Balos beach, the most beautiful beach in Greece?
I’d seen many photos of Balos Beach online while I did my research for my holiday to Crete. This beach is considered one of the top beaches in the world. I knew a day trip out to Balos and Gramvousa would be beautiful, but I tried not to have high expectations. When the ferry docked in Balos I was blown away. I think my mouth actually fell open. This could not be real!
I decided to book a day trip to Balos beach and Gramvousa island from Chania. Basically what it meant was that a coach picked me up near my hostel and dropped me off at the port in Kissamos. We received boat tickets and then we were on our own. I may as well have gone by public bus.
A huge ferry boat lie waiting for us in the harbour. I had no idea it would be this big. Everyone entered with a mask on, we filled out a question form (of the type “have you had any symptoms…”) and then got our temperature checked. Before entering the deck there was the mandatory souvenir photo that had to be taken, without mask this time. After that nobody seemed to bother with the masks anymore.
After a long wait the boat finally started moving and we made our way to Balos beach. Just before arriving a message came over the speakers in about 7 languages. We could rent umbrellas for 4 Euro and the overpriced restaurant would stay open for our convenience. Great. We got about 2,5 hours on the beach, which could have been a bit more. It took a while for everyone to leave the ship and first I hiked through the sand to the other side to climb up the steps to the view point.
Balos beach can be reached by car, but it’s a dirt road so many people opt for the boat instead. Besides, if you’re coming by car you descend down these steps I was hiking up and then have to go back the same way after your relaxing time at the beach. I was glad to be doing the opposite. I got active and sweaty first, took my money shots, and then relaxed in the crystal clear water. What a wonderful place!
I thought it couldn’t get any better, but we had a second stop today: Gramvousa island, or the pirate island as they called it. It was small, but with a big Venetian fortress standing proudly on top of the hill. So I rushed off the boat, ready for my second hike. The views from the fortress were amazing. The different shades of the blue sea were incredible! I actually liked swimming here even more than at Balos. Since you can only come by boat, it was a lot quieter. I can just imagine having a boat and sailing out here to spend the morning before the tourists come out. Getting into the water was a bit rocky, but worth all the effort and how ridiculous you look when you come back out again. I wouldn’t have want to miss this for anything!
The ferry boat that got us to the island and the beach 
Found a tiny pink glow in the sand 
A bird’s eye view of the scene 
A goat was climbing the surrounding rocks 
The water immediately invites you to jump in 
So clear you could see everything in the water 
The rocky shoreline of Balos 
Taking the boat to Gramvousa island 
The beach at Gramvousa island is even quieter than at Balos 
The steps to the Venetian fortress 
Entrance to the fortress 
The fortress only has a few things left beside it’s walls 
A shipwreck in the bay 
The Greek flag flies at the top of the fortress 
Looking back at Balos beach and the beautiful water in between 
The beautiful contrast of the buildings against the water
The details: how to do Balos Beach
The ferry leaves from port of Kissamos (40km from Chania). You can reach this by car, by public bus or with an organised trip. Depending on demand your organised trip could have people for both Elafonisi and Balos. The Balos people are dropped off first and have an hour at the port before the ferry leaves. There is a small restaurant where you could do breakfast or you can secure a spot in the shade on the boat.
Taking the public bus you leave Chania at about 9AM, whereas the organised trip picked me up at 8AM! I only paid about 8 euro more for the organised trip, but I would have rather left at 9AM.
There is no extra information from a guide when you choose for the organised trip, so the only advantage may be peace of mind. You know that the coach will wait for you even if the boat is late to return.
At the time I was there, there was only one company offering the boat trip, unless you wanted to fork out for a private boat. If you have a parasol, it’s good to take. Also bring decent shoes if you want to do the hikes and come prepared with some food and drinks so that you don’t rely only on the selection available at the ferry.
The costs from Chania are about 30-40 EUR depending on how you get there.