A Knossos tour leads visitors through the Palace of Minos, just south of Heraklion. A licensed escort or an audio route explains the ruins. It features among the tours in Greece listed on Greece VIP.
This post covers tour types, start points, escorts, tickets, inclusions and the route. The Throne Room, history, myths, combos, access, reviews, weather and common questions follow.
What is a Knossos tour?
A Knossos tour is a led visit to the Minoan palace just south of Heraklion city. A licensed escort explains the rooms, the rebuilt sections and the myths on the spot.
The palace covers about 22,000 sq m and stayed in use from 1900 to 1300 BC. That makes it the largest and longest-lived Minoan palace on Crete.
One seller pitches its Knossos tour as a walk past a throne and sanctuaries. Royal rooms, storerooms and water systems follow. Each one is explained where it stands.
The same listing tells the story in order. A first palace rose soon after 2000 BC, and an earthquake struck around 1700 BC. A richer four-storey palace followed.
A travel blogger joined a led visit at the site. Without context, she says, Knossos can feel like a hot stroll past rebuilt walls.
A good escort turns it into a story, in her view. She adds that an escort is not needed to get in. Even so, she wants one on any return visit.
Real Minoan clay drainage pipes stayed with her, along with a snake goddess figure and an unread script. So did the palace cycle of quakes and recovery.
She stresses that stories told on site are interpretations, because Minoan research is full of debate. Her advice is to book the timed ticket and the escort together.
A holiday company’s Knossos tour page says a donation goes toward preserving the palace for every excursion sold. It also offers an app with a 360-degree and 3D view.
- Site: Palace of Minos, Heraklion.
- Leader: Licensed escort.
- Focus: Rooms, rebuilds and myths.
A Knossos tour gives the ruins a storyline that bare walls and signboards cannot give on their own.
Which kinds of Knossos tour can travellers book?
Knossos tours come as private escort walks, shared skip-the-line groups, coach day trips and shore excursions. Self-led audio tickets form a fifth option.
Private escort-only tours meet at the entrance and include the ticket and skip-the-line entry. They take place entirely on site, with no transfer.
One private Knossos tour lets the group pick English, French, Spanish or German in advance. It rates 4.9 out of 5 from 55 reviews, with 5.0 for the escort.
A private version adds a transfer from Heraklion, Hersonissos, Gouves, Rethymno, Agios Nikolaos or Elounda. Bottled water comes on board.
A shared skip-the-line walking tour with a licensed escort scores 4.9 out of 5 from 1,562 reviews. In its headline, 92 percent of English-speaking travellers gave the top score.
Shared tours come in different group sizes. One very small-group Knossos tour is capped at 8 participants and supplies headsets.
Another caps groups at 15 and takes them through the gate when it opens. A first-entry tour says it can reach parts of the site that larger groups cannot.
A short van-based tour starts across from the Heraklion museum entrance. It drives to the palace, returns to the start and runs in French, Italian, English and Spanish.
Coach day trips leave Rethymno and Chania in led, free-time, private and winery versions. Cruise passengers get shore excursions with a guaranteed return to the ship.
Self-led audio e-tickets give timed entry and an app route. They come with no live escort and no meeting point.
- Private: Own escort, own pace.
- Shared: Small groups, set start.
- Coach: Pickups across Crete.
A Knossos tour from Chania is the longest version. An on-site walk leaves the rest of the day free.
Where does a Knossos tour start, and how do groups get there?
A led Knossos tour begins at the main entrance next to the ticket booths. The escort or a check-in host stands there with a sign for the group.
The palace lies 6.4 km by road from Heraklion port and 8.0 km from the airport. Hersonissos is 28.6 km away, and Malia is 37.1 km.
Rethymno lies 81.4 km to the west and Chania 153.5 km. To the east, Agios Nikolaos is 65.4 km away and Elounda 69.9 km.
City bus line 2 runs between Knossos and Skalani. A travel site advises riding it to the end of the line. Line 21 links Knossos and Pagni on weekdays only.
One east-coast coach Knossos tour collects guests in Malia, Gouves, Hersonissos, Stalida, Heraklion, Schisma Eloundas and Agios Nikolaos. The exact pickup point arrives by email.
