mid-priced for what is a seven-hour day with lunch included. The operator's pitch is the small group and the forward-facing leather seats, and at 4.8 across 449 reviews that seems to land.

Highlights

• Climb to 1,000 m and the Lassithi Plateau, reachable on this route only by 4x4
• Tour a traditional olive oil factory and taste Cretan extra virgin at the source
• Enter the Psychro Cave, the legendary birthplace of Zeus
• Throw a pot at a village pottery workshop using techniques still worked by hand
• Eat a Cretan lunch at a family taverna with homemade wine or raki
• Travel six to a Land Rover Discovery, in forward-facing seats rather than side benches

What's Included

• ✓ Hotel pickup and return from Elounda, Malia, Gouves, Ierapetra and surrounding areas
• ✓ Transport in an air-conditioned Land Rover with an experienced driver-guide
• ✓ Maximum group size of six guests
• ✓ Guided visit to a traditional olive oil factory, with tasting
• ✓ Cretan lunch at a family-run taverna, with homemade wine or raki
• ✓ Pottery workshop visit with hands-on time at the wheel
• ✓ Refreshments and water throughout the day
• ✓ Professional multilingual guide

Not Included

• The €15 adult entrance fee to the Psychro Cave — children enter free
• Gratuities
• Anything you buy at the olive factory, pottery workshop or villages

What to Bring

• Sturdy shoes for the cave descent
• A warm layer for the plateau
• €15 per adult for the cave entrance
• Camera

Good to Know & Caveats

• There is usually no pickup from Heraklion or anywhere further west towards Chania; the operator can arrange a shuttle for an extra fee, as the location is an hour away.
• The Psychro Cave costs €15 per adult on the door and is not in the ticket price. Children go free.
• The plateau sits at 1,000 m and is markedly cooler than the coast — bring a layer even in summer.
• The cave involves a steep descent and climb back on worn stone; sturdy shoes matter.
• Group size is capped at six, which is the operator's central claim against the 40-seat coach tours on the same route.

Meeting Point

Hotel pick-up from Elounda, Agios Nikolaos, Hersonissos, Ierapetra, Sissi, Malia, Gouves and the surrounding areas. There is usually no pickup from Heraklion or further west; a shuttle can be arranged on request for an extra fee.