Gramvousa Island and Balos Bay Full-Day Tour from Chania

Name: Gramvousa Island and Balos Bay Full-Day Tour from Chania
Brand: PLATANOS TOURS
SKU: 105339P17
Price: 23.34 USD
Rating: 3.5 (53 reviews)

Chania, Greece

Great choice

10+ bookings last month.

10 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Enjoy some of Crete’s most beautiful beaches without the self-drive hassles on this guided small-group tour. Travel direct from your door to Kissamos, where you board a boat for Balos Beach and Lagoon, then savor the soft white sands. Next, ride a boat to Gramvousa Island (own expense), swim in the clear waters, and opt to hike to the 16th-century fortress. Your guide will drop you directly to your door.

Savor two unspoiled beaches: Balos Beach and Lagoon, and Gramvousa Island
Enjoy a more intimate experience in a group capped at just 15
Take it easy with round-trip transfers direct from your door
Make the most of your day with a guide on hand throughout

What's Included

Hotel pick-up and drop off (at Perivolia, Halepa, Akrotiri, Halidon Street Alpha Bank, Chania center, Kladissos, Nea Chora, Agioi Apostoloi, Xrysi Akti, Daratso, Galatas, Kalamaki, Stalos, Agia Marina, Platanias, Gerani, Kontomari, Pyrgos, Psyionfrou, Maleme, Tavronitis, Kolymvari, Minothiana, Paraniana and Kamisiana)
Air-conditioned vehicle
Professional English guide
Professional Driver
Free time to explore Balos Lagoon and Gramvousa Island
All the legal taxes
Liability insurance coverage

Boat ticket to Gramvousa island and Balos lagoon(per adult) and 17 for children

€34.00 per person
Food and drinks
Personal expenses
Entrance fee - Venetian Fortress

€1.00 per person
Boat ticket to Gramvousa island and Balos lagoon(children 5 - 12 years)

€17.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

▪︎ Hotel pick-up and drop off (Perivolia, Halepa, Akrotiri, Halidon Street Alpha Bank, Chania center, Kladissos, Nea Chora, Agioi Apostoloi, Xrysi Akti, Daratso, Galatas, Kalamaki, Stalos, Agia Marina, Platanias, Gerani, Kontomari, Pyrgos, Psyionfrou, Maleme, Tavronitis, Kolymvari, Minothiana, Paraniana and Kamisiana).

Itinerary

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Infants must sit on laps
Infant seats available
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Take swimming suits

Seats are assigned by the theater box office and will not be known in advance of the performance date
At the time of booking please mention your hotel name and location. You will be notified by email about the pickup point and time
Pickup begins up to 90 minutes before tour starts and is done from central meeting points near the hotels, only in the areas of Panormo, Scaleta, Adele, Platanias, Missiria, Rethymno town, Atsipopoulo, Kavros and Georgioupoli
Infants will be seated with their parents on the bus and will not have their own seat
We need phone number and country code infront
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Questions?

Visit the Viator Help Centre for any further questions.

Product code: 105339P17

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

3.6

based on 53 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Saves you from arranging...

Francisco_B, Jul 2025

Saves you from arranging you own transportation to the port. The ferry is massive and designed by someone who did not want anyone enjoying the view, very unusual and uncomfortable seating. On the way back, the guide was kind to help a passenger who has requested a different stop but then waited there for 15 minutes, with everyone else waiting on the bus, tired and dying for a shower to wash the salt, have some food, only for the passenger and guide to get back in the bus. Made me miss the sunset too. That was very nice of the guide to help but came at the cost of everyone else on the bus. Even the driver had to press the bus horn couple of times.

Response from Host, Jul 2025

thank you for the review

Loved this experience!...

Ana_O, Jun 2025

Loved this experience! Our tour guide (forgot her name) was lovely and on top of everything. Our driver Nikko was great too. They communicated with us all along the way and answered all of our questions. Especially at the bus stop where there were multiple travel agencies and multiple busses. The ferry ride was great and had wonderful selection of food and drinks. Balos was stunning! A must see beach- especially for our 3 teenagers. The Gramvousa (2nd stop) was also very beautiful. Highly recommend!!

Response from Host, Jul 2025

thank you for the review

Great Beach Outing

Janet_B, Jun 2025

We were picked up by tour bus that had people going to Elafonessi Beach as well as Balos and Gramvousa so it took a while to get to the port if you were some of the first pick-ups. We had about an hour at the port before the boat departed but it was a good time to grab some breakfast. The boat had a pretty good selection - you could only pay with a card. The hour long cruise around the islands was beautiful and the beaches were wonderful for swimming. There were no loungers and sand at Balos was very wet - our towels soaked it up like a sponge. Gramvousa had another nice swimming area and a fortress atop the hill that you could hike up to. Fairly strenuous hike but worth it as the view from the top was lovely. We had about 2 hrs at each beach. Altogether a very nice outing.

Response from Host, Jun 2025

thank you for the review

Fine but not worth the travel really.

Anouschka_F, Sep 2024

I didn’t really get it. It’s 5 hours of travelling for 4 hours at two different beaches, neither of which were amazing. Knowing what I know now, I’d skip it. The service was fine however, pick up smooth and they responded quickly to my questions.

