Gramvousa and Balos Cruise from Chania

This tour includes the transfer from Chania city to Kissamos and the boat tickets to Gramvousa and Balos. This gives the opportunity to the visitor to have everything organized, pick up from the hotel or close by plus the boat ticket. Of course you can choose driving by your own but keep in mind that the road for a normal car is not so easy as the last 10 kilometers, starting at Kissamos, are off-road and bring you along a steep cliff edge. Regarding the duration of stay in Gramvousa and Balos is described in our program as it is, approx 2 hours in Gramvousa and 3 hours in Balos. We also refer that only pre-recording guide in the boat is included. For climbing at gramvousa castle, you need shoes as it is very high. Thank you for the kind words for the bus driver as we always want to provide high-quality service for our customers. Stay safe and enjoy the rest of your holidays!

Please note that there is only 1 company that operates all the ferries for Gramvousa & Balos. In order to go with smaller groups, unfortunately the only way is by going private or by travelling in low season where the beaches are not so crowded. Unfortunately, for climbing at gramvousa castle, you need shoes as it is very high. As for Balos, the vessel used is the largest one of the company. The reason we use it is because there are larger open spaces so that people are not so crowded. Also, please keep in mind that if you use the other vessels, you have to disembark via a tender boat which makes it a little more uncomfortable. We would like to thank you for your comments!

Dear Heide, Thank you for your feedback. I am really sorry to hear that your experience was poor as this is not the level of satisfaction we expect from our customers. Regarding the pre-recorded guiding on board which is included, I have already contacted the boat to check if for a reason that day was a problem but it was working normally. Regarding the duration of stay in Gramvousa and Balos is described in our program as it is, approx 2 hours in Gramvousa and 3 hours in Balos. I am happy to hear that you liked the place at it is a top-rated destination in Crete . I am also happy to hear kind words from the bus driver as we always want to provide high-quality service for our customers. I wish you a safe and nice stay in Greece Kind Regards Ria

Dear Macarena. Thank you for your review and for choosing our services! I’m happy that you enjoyed the tour. We follow all the regulated measures as prescribed by the regulation for Covid-19. This also means that we are permitted a dedicated number of passengers in the bus this summer. If the demand is high, we use bigger buses to cater for the needs of our customers while still maintaining their safety. Gramvoussa is a top rated destination in Crete and likely to draw more people during high season, we do though still highly recommend it since it is an open area where a person can control social distancing while on vacation. Your comments are valuable to us to ensure that a sound level of safety is enforced at all times. Enjoy the rest of your holidays and stay safe. Kind regards Ria

At that day we had 2 buses running the excursions. I started inside the city and one in the outskirts for faster pick-up. Passengers got in the bus by 08.00. Last stop of the bus was at 08.45. Bus was at Kissamos Port by 09.22 and all boat tickets were handed over to the clients by 09.35. Our guide Orestis, did mention all the information needed (schedule, boat, bus number on return as well as basic info for Balos & Gramvousa) mentioning also that there are multilingual pre-recorded instructions aboard as we clearly mention at our description Due to covid-19 protocols, all buses are required by the ferry company to be at port at least 1 hour before vessel departure (for safe embarkation). Boat departed at 10.40 from Kissamos Port, following the route mentioned. All vessels loaded, are monitored by the Port Authorities who are responsible for numbering the passengers that enter the vessels (and which at no case shall excel 85% of the vessel nominal capacity as per current National Health Protocols for vessels) By the way, we demanded from the ferry company to put our clients in the biggest vessel available in order to avoid cases of seasickness (as there were rough sea conditions on Saturday) and they kindly did Indeed in Balos there were many people but as it is the peak of the season, it is considered normal all over August…. The same for Gramvousa. As for the path to Gramvousa, the responsible authoritiy for the condition of the path is the Ministry of Culture and neither is the transportation, nor the ferry company On the way back, the bus did 1 hour and 50 minutes to return but this was only due to heavy traffic conditions. Even if the client had gone to Kissamos Port by taxi, in the very best case, this would have taken them 1 hour and 30 minutes while costing them at least triple the money just for transportation. In regards to the unpleasant driver and bus, we would like to point out that our driver, Leonidas is with us since 2008 with amazing comments from everyone (Tour Operator reps, guides and clients) and the bus he is driving is a 3 year old Mercedes Bus which we think is kind of strange to be mentioned as unpleasant. Enjoy the rest of your holidays.