Another coach Knossos tour lists 79 pickup points. They are mostly named hotels and bus stops on the north coast east of Heraklion.
A fifth Knossos tour offers 11 pickups from Ammoudara to Stalida, including Karteros, Hersonissos and Malia. Rethymno trips range from two pickups to 44.
A Rethymno trip says on the morning itself whether Heraklion or Knossos comes first, to avoid congestion. Return times vary with hotel location and traffic.
A Chania coach trip makes a breakfast stop in Skaleta on the way east. A reviewer said Chania pickups lose time because the stops sit inside villages.
Cruise excursions pick up at the Heraklion port passenger terminal. A free shuttle bus links it with the pier.
The marketplace reminds travellers that Crete has four regions. A Knossos tour has to match the right pickup area.
- Meet: Main entrance.
- Bus: Line 2.
- Port: 6.4 km away.
Travellers who plan their own entry slot can compare the Knossos tickets before booking a Knossos tour.
Who leads a Knossos tour?
A licensed tourist escort leads a proper Knossos tour inside the site. A tour association states that only certified escorts can lead tours in archaeological sites and museums.
That association sells private Knossos tours, private Knossos-plus-museum tours and small-group tours, all with licensed escorts.
It claims that a visit to Knossos and the museum without an escort is incomplete. That is a sales claim and not a rule.
A private-tour site is run by licensed escorts who are also archaeologists. It presents itself as a registered travel agency and takes requests by email.
Family reviews on that site praise an escort who kept children of around ten and twelve interested. She did it without lecturing them.
A blog says official escorts wait just past the barrier and offer walk-up tours. They gather a group of eight to ten people before setting off.
One older review says the escorts’ desk is easy to find on arrival. Groups form there at regular intervals. No official rule or rate for walk-up escorts was found.
A booked Knossos tour removes that guesswork on the day. One reviewer met the escort at the iron gates and got a wireless receiver with a disposable earpiece.
A reviewer of an audio e-ticket found a French-speaking escort on arrival. The result was a private Knossos tour on the spot.
A Rethymno free-time trip says travellers can hire a licensed escort at the entrance. Another Rethymno tour states plainly that it includes no escort at the palace.
A reviewer of an olive-oil and winery tour expected a led visit at Knossos. He called the mistake his own.
- Rule: Licensed escorts only.
- Walk-up: Not guaranteed.
- Check: Escort named in the listing.
A Knossos tour listing has to name a live escort, because free time alone means a self-led visit.
How do tickets and timed entry work on a Knossos tour?
Tickets for a Knossos tour run on timed entry. The official store labels them “timed entry required”, valid for one entry on the chosen date and slot.
The official store sells admission only. Any escort-led Knossos tour has to be bought from a seller outside it.
That store allows up to two changes per ticket shortly before entry, and its tickets are non-refundable. Large luggage, food and professional photo work stay outside the gate under its rules.
Group tickets are bought online, at official ticket offices or through licensed agencies. The Ministry said so, as trade press reported in 2018.
One licensed-escort tour warns that slot tickets expire if the group arrives late. The seller offers help with new tickets, but joining the tour is not guaranteed.
Its check-in opens before the start, and start times are kept strictly. Drivers are told to allow extra time for parking in the busy mid-morning window.
A private Knossos tour asks guests to arrive a little early. They show a voucher to the escort near the ticket lines.
Visitors with reduced or free tickets show ID at the gate. On one audio e-ticket, EU visitors up to 25 with free entry still queue to show it.
Senior discounts on that ticket are bought on the day and also involve a queue. A hop-on bus product books the slot after the traveller contacts support.
That hop-on bus product covers full-fare admission only and offers no reduced or free tickets.
A reviewer said the escort led the group around the long lines made by coach groups. A Chania traveller wanted the escort to buy all tickets in advance.
Sources conflict on a combined Knossos and museum ticket. The official store and a recent explainer treat the two sites as separate tickets.
- Entry: Timed slot.
- Changes: Up to two.
- Bring: ID for concessions.
A Knossos tour with the ticket included takes the slot booking off the traveller’s hands.
