Balos Lagoon, Crete, Greece

4Tomlas23 5:00 PM Aug 8, 2022

“Must see” but hard work
This is a scenic destination and very popular with tourists to Crete. It’s one of the “must see” Crete destinations however it’s not for the faint hearted, particularly those who drive to the destination and need to negotiate the stairs to the beach. We got some very good advice from the locals to get there early and leave by lunch time which is when the large passenger ferries drop off hundreds of people onto the beach. We viewed the ferries coming in first hand from a high vantage point and it looked like ants swarming the beach. My advice is to get there early, around 9am if you’re driving. There’s a very long, bumpy, dirt road which you need to negotiate on the way in. Getting there early assures you won’t be pushed wide onto the edge of the goat track like road at times to allow oncoming vehicles through. It also ensures you will get a park in the car park closest to the stairs. BEWARE, the stairs are difficult to descend and ascend. We are relatively fit and in our late 40’s and we found it a very solid workout to get down and particularly to get up again. The beach itself is beautiful and worth the effort however I strongly recommend you fork out for a chair and umbrella because it gets hot. There is a canteen which sells snacks and cold drinks at a reasonable price considering it’s location.

5Olga 5:00 PM Jul 2, 2021

Stunning beach
We are very cautious about going to over-hyped, touristic beaches but we can confirm that this beach deserves all of the hype. It is an absolute stunner. We would recommend driving and walking down (the walk is about 15-30 minutes depending on the number of photo stops along the way!), rather than taking a boat tour, because you would miss the insane views if you take the boat. The drive to the car park is along an unpaved road so you have to go slowly and carefully. The walk down requires sturdy shoes. The beach itself has some umbrellas and a small cafe (which takes only cash). We would recommend bringing lunch with you. We were here in June so it wasn't too busy and we had a lovely day. Be aware though that at the height of summer, boats drop of loads of tourists so we would recommend coming here in the morning or afternoon if you come during high season. Highly recommended!