You can do this! - Definitely worth doing with this company. Pari was an excellent tour guide and Yannis an excellent bus driver. Advice, definitely get a hiking stick, check your footwear, clothing tightness for chaffing (got some and saw more at the end, take Vaseline on the rubbing parts), water if you don’t want the spring water you find plenty of and food like energy bars and a little fruit. Have a little breakfast before when they stop with a hard boiled egg and banana. Listen to what Pari tells you about safety and the timeline for your decent. Take amazing photos. Swim at the bottom, it will help reduce the inflammation and eat a little something at the restaurant you meet back up at the end. Very delicious food. Pat yourself on the back and talk with other hikers. Met very nice folks who were all very interesting.

Samaria wonder - A wonderful trip, well organized, the guid, Dafni, was very nice. We are all have muscle pain now, a day after, but very happy 😀

Challenging Yet Rewarding Trek in Samaria Gorge! - My husband and I, both active hikers had a spectacular experience. The guide rated the hike a level 3/3 in difficulty primarily due to its length (16-18 km), we found the trail to be moderately challenging, probably somewhere around a 2.2/3 difficulty. The descent itself isn't the hard part— it really the distance that tests your endurance. Our guide, Pari, was great! Though she spent much of her time at the back helping the slower walkers, she was always available to answer any questions with a smile and maintained an upbeat demeanor throughout. A word of advice about gear: while other operators might rent out hiking sticks for €1-2 per day, when I called, IO Tours mentioned they provided them for free. However, at the start, we could only find sticks for purchase at the mini-market for €15. They turned out to be a worthy investment, especially beneficial for the downhill sections which can be tough on your joints. To anyone else going on this hike: * Definitely consider bringing trekking poles or hiking sticks to make your journey more comfortable * Book this directly through the operator direct (or viator, expedia, kayak, or whatever platform). Our hotel charged €50 for the same tour, while we only paid €33 when booking with them. There is little difference between the operators, all start in Chania around 6 AM, and all take the ferry back at 5:30 PM. Thanks IO and Pari for making the Greece trip more memorable!

Fantastic nature experience - This really is an experience to do when you are in Crete. Such a fantastic nature experience and well organized trip with a guide.

Unforgettable views!... - Unforgettable views! Must do everytime I am in Crete. Make sure to bring suncream and walking shoes.

Fall colours - Beautiful nature, not that hard if you love walking. Will return. Lots of option to have a break, fill water bottle. Possible to wask with children.

Geographically beautiful, physically slow and demanding - Area very beautiful and picturesque. The experience was a lot more physically difficult than expected. Don't get drawn in by the hype..it is very hard ( remember Grade 3 out of 3 difficulty). You are always looking down at your feet making sure your next step is on a secure smooth spot and not an ankle twisting rock edge....too too many rocks. I would not recommend it to those who just want to ' tick ' off an activity in Crete. The track is a lot more difficult than that. Experienced hikers only. I walk a lot daily, Samaria Gorge was slow , difficult and very long ( 6.5 hours, about 17.3 km by the end).

Amazing Gorge, poor show from Io - Disappointing experience with Io tours. Very minimal input from the guide, and the transport home was a disaster. Very disorganised, and the coach was over an hour late returning with no reason for the delay, or communication from the guide. The guide also strongly discouraged me from attempting the hike. The Gorge itself was spectacular. Thoroughly enjoyed the hike. Legs hurt a lot the day after, so take that into consideration.

Samaria Gorge is amazing, the tour experience awful - I would start by saying a few words about the attraction, Samaria Gorge is an absolute beauty that, if you have the chance and you don’t mind putting some effort into it, you absolutely need to see it! It has everything, a long course that everyone can enjoy at their own pace, nice scenery and landscapes, stops along the way for rest or water replenish or just to have a snack(no shops of any kind just what you have, it’s about nature after all ) and a nice track that you can follow easily so you don’t have to worry getting off it and just enjoy what’s around you. Now about the tour I would characterise the whole experience as lacklustre and without care for anyone in doing the tour. Let me explain, everything started well with some info about Samaria Gorge but after it started going awry, first because our tour guide only mentioned that the hike is a level of difficulty 3(highest possible) and the easy path is not possible, people had questions regarding the hike if they can make it, if they’re equipped properly, how tough is it really, and to all those concerns our tour guide,Pari, didn’t even bother answering and so a few people just gave up then and there. Another issue was that she didn’t bother with anyone on the hike, we saw her at the beginning and that was it, we talked with people at our meeting point which btw was an absolute joke, we had to come 15 minutes back from the ferry just to meet her so she can give us our ferry tickets in the middle of the restaurant terrace(awkward for everyone as people were trying to enjoy their meal) and then just to hear that you have one hour to do whatever till the ferry leaves, she only mentioned that after the ferry she will be at the coach and thats it. The tour finished the same, in absolute disarray, we thought she will say something about the tour or the hike or anything but no, same as public transport but worse as we had to change unexpectedly into a minivan without knowing who needs to go or why and being rushed to the each ones stop because it was late and I guess they had enough. If you got to here then I hope it was a useful read and I think this gives you at least an idea of how everything went and what to think about the tour or the location,Samaria Gorge.

Not recommended for beginners/inexperienced hikers - We do not recommend this tour provider as the operator had an inconsiderate tone . She saw when collecting money for the boat tickets we had accidentally fallen asleep on the bus due to tiredness (given we were picked up at 6am and we had only arrived to Crete the night before) and we had missed instructions. Despite this, she did not relay any important messages and we only had a picture of a paper of expected times to be a certain rest spots. When we got off the tour, she didn’t include/coordinate us with the rest of the tour, did a headcount or any sort of measure to ensure we were all ready to start the tour, and knew where to start from. Due to this we started the tour much later than others and naturally finished later. Furthermore , the tour had very rigid timings which did not take into consideration people of varying abilities. We couldn’t enjoy the views and take as much rest as others due to wanting to meet the timeframes, this added a lot of stress and led to accidents as we rushed. We also missed items in the itinerary which included spending time at the beach and having lunch at a taverna . Upon finding the tour guide, she did not express any concern and instead she seemed unbothered about us meeting everyone else on the bus back to the hotel. In all honesty, this tour has no added value as such, we would have preferred a private route like a taxi, where we could take our time to enjoy the Gorge. I would recommend if you are a beginner/novice like us, try and find a tour that is catered to your experience otherwise use a private mode of transport.