I found another one of my top favorite locations in the world while in Crete. Balos Beach is definitely up there in my top 5 somewhere. The reason is clear, as you’ve already caught the main photo on this post!
The dreamy views of the Balos lagoon and surrounding islands alone are amazing. Swimming in these magical waters was also incredible. But what made this experience top notch was exploring the surrounding landscape.
From a private little snorkel spot to sea salt-infused rocky tidal pools, I really loved our full day spent at Balos Beach. We stayed until all the tourists cleared out to catch a totally natural sunset view which made this an especially unique experience.
The Road to Balos Beach
We left in the morning from Chania to get to Balos Beach. The drive was about 1.5 hours West along the highway and then through a town called Kíssamos.
I loved the flowering trees along the highways. The streets we drove through were sometimes narrow between buildings but I also loved the bright pink flowering shrubs that we saw all over Chania, too.
We drove through many olive tree farms. These were obvious by the tree shape, lining the road in neat rows. Greece, and Crete in particular, is one of the major sources of olive farming in Europe.
Finally turning North, we began to drive along the Easten side of the Gramvousa peninsula in Northwestern Crete.
The Kolpos Kissamou bay waters are off to the right with the Rodopou peninsula as a distant backdrop. The White Mountains of Crete can also be seen, layered in the distance back South toward the highway from where we came.
Eventually the road turned dirt and bumpy. There is one booth that you pass through and pay a few Euros in order to access the road. Then we followed other cars in one-by-one.
Large rock formations were occasionally off to the right side, otherwise a guardrail was all that was between the car and a cliff drop-off into the sea.
Kri kri (goats) were found all along the roadsides here and especially loved catching shade next to the rocks!
After about 20-30 minutes on the bumpy, dusty road, we pulled into a large dirt area at the end of the peninsula. Cars were directed into rows for parking.
Most other travelers recommend arriving before 10am during peak summer (July and August). We arrived around 11am and found parking easily in late June. I can see how it might quickly fill up!
Emerging from the car, we were reminded of our hike at Katholiko the day before in which we discovered how hot the Cretan noonday sun is.
Walking along a path in the direction of other beach-goers, we saw people standing on top of a hill up ahead. Before continuing down the path, we decided to take a look at the views from where they were standing.
Dreamy Views
It took a few minutes and some careful stepping over rocks and plants. Eventually we walked up and could see out to sea and BAM! There was the famously beautiful Balos Beach view.
The color of the lagoon waters, the sandbar shallows, the islands in the distance—all of it was an absolute feast for the eyes. I could hardly take my eyes off that water! It was truly brilliant. My camera barely picked it up accurately, I had to edit some of my photos to correctly bring out the color the way my eyes saw it.
I saw this beach in photos online, but there really is nothing like actually being there in person to take it in. It seems truly unreal. I felt like I was in some fantasy fiction show and this was all CGI.
It’s an absolute dreamscape.
We stayed here taking photos and just sitting and staring for a good 15 minutes. Finally, we decided it was time to get in that water, not just stare at it!
The trek down was an adventure, as we were finding out is the norm for beaches in Crete!
The path was long, there were many steps, and it was blazing hot with no shade from the sun.
The hardest part was keeping our eyes on the uneven path below our feet. I found I kept looking out at that water! I kept stopping for photos and eventually, Carolina and I set up for a photo together in front of it.
Finally down at the beach, Caorlina and I decided it was worth it to get a couple of beach chairs. They were only 10 euros each. We found two chairs right in front of the water. I rarely pay for a luxury like this because I feel it’s just as well to sit on the sand. But the option to take a break from the sun and sit under the umbrella was more than welcome.
I suppose “splurging” on a beach chair is what 35-year-old travel looks like, as opposed to 27-year old travel when Carolina and I first met!
Down next to the lagoon now, I was awestruck again by the water here. So bright. So clear. To swim in these waters was magical!
The sandbar we were on was narrow. For reference, the lounge chairs were only about 3-4 rows deep. The sandbar stretches out to a wider part that connects to Tigani island. That is the big island you see prominently in all the photos. That island can be explored and we ended up filling part of our time to do so.
There’s not much to do at Balos Beach in the way of “water sports” other than swimming. But we did catch a few items that seem to be available for rent. This included a zodiac, inflatable SUP boards, some peddle boats with sea slides, and kayaks. If I ever returned, I may actually choose to rent one of these. We didn’t need them, however, as we filled our time easily with swimming and exploring the area by foot.
Exploring Tigani Island
The ground along the way to Tigani is a mixture of sandy parts and rocky parts. There’s even some pink sand and yellow algae on the rocks here that make for a beautiful contrast against the turquoise water.