Response from Host, Oct 2024

Thank you for the review BUT we dont understant the 3 stars

Beautiful trip lovely experience, I recommend this tour.

Alexandra_G, Sep 2024

It was a wonderful trip. I recommend to take swimming shoes as there are lots of stones to get into the water. Water is crystal clear.

Response from Host, Sep 2024

Thank you for the review

Wonderful trip

Cammie_G, Sep 2024

You have to see the color of the water to believe it ! The scenery is spectacular ! Great excursion. However I would not recommend for someone not steady on their feet as there was very rocky uneven ground on the treacherous walk to the lagoon and again to the island at least 10 minutes each way .

Response from Host, Sep 2024

Thank you for the review

Awesome!

Christiana_D, Aug 2024

Awesome excursion! This is a great way to see some of the most beautiful parts of Crete. The bus will pick you up from (near or at) your hotel and everything after that is smooth sailing! The boat is comfortable and has many options for food and drink. The directions about getting off and on the boat at Balos and Gramvousa are very clear. Both locations are beautiful and it's the perfect amount of time to get a little taste of both of these gorgeous places.

Response from Host, Aug 2024

hello thank you for the review and the informations

Great way to visit...

Athena_N, Jul 2024

Great way to visit balos!! We really enjoyed the tour. There is a restaurant on board and the overall tour was well worth what we paid

Response from Host, Jul 2024

Ηello thanks for the review

Fabulous from start to finish

Fiona_K, Jun 2024

The most stunning trip. The tour guide lady also (futurura tours with red converse shoes) she was very good at her job. The day couldn't have went more smoothly. The sea water is clear and white sand. A trip you could only dream of. Thank you!

Response from Host, Jul 2024

Ηello thanks for the review

Fun trip. lagoon was...

geash_m, May 2024

Fun trip. lagoon was beautiful would recommend bringing crocs as walk from boat is very rocky other than that great trip and fun

Response from Host, Jul 2024

Ηello thanks for the review but we don't understand the comment of you

Balos and gramvousa are...

Kelly_v, May 2024

Balos and gramvousa are beautiful! Only book this tour if you are capable of swimming to the beach from the boat. It doesn’t go all the way to balos.

Response from Host, Jul 2024

Ηello thanks for the review but we don't understand the comment of you

Go it alone

Deborah_G, May 2024

Received two different pickup locations in Chania from the company so I followed the directions of the most recent email. Waited an hour to be picked up and when I rang the company they told me it was the wrong location. Not impressed as having two people send different instructions is confusing. I missed out on the tour and the only thing good about it was I ended up organising it myself the following day and realised I didn't need Viator at all. Catching the local bus and buying the ferry ticket was easier than dealing with the company and i had a great time at Balos Lagoon.

Response from Host, Jul 2024

hello debora when you follow the automatically informations from viator and you don't follow our informations details and voucher then its normal to lose the trip.sorry for that

Island paradise

Alex_M, May 2024

Beaches are amazing. The itinerary goes as scheduled. You have enough time at each beach to enjoy what they have to offer. Kind of a must see if you visit this are of Crete.

Response from Host, Jul 2024

Ηello thanks for the review

Great boat ride to Gramvousa

Joanne_M, May 2024

The boat ride was wonderful, we enjoyed the scenery along the way. The beach at Gramvousa was very nice, crystal clear turquoise waters. But Balos was difficult, lounge lounge chairs are no longer allowed and most of the beach is rocky or has wet sand, so it's difficult to relax.

Response from Host, Jul 2024

Ηello thanks for the review

Experience of a lifetime!

robtraf, Aug 2023

The weather, the sea and the transportation. Simply the whole trip was an experience. Great people and fantastic tour guide!

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Ηello thanks for the review

Far pick up point

Dai_D, Jul 2023

Even though the bus passed by our hotel, this company requested us to come to the meeting point where is far from our hotel. We had to walk 15 minutes. In the meanwhile, others seem to be picked up close to their hotel. We didn't make sense.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

hello the pickups are from hotel from main roads .that's not possible our bus to pass from your hotel and not pick up

Skip this Excursion

janet_f, Jul 2023

Seeing Balos, although not experiencing the beach. Time wasted waiting on boat till we left Balos for Gramuvska, which you can skip!

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Gramvousa and balos are perfect and the programm is like that 10-15 years so thats your opinion that the tour must skip the gramvousa island

Tourist guide

Ana_S, Jun 2023

The lady who was guide for the tour, has using an offending speech in her stories about the real countries and some “fake” ones, which was totally unpleasant and unprofessional. To be more precise, North Macedonia was presented in her stories as fake country, beside the fact that the countries from all of the tourist in the bus has officially approved and recognized this country including Greece also. Any personal opinions should not be publicly spoken because it is extremely unprofessional and frustrating for the tourists.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Ηello thanks for the review

This tour is great!

kcenia_s, Jun 2023

My husband and I enjoyed this tour very much. We had enough time on the beach and hiking up to the fortress. It didn’t come with any frills but for this price it was more than what we expected. Both the driver and guide were professional and considerate (sorry I can’t remember your names, i just know it was “the big guy with the big bus” lol) even to the man who missed the bus and tried to catch up in a taxi. The bus waited a considerable time for him but he did not show up. I would highly recommend this tour. Gramvousa and Balos are places you should not miss.