What does a Knossos tour include?
A led Knossos tour includes the escort and, on the shared and private versions, the entrance ticket. Coach trips list the palace ticket as a pay-on-the-day extra.
A Chania day trip says tickets are paid in cash on the day of the visit. A shore excursion says the palace ticket is paid on the spot.
Tips are listed as not included on a number of led tours. Meals and drinks are excluded on a number of coach trips.
The private escort-only Knossos tour lists personal expenses and gratuities as excluded. Bottled water comes with the private VIP tour.
Headsets come with the shared walking tour only for groups over six. Whisper receivers are included on a Chania tour but sold as an extra on a Rethymno coach tour.
Public liability insurance is named as included on a number of coach tours. Bus commentary runs in English and German on one Rethymno day trip.
The shared Knossos tour sells a hotel pickup upgrade from central Heraklion. It also offers a museum upgrade with a separate escort.
Free entry for children under 18 is stated on a number of coach listings. A passport or ID is needed for any concession.
Reviewers of one shared tour ask for clearer notes about extra entry fees. The inclusions list deserves a careful read before booking.
- Included: Escort, ticket on led tours.
- Extra: Tips, meals, drinks.
- Free: Under-18s with ID.
Visitors who add the museum to a Knossos tour can compare the Heraklion Archaeological Museum tickets.
What route does a Knossos tour follow?
A Knossos tour loops from the West Court through the Central Court to the royal east wing. One explainer says led routes start in the Central Court for orientation.
The Central Court runs north-south. Wings of rooms on two or more storeys once stood around it, with entrances on every side.
Each wing held living rooms, reception halls, storerooms, shrines, treasuries and workshops. The open-air courts hosted communal events and religious ceremonies.
In the West Court, a Knossos tour escort points out round stone-lined pits called kouloures. Arthur Evans found the first four in 1903 and named them after a round Greek bread.
Evans thought the pits held rubbish. The leading theory now reads them as granaries for spare harvest.
One audio route stops at the cupbearer and procession frescoes at the South Propylaeum. It then covers the West Magazines to explain storage, early writing and the palace economy.
The same route shows a copy of the Prince of the Lilies in the South Entrance Corridor. Mount Juktas appears there, framed by the worn walls.
It reaches the Queen’s Megaron, with the dolphin fresco and a bathroom, to talk about Minoan bathing habits.
Another audio route mentions the Tripartite Shrine and the North Lustral Area. A coach Knossos tour lists the Throne Room, frescoes and red columns as its palace stops.
A first-entry tour also names the Fresco Gallery, the Double Axes Hall and the bull mural. Information boards stand in front of each place of interest.
One reviewer’s Knossos tour escort added recent Minoan research that is not yet widely known.
Reviewers praise escorts who timed the route to avoid other groups. They also liked escorts who stopped in shade for the longer talks.
- Start: Central Court.
- Storage: West Magazines.
- Royal rooms: East wing.
A Knossos tour keeps a fixed order. Groups see storage, ritual and royal spaces in a logical chain.
What does a Knossos tour show in the Throne Room?
A Knossos tour stops at the Throne Room, built for ceremonies during the 15th century BC. It is considered the oldest throne room in Europe.
Arthur Evans unearthed it in 1900, in the first phase of his dig, west of the Central Court. The stone seat stands against the north wall.
The suite also had an anteroom and an inner chamber with a ledge, possibly a chapel. Two double doors led in from the anteroom.
Evans estimated that thirty people fitted in the throne room and its anteroom together.
In the first season, he named the chair “the Throne of Ariadne” and the room “Ariadne’s Bath”. His team found a large cache of tablets there on the first days.
The sunken lustral basin puzzled him. Evans first took it for a rain pool and then for a fish tank. He guessed it once held eels.
Evans saw the seat as the place of a priest-king. Helga Reusch and Friedrich Matz read the room as a sanctuary of a female deity.
In their view, a priestess sat there as the deity’s stand-in. A recent idea holds that the room served only at dawn, on certain dates, for specific ceremonies.
Facing griffins were popular in later Mycenaean painting. Similar decoration turned up in the throne room of the palace of Pylos, on the Greek mainland.
