Excursions & day trips

Recommended by 94% of travelers

79 reviews

4.57/5

Crete, Greece

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Spinalonga Island Tour Ticket

Free Cancellation

Language: German, English, French and 2 more

Mobile voucher accepted

Duration: Duration not available

Entrance Fees Included

Fast track

Guided Tour

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Tour with Audioguide

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Why you’ll love this…

Spinalonga island

Venetian fortress

Former leper colony

What we expect

The tiny island of Spinalonga is just a short hop away from Crete but a visit is like stepping back in time. Centuries of history are packed within the walls that encircle the islet. You'll sail to Spinalonga from Elounda, a 25-minute cruise.

On arrival at the islet – which is no more than 435m long and 230m wide – you'll find yourself immersed in its history straight away. Over the years, Spinalonga has been a Venetian outpost, an Ottoman town and a leper colony, which led to it being dubbed the ‘isle of tears'.

A guided walk will show you around...

What's included

✔Boat trip
✔Entrance to Spinalonga
✔Guide

What to remember

You will meet your guide at 08:50 in Elounda square in the church under the clock

Not suitable for guests with reduced mobility

Transfers not included

Bring your passport or official EU identification

Food and drinks not included

Provider

Booking Fee

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Availability and prices

Ticket without transfer or lunch in German - $52.00

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Select Language

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Adult (13+)

$52.00

Child (2-12)

$24.00

Child (0-1)

$0.00

Total

Reviews

Excellent

4.6/5

Based on 79 reviews from verified customers

All ratings (79)

Excellent (52)

66%

Great (23)

29%

Average (4)

Poor (0)

Bad (0)

Truus

October 2025

From Netherlands

Traveled as With family - 48 years old

Poor

Zeer interessant en indrukwekkend. Minpunt vonden wij de enorme toeristenstroom. Te druk en te vol. De prijs vonden wij in verhouding te hoog als je het vergelijkt met andere musea.

Ulrich

From Germany

Traveled as As a couple - 56 years old

Die Tour war gut organisiert und weil wir die kurze Anreise selbst organisiert haben auch recht preiswert. Bei HP im Hotel können wir gerne auf ein weiteres Mittagessen verzichten. Die Zeit auf der Insel hätte insgesamt etwas länger sein können. Die Führerin war gut und informativ.

Magda

September 2025

Traveled as As a couple - 59 years old

Cristina

August 2025

From United Kingdom

Traveled as Alone - 53 years old

The guide Maria was extremely knowledgeable and made the whole experience very pleasant and interesting with the historic facts about the island.,

Jo

Traveled as With family - 37 years old

We choose to make our own way to Elounda harbour and was greeted by the captain of the boat and informed our guide would be with us shortly and were invited onboard. Maria was a delightful guide, and the tour group was not of big numbers like some seen whilst there. Unfortunately two of the hearing devices lost charge, fortunately it was the latter part of the tour and were able to follow closer to Maria the guide to still hear.

Familie S

Great

Gelieve uw hostessen die Tui vertegenwoordigen in een 5-sterren hotel beter op te volgen. Zeer arrogant klant onvriendelijk geen reclame voor Tui. De gids daarentegen op de excursie verdient alle lof die dame was iemand die 5 sterren verdient.

Jeffry

Traveled as As a couple - 33 years old

Eiland is interessant dus leuk om de verhalen te horen hoe het was . De oortjes waren wat minder

Chris

From France

Traveled as As a couple - 36 years old

Average

Nous avons bien apprécié la guide Maria à Spinalonga, elle nous a transmis l’histoire très spéciale de l’île, superbe guide. L’agence Tui représentée par Evelyne n’a pas été satisfaisante du tout : manque d’explications précises, nous a indiqué prendre un taxi pour le RV matin (20€ aussi élevé que le prix de l’excursion) alors qu’on aurait pu prendre un bus vu l’horaire de départ du bateau. De plus, a indiqué que le bateau nous déposerait à Plaka, ce qui n’était pas le cas, erreur de sa part.

kris carpentier

Traveled as With family - 32 years old

perfect

Patrick

July 2025

Traveled as As a couple - 29 years old

Luc

June 2025

Traveled as As a couple

Vlotte organisatie en goede gifd

run

Traveled as As a couple - 20 years old

Ein kurzer Ausflug, gute Orga. weniger Wartezeit auf den Bus und dafür mehr Zeit auf der Insel wäre noch schöner gewesen.

