Balos & Elafonisi: The 15 Best Boat Trips & Day Tours

Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Boat Tours in Chania, Chania Tours & Activities, Cruises & Boat Tours, Tour Reviews

From Kissamos Port: Boat Cruise to Balos Lagoon & Gramvousa

/ August 12, 2026

1.From Kissamos Port: Boat Cruise to Balos Lagoon & Gramvousa

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 6,755 reviews · 7 hours · from $47Our pick

Ferry-style cruise from Kissamos to Balos Lagoon and Gramvousa, with castle hike, Orthodox church swim, emerald water, and snacks.

“Great trip, easy and scenic boat ride with reasonable food options (snacks and meals) (including espresso) and plenty of seating inside or outside. Family of 5 with kids ages 10, 10, and 14. We pre-ordered lunch which wasn’t necessary. With big kids it’s better to just see what they are in the mood for. I think the amount of time at each place was just right with kids. Wonderful experience!”

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1-Day Tours, Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Crete Tours & Activities, Day Trips from Chania, Tour Reviews

From Chania: Day Trip to Elafonisi Island Pink Sand Beach

/ August 12, 2026

2.Day Trip to Elafonisi Island Pink Sand Beach

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 2,014 reviews · 450 minutes - 12 hours · from $38

Pink sand at Elafonisi and crystal-clear swimming, with hotel transfers from Chania, Topolia Gorge views, and a lunch stop in Elos.

“Joanne was a great guide! The bus was comfortable and the food stops were great!”

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Chania/Rethymno: Balos & Gramvousa With Pickup & Boat Ticket

/ August 12, 2026

3.Chania/Rethymno: Balos & Gramvousa With Pickup & Boat Ticket

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 1,703 reviews · 9 - 12 hours · from $50

Full-day boat trip from Chania to Balos Lagoon and Gramvousa Island, with hotel pickup, skip-the-line tickets, swimming and castle views.

“Fantastic day! Well worth visiting both destinations and the boat trip is enjoyable. There are good food and drink options on the boat as well. Would highly recommend!”

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Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Crete Boat Trips, Crete Tours & Activities, Cruises & Boat Tours, Tour Reviews

Chania Areas/Kalyves:Gramvousa Island & Balos,Boat Tkt Extra

/ August 12, 2026

4.Chania Areas/Kalyves:Gramvousa Island & Balos,Boat Tkt Extra

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 992 reviews · 10 - 12 hours · from $23

Bus and ferry from Chania or Kalyves to Gramvousa and Balos, climb the Venetian fortress, then swim in Balos Lagoon. Boat ticket extra.

“Really nice guide and welcoming, was a comfy ride to the port and back. Our guide was really friendly and kept us informed and updated with the itinerary and what to expect. The Gramvousa Island was amazing, definitely recommend walking up to the Fortress first and then spending the rest of the time on the beach. Note there are no cafes or food on the island, only one small souvenir shop. Spent 2.75 hours which was a good amount of time to do both. It’s worth noting that you can’t actually go into the Balos beach due to the new conservation rules unless you swim to it from the boat.…”

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Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Crete Tours & Activities, Day Trips from Rethymno, Tour Reviews, Tours

From Rethymno/Kavros: Elafonisi Island Pink Sand Beach Tour

/ August 12, 2026

5.From Rethymno/Kavros: Elafonisi Island Pink Sand Beach Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 799 reviews · 9 - 10 hours · from $28

Pink-sand Elafonisi day trip from Rethymno with gorge views, guided stops, and at least 4 hours to swim in clear water.

“This trip is definitely worth it, very good price and everything went according the plan. First stop was at the local family-owned honey factory (with a coffee shop) which was really nice and then the bus continued to the beach and got there around 10am. There was plenty of time to spend on the beach and the bus was leaving back at 3pm with another stop along the road at a very nice cave with a coffee shop. I also learned a lot from the guide who was very nice and I would for sure recommend if you’re in Crete and don’t wanna rent a car.”