An explainer says flash photography is banned in the throne room. Before the rebuild, Evans even held tea parties in it.
A licensed-escort coach Knossos tour lists the Throne Room, the Royal Apartments and the Central Courtyard. Its page suggests public events were held in the courtyard.
- Age: 15th century BC.
- Found: 1900.
- Debate: King or priestess.
A Knossos tour escort explains these competing readings, which no signboard can settle on the spot.
What does a Knossos tour show at the North Entrance and the Grand Staircase?
A Knossos tour passes the North Entrance, with its red columns and a stucco bull relief. It also reaches the Grand Staircase, the boldest rebuild on the site.
The relief at the North Entrance shows a bull-catching scene. Evans set it apart from the bull-leaping sport painted elsewhere in the palace.
A second lustral basin sits near the North Entrance. The term was coined by Evans, who found oil flasks in one and guessed at anointing rituals.
Minoan columns taper downward, unlike later Greek columns. They were timber on stone bases, finished with rounded capitals.
The excavators were unable to simply expose the Grand Staircase, since its walls risked collapse. Evans hired two silver miners from Athens to tunnel down it.
The miners let the team prop up the walls and ceilings. Architect Christian Doll later took the stairs apart and rebuilt them.
Doll replaced the wooden beams with steel coated in concrete to look like wood. In 1910, two gypsum blocks found to fit the wall proved a fourth storey.
Doll finished the staircase in time for the dancer Isadora Duncan’s visit in 1910. She danced up and down the stairs.
A Knossos tour escort also explains the reconstructions here. The Grand Staircase keeps the form that Doll gave it.
Ministry plans for new routes reach the King’s and Queen’s Megara. Access runs via a staircase south of the Queen’s Megaron.
- Columns: Taper downward.
- Relief: Bull-catching scene.
- Staircase: Rebuilt by Doll.
A Knossos tour pairs well with an old-town walk on the Heraklion tours.
What history does a Knossos tour cover?
A Knossos tour covers the rise, peak and fall of the palace, up to its Mycenaean rulers. Each Knossos tour escort also points beyond the walls to the town around it.
Neopalatial Knossos, from 1700 to 1450 BC, is estimated to have held about 25,000-28,000 inhabitants.
In 1450 BC, every palatial centre of Crete except Knossos was destroyed and abandoned. Knossos survived and even flourished.
Scholars link the changes of that period to a new ruling dynasty. It came from the Greek-speaking Peloponnese and is conventionally termed Mycenaean.
The so-called Small Palace stands north-west of the main building. At about 800 sq m, it is the second largest building of Minoan Knossos.
The Royal Road linked it with the palace and ended at the Theatre area. The Small Palace was founded in the middle of the 16th century BC.
The Caravanserai lies south of the palace and was built around 1600 BC. A viaduct over the Vlychia stream once joined the two.
It held storage, rooms and baths with cold and hot water. A built fountain drew on the Vlychia spring, and a partridge fresco decorates its central building.
Evans read the Caravanserai as a rest house for people and animals arriving from the south.
The so-called Royal Villa, north-east of the palace, is a three-storey house of 1700-1450 BC. Evans read it, with its grand triple staircase, as the king’s summer residence.
The Royal Temple Tomb lies about 630 m south of the palace. It stayed in use until the final destruction of the palace around 1380/1350 BC.
- Peak: 1700-1450 BC.
- Town: 25,000-28,000 people.
- Last rulers: Mycenaeans.
A Knossos tour on site stays inside the palace. Escorts name these outer buildings to show the size of the city.
How does a Knossos tour explain the dig and the rebuilding?
A Knossos tour tells two dig stories: a Heraklion merchant’s first trench and the long British excavation. One Chania listing names Kalokairinos in 1878 and Evans between 1900 and 1931.
Minos Kalokairinos, who lived from 1843 to 1907, was a businessman and amateur archaeologist. His father Andreas owned the land of the palace.
His first trial dig came in 1877, with full-scale work in 1878. The authorities stopped him three weeks later, after he found storerooms and a corner of the throne hall.