Cmads

Traveled as With family - 42 years old

This was a very well organised trip from start to finish. The guide Maria was very knowledgable and friendly and she made the trip. We don’t normally do guided tours, but had heard different views about this one so decided to go to see for ourselves. The history of the island is both amazing and sad. We really enjoyed it and learned a lot.

Jd

Traveled as As a couple - 45 years old

M&F

Traveled as As a couple - 23 years old

Etwas mehr Zeit auf der Insel wäre schön gewesen. &wir haben beim Schiff lange auf die Reisegruppe im Bus gewartet. (Sind mit dem Mietwagen angereist)

Dirk Vanhee

Traveled as As a couple - 43 years old

JM

May 2025

Guide francophone ok. Visite intéressante. Nous avons eu un ticket de visite tarif plein. Pourquoi pas un ticket de groupe ou une réduction senior? Il serait aussi agréable de pouvoir bénéficier d'une proposition de transfert de l'hôtel Elounda Palm vers le point de départ du bateau (1,5 à 2 km)

Diana

Traveled as With family - 39 years old

Wir haben nur die Bootfahrt mit Führung auf der Insel gebucht, da unser Hotel nur 10 Min. von Elounda entfernt lag. Was super war, dass wir sehr früh auf der Insel waren und somit einer der ersten Besucher. Sehr zu empfehlen. Wir haben viel über die Geschichte der Insel erfahren. Auch der Rundgang zum Schluss war genau richtig.

Dury

October 2024

Traveled as As a couple - 63 years old

Traveled as With friends - 33 years old

Sehr gute Information über die Insel.

Paul and Carolyn

Maria was marvellous and spoke so well. There was nothing we didn’t like. A pickup from the hotel would have been better despite it being a short trip.

Jane & Alan

Traveled as As a couple - 42 years old

We went with the cheaper ticket price for this trip, paying only £26 each. This did not include transfer to or from the boat, but it was only a 30 min walk from the hotel, or a quick taxi journey costing €9 each way. The ticket price gave us access to the full tour of the island which was amazing. Upon arriving back in Elounda we soon found a wonderful taverna and enjoyed a meal by the quayside.

Stefan

Traveled as With family - 43 years old

Helen Evans

Amazing time and the guide was absolutely fantastic, think her name is Maria , had a fantastic time

S Purbrick

Traveled as As a couple - 39 years old

We decided to do Spinalonga trip only and not whole day trip. We therefore had to make own way to Elounda by taxi, even though coach was leaving from hotel. Would be good to have option to include transport.

Petra

September 2024

Traveled as As a couple - 37 years old

Fijne en interessante excursie.

Steffie

Traveled as As a couple - 27 years old

Dave S

The trip was well organised, the tour guide was vey knowledgeable and did an excellent job

Margaret

Traveled as As a couple - 66 years old

The tour guide Maria to Spinalonga was very efficient and everyone was on board in no time. She gave us a great insight into the world of the lepers and her knowledge was very extensive

JBH

Traveled as With friends

Everything went to plan Guide was very very good interesting and informative

Cindy

Traveled as As a couple - 31 years old

Maria the tour guide was excellent. The toilet on the boat was terrible, the door didn’t lock, I got trapped inside, luckily I had my phone to call my partner!

Taels Wim

Traveled as As a couple - 60 years old

Prima gids !!!!

Westfield1.

Traveled as As a couple - 64 years old

The Boat trip to and from the island was most enjoyable. Our guide was one of the very best that we have had on such tours, her knowledge of the island was beyond our expectations.