Walking out toward Tigani, I was able to spot in the distance a couple of cruise ships pulling up.
Getting to Balos Beach the adventurous way is by car. But many tourists also visit Balos by Cruise Ship. Day Cruises come through the area from cities like Chania. When they show up from the South and the North, they swarm the beach like bees to a field of blossoms. They pop up umbrellas or squat on the sand and speckle the water until they board the ship again and set sail.
I didn’t mind the tourists, but I definitely preferred our way of getting there by car. It was more adventurous and the views over Balos made it so worth it!
Before heading all the way out to Tigani along the sandbar, we stopped to get some photos of the unique scenery. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for a fun little photoshoot!
I so rarely get photos like these as a solo traveler, but traveling with Carolina made it possible. Thanks, Carolina!
We began walking along the edge of Tigani island when we spotted a building up on the hill. We made our way up what seemed to be a path to reach the building. As we got close, we saw that it was a little monastery. We probably could have guessed this at this point! Monasteries are all over Crete!
Inside, we could light a candle and stick it in the sand. There was also fresh waters there, which was perfect because we were already quite thirsty. We brought our own food and water that day, but the sun is so hot that additional water was welcomed. We left a few Euros in the church in exchange for the water.
On the way back down, we could see a different view of the lagoon.
We followed what seemed to be a narrow path to the water along Tigani Island. These paths seemed to be made by goats, or at least frequently traveled by them. How could we tell?
Aside from the occasional droppings, we also found tufts of goat hair coat on the bushes lining parts of the paths!
Snorkeling Tigani Island
Not too far along our Tigani Island walk, we found a little, private inlet that looked perfect for snorkeling.
I joked to Carolina, “Hopefully no jellyfish this time!”
I loved this spot because there was nobody else there with us except one savvy cruise tourist who happened to find it after us.
The waters here were teeming with fish and activity. I put together a short video of what we saw, which kind of reminded me of another video I took in Niue while snorkeling the tide pools there.
Carolina even found some little hermit crabs here. They were fun to find and play with in the shallow parts of the inlet.
Salt-Filled Tidal Pools
We decided to walk farther out along the island. Our mission was to get as close a glimpse as we could get of Gramvousa island in the distance.
We jumped between the jagged sea rocks and across the circular tide pools here. Some of these pools were dried up. The sea salt was left behind and crystallized in the sun making it look almost like quartz rock embedded in the hole. It was really beautiful to see in between the red rocks here.
Overall, I loved the views here. This was a really unique landscape and experience with the waves crashing and entire scenery around us.
Canteen Refreshments
When we returned to our lounge chair, they were still there with some of the stuff we left behind. Nobody touched our stuff or tried to take our chairs but we did have our valuables with us.
After our pitstop there, we made our way over to a canteen we saw on our way over to the beach. We already went through most of our water and snacks so it was time to get something else.
Pizza and ice cream? Oh yes. This was the perfect food to add to a perfect day.
The Last Tourists at Balos
We had a last little swim and then took some time to lounge in our chairs, read, and relax.
Eventually, all of the tourists cleared out. The cruise ships were long gone and now most of the people had left. It was a ghost beach of vacant lounge chairs.
We wanted to see the sunset from the viewpoint we were at earlier.. So we took to ascending the stairs only when the sun was on its way to setting. This was a good move because we managed to avoid the hotter part of the day for this challenging climb.
There were many stairs to reach the top! It took about 25 minutes to climb it with some brief stops.
Once at the top, we were met with a huge heard of goats. They were making their way down the hill and to the other side before the sun went down. They were really on the move here! It was awesome watching them jogging single-file down the hill.
Sunset Views
We propped ourselves up on the cliff edge waiting for the sun to go down. From this vantage point, the sun mostly made the island dark and the water turn white below in photos.
We could still catch glimpses of the turquoise colored lagoon in contrast with the orange setting sun.
I’m glad we stayed to catch the sunset. Nobody else was there with us and it was definitely a different view than I normally see in photos of the area.
Heading back to our car, Tighty Whitey was waiting for us all by himself in the parking lot! The drive out was just as treacherous as the way in only this time we drove at dusk. By the time we reached the end of the dirt road, it was nightfall. We just took it slow and steady and we made it back to the highway to Chania.
In Conclusion
Balos Beach moved right into my top 5 favorite locations in the world. The views were unbelievable.
I’d definitely return again and I wouldn’t change anything about how I got there, what we did while staying there or how we departed. Going in by car, getting a beach chair, and waiting until sunset to leave were all the right choices. I will cherish the photos and memories from here forever!
I can’t wait to show you more of Crete. There’s more amazing views, food, and memories that I will share over the next several weeks. Stay tuned!