His home was pillaged and burnt on 25 August 1898, and his collection was badly damaged. In June 1907 he sued Evans over a field taken without payment.
The case was dismissed when Kalokairinos died. Evans, Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, had first reached Heraklion in February 1894.
On 23 March 1900, Evans, David Hogarth, Theodore Fyfe and a foreman paraded to the hill on donkeys. They hired 31 men, Christians and Muslims, then 79 more.
Evans brought in the painter Emile Gillieron and his son to rebuild whole fresco scenes from fragments. The team aimed at restoration from the start.
The main digs ran from 1900 to 1905. After that, Evans was insolvent and cancelled the 1906 season.
In 1922 the team found the earlier wooden fixes rotten, so Evans rebuilt in reinforced concrete. Piet de Jong oversaw the work, starting with the Stepped Portico.
In 1926 Fyfe returned for a month to rebuild the South Propylaeum. Critics note that concrete made the work irreversible, and every Knossos tour walks through it today.
That year, Evans gave the palace, its grounds and Villa Ariadne to the British School at Athens. The German surrender on Crete in 1945 was signed there.
- First dig: Kalokairinos, 1878.
- Main dig: Evans, from 1900.
- Rebuild: Reinforced concrete.
A reviewer called the Evans story essential to appreciating the site. A Knossos tour escort tells it room by room.
Which myths does a Knossos tour tell?
A Knossos tour tells the myths of the Labyrinth, the Minotaur, Daedalus, Icarus and Ariadne’s red thread. One Chania and Rethymno listing names all three.
In the myth, Minos made his demand on Athens as revenge for the death of his son Androgeus.
Theseus promised his father Aegeus a white sail instead of the black one if he came home alive. On the way back, he left Ariadne on Naxos.
Knossos tour groups walk the ruins of the palace of Minos, but the Labyrinth itself was never found. A single-path Labyrinth design appears on coins as early as 430 BC.
The word itself has a long debate. Plutarch wrote that labrys was a Lydian word for axe, which tied the Labyrinth to the double axe.
After Linear B was read in the 1950s, a Mycenaean word for labyrinth appeared as da-pu-ri-to. That weakened the double-axe link.
The scholar Beekes linked the word to laura, meaning narrow street. Other scholars still debate the double-axe origin.
One private-tour site sells a myth-fan Knossos tour themed on a popular young-adult book and film series. It promises tridents of Poseidon and the stone throne of King Minos.
A Rethymno coach Knossos tour names the Minotaur and Labyrinth legend. Its commentary runs both on the bus and at the palace.
One reviewer of a private tour said the escort explained the Greek myths as allegories. Other reviewers praised escorts who sorted myth from fact.
- Monster: The Minotaur.
- Escape: Ariadne’s thread.
- Debate: Where the maze stood.
Travellers who want more Cretan myth after a Knossos tour can compare the Zeus Cave tours.
Is an audio Knossos tour a good alternative?
An audio Knossos tour gives timed entry plus a recorded route on the phone. It suits visitors who want their own pace, but no live escort answers questions.
The main audio e-ticket scores 3.9 out of 5 from 2,086 reviews, with 3.7 for value. Its audio downloads to the phone before the visit.
The app works on recent Android and iOS phones only. Older iPhones, iPads and Windows phones are not supported.
Travellers need headphones and a charged phone. Baby strollers are listed as not allowed on that e-ticket product.
Reviewers praise the stories and the freedom to pause, replay and walk at their own pace. Others found the route confusing without numbered markers on site.
The seller replies that on-site signs belong to the venue and sit outside its control. A summary of reviews asks for step-by-step directions.
A third audio product scores 3.8 out of 5 from 72 reviews. It is booked per device, not per person, and needs free storage for offline content.
That audio Knossos tour includes text, audio and maps offline, to avoid roaming charges. It adds a self-led audio tour of the city of Heraklion.
The official digital tour website lists 40 points of interest across the site. A blog calls the free official app EU-funded and “not super-intuitive”.
QR links at the entrance lead to the official app, the same blog says. Maintenance work on site can also break the flow of an audio route.
- Need: Recent phone, headphones.
- Plus: Own pace.