Daisy

Traveled as As a couple - 46 years old

Steve

Traveled as As a couple - 49 years old

There was nothing we didn’t like. Maria was an excellent guide with outstanding knowledge on the history of the island and went out of her way to make sure everybody was catered for. She spoke with passion and humour which made it a very enjoyable and unforgettable experience.

Amy

Traveled as As a couple - 9 years old

The trip was so interesting and informative. Maria the tour guide was wonderful, so knowledgable and passionate.

Christian

Sehr gute Erläuterungen des Guide; leider ist die Reichweite der Empfänger sehr eingeschränkt, sodass mann doch immer in einer Großen Gruppe laufen muss

Tom

Traveled as Alone - 11 years old

Très ********** visite guidée et très sympathique guide. Un transfert de l’hôtel aurait été un plus.

TJ

August 2024

Traveled as As a couple - 40 years old

Very informative, explained so much about the history. Enjoyed every aspect

Guy

Traveled as With family - 49 years old

Excellent knowledgeable guide

Ali w

Traveled as With family - 30 years old

RM

Informative und interessante Führung, tolle Bootsfahrt

Annabelle

Traveled as As a couple - 7 years old

Baker66

Angela

July 2024

Traveled as As a couple - 38 years old

Tan

Traveled as As a couple - 25 years old

Der Aufenthalt auf der Insel hätte nach der Führung hätte länger sein dürfen.

Lucy

Traveled as With family - 29 years old

We had to wait a long time before departure so arriving at 08.50 was not necessary. For the price I would expect it to include a taxi down and back. 9.40 arrival more appropriate. Communication on the boat was non existent so didn’t really know what was happening. Tour guide was very knowledgeable.

Sab. W

Explications de la guide super interessantes. Un pick up à l'hotel aurait été apprécié

Stephen

Traveled as With family - 41 years old

AS

June 2024

John L

Superior knowledge of Maria our guide. Pior sound quality via poor fitting ear pieces. Please not ear pieces are not hearing aid friendly. Excellent tour and narative.

Ann Alton

Boat ride over was lovely but the toilets on board were difficult to access. Spinolonga is a unique island in terms of its history. Our guide was a mine of information but the hearing devices were not very successful as they kept suffering from interference from other groups.

K.Volk

Traveled as As a couple - 47 years old

Die Tour auf Spinalonga war gut gemacht. Die Fahrt mit dem Schiff zur Insel war gut organisiert. Was nicht gut ist, sind die extra Kosten mit dem Taxi vom Hotel nach Elounda und zurück ,das sind nochmals 20 €. Warum gibt es keine Busverbindung vom Hotel nach Elounda?

Rob

Traveled as With family - 17 years old

We felt, after the tour we didn't have enough time to explore the island ourselves. We had 30 minutes, which isn't long when we have 2 children. Apart from that we really enjoyed it.

mahei

This was a very simple tour from Elounda to Spinalonga island and back. The main thing to note is that the guide was excellent.

R.B.

Die geführte Tour auf der Insel war sehr gut und informativ, weniger schön war die lange Wartezeit im Hafen vor der Abfahrt, es wurde bis zum letzten Bus gewartet, wir sind selber zum Hafen gefahren und mussten dadurch über eine 1 Stunde warten bevor es losging.

Barter

May 2024

Overall it was very good, the guide was excellent but as we did the half day trip we had to make our own way down to Elouda from the hotel, would have preferred transfer included

Cleo

Traveled as As a couple - 44 years old

Maria the guide was amazing with lots of information.

Traveler

Traveled as As a couple - 62 years old

The fact we had to provide our own transport from hotel to Elounda Asan addition cost.

Annika

April 2024

Traveled as As a couple - 19 years old

YH

Traveled as As a couple - 11 years old

Michelle Oliver

September 2023

Traveled as With family - 25 years old

We loved this excursion, Spinalonga is such an interesting place, even our children (11 & 13) enjoyed it. The guide was very informative and really knew her stuff about the islands history, she seemed genuinely interested in it as well. It definitely worked better doing the morning trip as we were the first boat there, as we were leaving it was getting very busy so I’d imagine it would become difficult to follow your guide. The boat was great too and we loved taking on the views on tge trip.

