The paper discusses the methodology implemented for the rural tourism activities’ plan¬ning into the framework of the European initiative LEADER+, and more particularly, the components of the specific action plan for rural tourism, defined operationally in the coun¬tryside of Iraklion district, Crete. Firstly, are examined the conceptual approaches to the ru¬ral tourism, the European initiative’s framework of planning, as well as the applied method¬ology. Secondly, the specific action plan for rural tourism is presented in details, e.g. the per-spective approach, the area’s available resources and features, the planning’s aims and strat¬egy, the supporting actions and the transnational networking. Formulating the results ex¬pected by the implementation of an integrated action plan for rural tourism and the related conclusions completes the analysis of the particular case study, being one of the most recent and important into Greece.