- Minus: No live answers.
An audio Knossos tour works best after a download at the hotel. Signal and markers on site are patchy.
Which combos add to a Knossos tour?
A Knossos tour pairs with the Heraklion museum, a city walk, farm stops, wineries or the Lasithi Plateau. Each combo changes the rest of the day.
The shared walking tour offers a museum upgrade with its own escort and a drive between the sites. A reviewer had a separate escort at each, and both knew their subject deeply.
A museum-and-palace Knossos tour starts at a meeting point opposite the museum. A reviewer said the palace came first, before the crowds.
A bus then took that group to the museum. On coach tours, the museum ticket is a separate fee listed as an extra.
Tours with the museum optional let travellers choose between it and free time in town. A blog suggests following the palace with the museum or a long lunch.
One coach Knossos tour adds a short city walk along Daidalou Street. It reaches Lion Square, the Morosini Fountain and Saint Titus Church.
A tour page notes that the Venetian Loggia still serves as the city hall. It also recommends the Koules fortress.
A number of tours add a farm stop in Patsides village. Visitors taste honey and herbs there.
A small-group tour gives self-led time at Knossos, then an olive grove near Skalani. A winery in Kounavoi and lunch in Archanes follow.
Archanes lies 9.6 km from the palace. That tour limits groups to six to eight guests per vehicle and runs daily except Sundays.
A Rethymno winery option ends with a tasting of at least four Cretan wines. The Lasithi combo visits Vidiani Monastery, Psychro Cave, Krasi village, an olive mill and Knossos.
- Museum: Separate escort.
- City: Lion Square walk.
- Farms: Honey, olives, wine.
Travellers who want the mountain side of a Knossos tour combo can compare the Lasithi Plateau tours.
Is a Knossos tour suitable for children and visitors with limited mobility?
A Knossos tour suits families when the escort keeps the stories short and lively. Visitors with limited mobility face worn paving and uneven ground, so the format matters.
A family reviewer said a private tour with children aged 11 and 13 was long enough. The same reviewer found it very interesting.
One private-tour site lists a family-friendly Knossos tour for visitors of all ages. A coach tour says it suits all ages and families.
A private tour asks guests to bring comfortable shoes and a camera. One listing warns of uneven archaeological surfaces and high summer temperatures.
A small-group Knossos tour lists itself as unsuitable for pregnant women, wheelchair users and people with mobility impairments.
Listings send mixed signals. A number carry a wheelchair-accessible badge, yet their not-suitable list names wheelchair users. A call to the seller helps.
The Ministry of Culture announced new routes for visitors with disabilities. They reach parts of the palace where worn paving blocks wheelchairs.
The planned routes lead from the West Court to the Theatre, the Central Court and the Royal Megara. The plan also limits walking on the ancient floors.
An accessible private tour runs a ramp vehicle from Heraklion port or a central hotel. It accepts up to four foldable wheelchairs, four rollators, two mobility scooters and two electric wheelchairs.
That tour is rated 4.9 from 107 reviews on the destination site, and trained staff run it. It excludes personal assistance and entrance fees.
The entrance area has a small café and toilets, and a reviewer called the toilets surprisingly clean. An explainer advises closed shoes with grip on the polished stone.
- Kids: Family formats.
- Wheels: Ramp tour.
- Shoes: Closed, with grip.
A private Knossos tour moves at the group’s own pace, which helps children and older walkers.
What do reviewers say about a Knossos tour?
Reviewers rate a Knossos tour on the escort above all. They repeatedly name the escort, not the coach company, as the reason for a high score.
About 225 reviews of the shared skip-the-line tour come from the past year. Reviewers praise the escort’s friendliness and the way she explained the labyrinth.
A reviewer on that tour said the group was only five, so the escort was easy to hear. Others wanted the tour to run longer for deeper detail.
A holiday company’s day trip to Knossos and Heraklion rates 4.3 out of 5 from about 3,500 reviews.
A Rethymno self-led day trip has 4.5 out of 5 from 408 reviews. It scores 4.6 for transport and 4.5 for the host.
A Chania day trip has 4.5 out of 5 from 305 reviews, with 4.7 for the escort. A longer Chania trip has 4.2 from 280 reviews.