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Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Day Trips from Heraklion, Heraklion Tours & Activities, Tour Reviews, Tours

From Heraklion: Elafonisi Beach Day Tour with Pickup

/ August 12, 2026

6.Elafonisi Beach Day Tour with Pickup

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 731 reviews · 13 hours · from $64

Pink sand and clear Aegean water at Elafonisi with pickup from Heraklion, a guided scenic ride, and 4.5 hours on the beach.

“Amazing trip to Elafonisi Beach. Our tour guide, Emmanouela, was absolutely amazing (she even spoke 5 languages so don’t worry she’ll probably have you covered if you’re a tourist like us) she made the trip to the beach really interesting and enjoyable with her knowledge of Crete, the culture, history etc. A memory we’ll never forget thanks to her. Take care and enjoy life ;)”

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Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Cruises & Boat Tours, Kissamos Tours & Activities, Tour Reviews

From Kissamos Port: Boat Cruise to Balos Lagoon

/ August 12, 2026

7.From Kissamos Port: Boat Cruise to Balos Lagoon

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 678 reviews · 5 hours · from $42

Ferry cruise from Kissamos Port to Balos Lagoon with 3 hours to swim, round-trip, and a multilingual audio guide.

“The trip is great. Balos is beautiful, loads of shallow blue crystal clear water. Ideal for children paddling and adults chilling. There is a small cafe available and lots of bins to put your rubbish in. Sometimes there are goats coming down from the hills to the beach. The feery is efficient, takes anywhere between 45min and 1h15min depending on the wind. Occasionally the ferry is cancelled due to high wind, but that's rare. This trip is just a standard ferry ticket, the same as you would book on the ferry website. Chrissi tours doesnt add anything on top. The bus back from Kissamos Port to Chania is sometimes a…”

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Rethymno Area: Gramvousa Island & Balos, Boat Ticket Extra

/ August 12, 2026

8.Rethymno Area: Gramvousa Island & Balos, Boat Ticket Extra

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 594 reviews · 10 - 12 hours · from $20Best value

Bus and boat day from Rethymno to Balos Lagoon and Gramvousa Island, plus optional Venetian Fortress climb and swimming time.

“Great trip with a professional guide. But it will be better to take more information about Balos and Gramvousa.”

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1-Day Tours, Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Boat Tours in Chania, Chania Tours & Activities, Cruises & Boat Tours, Tickets, Tour Reviews

Chania/Almyrida: Balos Gramvousa Day Trip with Boat Ticket

/ August 12, 2026

9.Chania/Almyrida: Balos Gramvousa Day Trip with Boat Ticket

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 590 reviews · 12 hours · from $64

Balos Lagoon and Gramvousa Venetian fortress in one big day, with air-conditioned transport, ferry tickets, and swims in turquoise water.

“beautiful place, the beach is a must. Te guide was very cheerfull and keep us entertained while going to the boat, then the boat has great food and nice staff.”

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Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Cruises & Boat Tours, Tour Reviews, Tours

Limeniskos: Gramvousa and Balos Speedboat Tour with Drinks

/ August 12, 2026

10.Limeniskos: Gramvousa and Balos Speedboat Tour with Drinks

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 577 reviews · 3 hours · from $99

Speedboat from Falassarna to Gramvousa and Balos with drinks included, an hour at each stop, plus snorkel time in clear water.

“This speedboat trip was an absolutely amazing experience for us as a sporty couple! We had considered different options for the best possible boat tour, and we are so happy with this choice. At the back of the boat there were more classic seats, but we really enjoyed sitting at the very front, on the soft cushions on top of the coolers. The ride was fast and incredibly fun! It almost felt like flying, a little bit like riding a jet ski. Gramvousa Island turned out to be even more impressive than we expected. At the fortress on top we took some of the most beautiful photos of our trip.…”

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Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Boat Tours in Heraklion, Cruises & Boat Tours, Day Trips from Heraklion, Heraklion Tours & Activities, Tour Reviews

From Heraklion: Cruise to Balos Lagoon and Chania Old Town

/ August 12, 2026

11.Cruise to Balos Lagoon and Chania Old Town

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 526 reviews · 14.5 - 16 hours · from $88

From Heraklion, cruise to Balos Lagoon and Gramvousa, then explore Chania’s Venetian harbor on a full-day outing.

