This full-day tour combines two distinct experiences on the Lasithi Plateau: a sunrise hot air balloon flight and a rugged 4x4 Jeep safari. A Jeep picks you up from your hotel well before dawn and drives you up into the mountains to the launch site. After a safety briefing and balloon inflation, you lift off for approximately 40 minutes of flight above the plateau's green fields, stone windmills, and surrounding peaks. On landing, the crew serves a glass of sparkling wine and hands out personalized flight certificates before you have a light breakfast.
The pace shifts once you're back on the ground. You board the open-top Jeep and head into the mountains on dirt tracks, climbing to the Karfi viewpoint at 1,000 metres for wide coastal and mountain views. The route passes through Krasi Village, where you stop at a stone aqueduct and a plane tree estimated to be over 2,000 years old. A hands-on session at a traditional pottery workshop follows, with tastings of local olive oil, wine, and raki.
The afternoon includes a visit to the area around the Dictaean Cave — the mythological birthplace of Zeus — and a stop at the Greek Mythology Thematic Park (entrance included). The day ends with a full multi-course lunch at a local tavern: starters, a main course with chicken, pork, or vegetarian options, dessert, local wine, and water.
Round-trip hotel transfers are included free of charge from Sissi, Malia, Stalida, Hersonissos, Anissaras, Analipsi, and Gouves. Self-drive guests are given a plateau meeting point roughly 12 hours before departure, once the weather forecast is confirmed. The tour operates daily from April through October, subject to wind conditions.