A Rethymno tour with options has 4.6 out of 5 from 218 reviews. It scores 4.8 for the escort and 4.8 for transport.
A joint Chania and Rethymno Knossos tour has 3.9 out of 5 from 200 reviews. A bus tour from the east coast has 3.7 from 60 reviews.
Reviewers of coach trips praise comfortable air-conditioned buses and punctual pickups. A Rethymno reviewer said the driver played Cretan music.
Private-tour reviewers say the early start let them move quickly past crowds. A Chania reviewer found the day balanced between structure and exploration.
After a hot morning at the palace, a Rethymno reviewer found the long city break too much. Another felt it was right for lunch.
A reviewer said the site is chaotic with groups and that this needs factoring in. Another said cruise-ship days make Knossos extremely busy.
A reviewer of a coach trip said the market only sold fruit and vegetables in the rain.
One coach reviewer said palace audio sets came in German only, which left a French couple out. A review summary notes that headsets sometimes cut out.
- Praise: Escort knowledge.
- Complaint: Crowds.
- Tech: Headsets cut out.
A small-group Knossos tour scores best in reviews. The escort can be heard, and questions get answers.
When is the best time for a Knossos tour?
The best time for a Knossos tour is at the gate opening or after the coach groups leave. Spring and autumn bring milder heat than midsummer.
Model data for the Knossos area gave last July a mean high of 33.5 °C. The peak reached 40.2 °C on 23 July, with no rain recorded.
That month counted 21 days at 32 °C or more and 10 days at 35 °C or more.
Last August averaged 31.5 °C, with a 38.2 °C peak on 22 August. It still counted 11 days at 32 °C or more.
This July ran slightly cooler, with a 32.1 °C mean high. It peaked at 37.5 °C on 22 July and counted 17 days at 32 °C or more.
This June held a 29.5 °C mean high, with a 32.8 °C peak on 30 June. Spring is milder, and this April held a 20.3 °C mean high.
April also brought 84.9 mm of rain. This January held a 16.2 °C mean high for a Knossos tour in winter. This February brought 89.3 mm of rain.
Last October stayed milder, at a 24.5 °C mean high and a 30.4 °C top on 27 October. This October has already brought 107.9 mm of rain, with 37.4 mm on 3 October.
A first-entry Knossos tour starts when the gate opens, so the group enters before the queues form. A travel blog advises arriving before the morning coaches.
A reviewer said older members of a group struggled in the afternoon heat. That happened after an itinerary change moved the palace visit.
Tours list sunscreen as an item to bring, and the Lasithi combo tells guests to bring water. An explainer advises carrying water, though the café sells it.
- Best: Gate opening.
- Hottest: July.
- Wettest: October.
A Knossos tour in spring or autumn avoids the worst heat on an open site with little shade.
What do travellers ask about a Knossos tour?
Travellers ask about buses, languages, children, strollers, photos, parking and luggage before a Knossos tour. The answers depend on the format and the seller.
Can a Knossos tour start by public bus?
Yes. City bus line 2 runs to Knossos, and the Herakleio City Bus app shows routes, schedules and stops.
Which languages does a Knossos tour use?
It depends on the day. One east-coast coach trip runs French and English on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and German and English on Thursdays.
Do children enter free on a Knossos tour?
Free entry for children under 18 is stated on a number of coach listings. A passport or ID is needed.
Are baby strollers allowed?
Not on one audio e-ticket product, which lists strollers as not allowed. Worn stone paths also make pushing hard.
Is flash photography allowed?
No, in the throne room, according to an explainer. Store rules also ban filming and professional shoots on site.
Is there parking at the site?
Yes. A reviewer parked free in a lot just up the road. The owners hoped visitors stayed to eat afterwards.
Can cruise passengers join a Knossos tour?
Yes. Port tours pick up at the passenger terminal and promise a return to the ship. One offers a full refund if the ship cannot dock.
Can visitors store luggage or bring food?
No. The official store forbids large luggage and food, and an explainer says the site has no luggage storage.
After the palace, travellers can taste the city on the Heraklion food tours.