“Great day, worth the early start, Balos is beautiful, guide was great and informative. The only thing that let it down was the bus, the seats were so uncomfortable and for such a long journey it would have been better if the seats were more comfortable. The coach driver George was great tho!”

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Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Catamaran Cruises, Cruises & Boat Tours, Kissamos Tours & Activities, Sailing, Tour Reviews, VIP

Kissamos: Balos & Gramvousa Luxury Catamaran Sailing Cruise

/ August 12, 2026

12.Balos & Gramvousa Luxury Catamaran Sailing Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 516 reviews · 7 - 8.5 hours · from $229

Luxury catamaran cruise to Balos Lagoon and Gramvousa, with transfers, nutritionist meals, snorkel gear, drinks, and pink flamingo float.

“We had a perfect day out on the catamaran with a particularly amazing crew who worked together and were all so positive and welcoming. The food was plentiful and absolutely delicious! Probably the best food we’ve had so far on our whole trip throughout Greece. I was worried it would be too cool in October to go out on a catamaran, but the weather couldn’t have been better. It was heartwarming to meet so many interesting people from around the globe who were all so open and kind. The crew made the day so special! Many thanks for making such wonderful memories!”

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1-Day Tours, Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Chania Tours & Activities, Day Trips from Chania, Tour Reviews

From Chania: Elafonisi Pink Sand Beach Day Trip w/ Elos Stop

/ August 12, 2026

13.Elafonisi Pink Sand Beach Day Trip w/ Elos Stop

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 424 reviews · 10 hours · from $37

Pink sand, turquoise lagoons, and a mountain village meal. A 10-hour bus day trip from Chania to Elafonisi and Elos.

“We had a great day out, which was very well organised from start to finish. Our guide Irini was very friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable.”

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Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Chania Tours & Activities, Lunch Experiences, Off-Road & Quad Tours, Quad & Jeep Tours in Chania, Tour Reviews, Tours

Balos & Falassarna Beach – Jeep Tour with Loungers and Lunch

/ August 12, 2026

14.Balos & Falassarna Beach – Jeep Tour with Loungers and Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 345 reviews · 7 to 8 hours (approx.) · from $199Top rated

Small-group 4WD from Chania to Balos lagoon viewpoint and Falassarna beach, with reserved loungers, lunch, and easy pickup.

“We had such a wonderful time with our tour guide Nikolas. He was extremely kind and knowledgeable. Balos was a beautiful viewpoint and made for nice pictures. The beach afterwards so lovely and the lunch provided was even better. I will say that it was a lot of driving for me, and also quite expensive for what the day is.”

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Chania: Balos Lagoon 4x4 Jeep Safari Tour from Kissamos - Kissamos departure to the Gramvousa Peninsula: what the ride is like

Balos & Elafonisi Boat Trips, Kissamos Tours & Activities, Off-Road & Quad Tours, Safari, Tour Reviews, Tours

Chania: Balos Lagoon 4×4 Jeep Safari Tour from Kissamos

/ August 12, 2026

15.Balos Lagoon 4×4 Jeep Safari Tour from Kissamos

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 341 reviews · 6 hours · from $57

4x4 jeep safari from Kissamos to Balos Lagoon, with scenic stops, swimming time, and a small-group ride across rugged western Crete.

“We really enjoyed the beach and the scenic ride on the way. I wasn’t prepared for the hike back up the mountain but we made it ! Be prepared for a moderate hike back up. Other the. That it was a good experience.”

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