Born in Scotland. Raised in Crete. Loving this Island.
Meet the Founder
Garry arrived in Crete from Scotland at the age of two. He never really left.
Thirty years later he is married to a Cretan, raising his family here, and spending his days trying to answer one question — how do you show someone what it really means to be Cretan?
Not the postcard version. Not the tavernas with the laminated menus and the man outside pulling people in off the street. The real thing. The warmth, the stubbornness, the generosity, the pride. The way food is cooked and shared. The way strangers are treated like family. The way this island has held onto something that most of the world has quietly lost.
That’s what Hidden Gems of Crete exists for. Every tour, every call, every handcrafted itinerary is built around one purpose — to make sure you leave Crete having genuinely grasped what makes this place and its people unlike anywhere else on earth.
Over the years Garry has had hundreds of conversations with guests from all over the world — people who arrived as tourists and left with something that felt much closer to a revelation. That moment is what keeps him going.
Meet the Team
Garry leads about half of our tours personally. The rest are led by a small, carefully chosen team of locals — people who were picked not because they have a professional tour guide background, but because they have something far more interesting than that.
Joseph is a published author of multiple books. Maria is completing her Masters degree in Architecture. Every member of the team was chosen for the same reason — they have a deep, personal relationship with this island and the ability to share it in a way that feels completely genuine.
You won’t find a script. You won’t find a rehearsed route. What you will find is a real conversation with someone who actually lives here and loves it.
Why Garry Travels
Every winter, when Crete quiets down, Garry travels. He has done this for years — partly because he loves it, and partly because it keeps him sharp. He knows what it feels like to arrive somewhere new and hope that someone will show you the real version of it. That feeling is behind everything we do
