Balos Lagoon Boat Trip

Balos sits on the Gramvousa peninsula in western Crete, and how you get there shapes the whole day. You can sail from the port of Kissamos, ride a 4x4 across the peninsula and walk down, or go privately by boat or by car. The eleven listings on this page split along those lines.

The boats from Kissamos have the most reviews here: 8,781 at 4.1 and 1,528 at 4.2. The sail takes about an hour. One boat goes to Balos alone and gives you about three hours on the beach, five hours in total, for $40 per person. The other adds Gramvousa island, with a short path up to a Venetian castle and a shipwreck on its beach, seven hours in total, for $45 per person. The order of the two stops depends on the route.

If you are staying in Chania or Rethymno, a coach does the driving to the port. The Chania day picks up at stops such as Chania town, Agia Marina, Platanias, Kolimvari and Kasteli, and the group leader arranges the boat tickets. It takes 10 to 12 hours, from $55 per person. The Rethymno day, at $62 per person, gives you 1.5 hours on Gramvousa and three at Balos. Its title promises a boat ticket while its description says you pay for the cruise in Kissamos, so check whether the ticket is included in your option.

The 4x4 goes overland. From Kissamos it crosses the Gramvousa peninsula with photo stops, then leaves you at the top of a path to the lagoon: about 20 to 25 minutes down and 30 to 35 back up. It leaves at 09:00, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00, in groups of up to 12, for $55 per person, and it is rated 4.9 from 844 reviews.

The evening choice is a sailing catamaran. It takes about an hour and a half to reach Balos, where you swim from the boat. Snacks and unlimited drinks, paddleboards and snorkelling are part of the trip, and it finishes with the sunset at sea. Four and a half hours, $112 per person, rated 4.7 from 153 reviews.

Private trips are priced differently. A small boat leaves Falassarna daily at 09:00 for two hours around Gramvousa and Balos, at $432 per group of up to five. Three private tours drive to the viewpoint above Balos, where you stay at the top or walk down on your own in 20 to 40 minutes. A private boat from Chania old harbour costs $1,682 per group of up to five and has no reviews yet.

So the choice comes down to how you want to arrive. The boat is the simplest and the cheapest, the 4x4 adds the walk and the view from above, the catamaran ends the day at sea, and a private trip keeps it to your own group.