George

Traveled as As a couple - 12 years old

Overall it was great. Only downside was we booked just the morning (so didn't stay for the included lunch or afternoon in Agios Nikolaos) which meant we weren't allowed to get on the coach transfer from the hotel to the boat in Elounda, so we had to walk 30 mins. Seemed unfair given the coach was taking other people from our hotel anyway so we could have taken a couple of seats. Clearly just a trick to get us to pay for the full day option - disappointing.

August 2023

We had a great time, the Tui rep did a brilliant job of explaining the history of the island. Our 2 children, 11 & 13 also really enjoyed the trip. The boat transfer was also very enjoyable and we loved seeing the surrounding scenery on the trip over. Definitely better to get there early in the morning as was very busy when we were leaving.

Grimes

July 2023

Traveled as With family - 26 years old

We were late getting off. Met at 8:45 but didn’t set off from the boat to near 10am. Lots of waiting around. The boat was clean and had good facilities. The tour guide was great, very knowledgeable. It was very hot and very busy on the island though. The shop on the island was extortionate for drinks so bring your own or buy on the boat. Overall really pleased we booked it.

Paul

Traveled as With family - 28 years old

Leuke boottocht, interessant verhaal, niet te lang, leuk voor kinderen

Roland

Traveled as As a couple - 48 years old

Die Führung war sehr informativ und bot eine Abwechslung zum Strandleben. Und vom höchsten Punkt der Insel hatte man eine schöne Aussicht über die Bucht. Wir hätten nur gerne etwas mehr Zeit für den Inselrundgang gehabt.

Magdalena

June 2023

Traveled as With friends - 11 years old

Ein bisschen mehr Zeit auf Spinalonga wäre gut gewesen, außerdem mussten wir morgens sehr lange auf die Abfahrt warten. Aber die Führung war sehr interessant und da wir schon am Vormittag auf der Insel waren war nicht so viel los und es war noch nicht so heiß, bei unserer Abfahrt war die Insel bereits völlig überfüllt

Anonymous

Made own way by hire car as didn’t want the bus journey and organised lunch. Far better for us.

Norge on tour

Good amount of time in the guided tour combined with free time after to explore on your own. Nite that there is a cafe and toilet in the island should you need it!

Jackie

May 2023

Traveled as Alone - 43 years old

Guide was superb! Very knowledgeable. Too many trips/tourists arrive at the same time. It’s difficult to keep up with your group/guide due to the number of people in an area at any one time. Time restraints of the tour meant a lot of the leper colony couldn’t be shown fully. No time was given for anybody wanting to read the information on display (and there was a lot of it!) Too much time was given to the various occupations of the island and not enough to the leprosy story.

Karen Bartlett

September 2022

Traveled as As a couple - 41 years old

It was a very good experience but the prebooked trip from UK said a meal was included and in fact it wasn't so this was misleading. The actual boat trip and tour of island were top notch though. Tui should make sure it advertises its excursions and what is or not included correctly.

Anthony

May 2022

Our guide ( Maria ? ) was superb. She was knowledgeable and friendly and very able to take any questions fielded to her.

October 2021

Sehr nette Führerin, sehr viele Informationen zur Insel und deren Geschichte. Kann ich nur empfehlen!

Maria the guide was very knowledgeable, great individual radio communications meant every word was clear and every description was easily understood making the whole experience really enjoyable and interesting.

September 2021

Veels te druk.

August 2021

Het was jammer dat we de gids moesten delen met een andere taal. Inhoudelijk was de gids wel goed. Ze vertelde enthousiast en duidelijk. Het was jammer dat we een tijd aan moesten geven bij het boeken van de excursie, maar hier helemaal geen rekening werd gehouden en we erg vroeg op moesten.