Relax, crystal clear water, - We went hiking with our tour operator Alpitour. Nice hike, Laguna Balos is beautiful. We liked Gramvousa better. Beautiful water, the background interior very particular landscape, red mountains with an immensity of Aloe plants. There are strange rocks, biting..beautiful to look at. Remember to have the right shoes with you, otherwise it is almost impossible to swim. At the top there is a Venetian fortress. You can climb 400 steps, about 20 minutes. I did not go, preferred to enjoy warm and crystal clear water. However it is feasible, and the view definitely wonderful .. I highly recommend this excursion. From our Resort Aquila rethymno 1 hour, more or less bus and 1 hour Great Ferry. .Recommended to everyone because, in my opinion it is the most beautiful sea of Kreta.

Outstanding! - Amazing day all together! Balos lagoon water was so warm, just like a bath. Gramvousa was incredible, water was turquoise blue and so clear, not forgetting the incredible history and shipwreck. Breathtaking experience.

Island excursion. - Apart from a number of pick up points, the journey to the boat was an interesting insight of the Island. Our guide Carolina was very informative. After boarding the boat (an old car ferry) which was very comfortable and offered food and drinks the entire trip, we sailed to the Pirate Island of Gramvousa. You are able to go onto the Island. It has a sandy beach with limited shade and view the old fortification there if you fancy the climb. Trainers or walking footwear needed. Balos lagoon is also nice. No shade. You need wet style footwear. In all the trip was excellent.

One of the most beautiful places in Crete and definitely worth a visit! - Have visited Gramvousa and Balos several times. A beautiful place, which I personally think is one of the most beautiful in Crete and the beach absolutely beats the typical Elafonnisos Beach which is totally overrun. You can both sail to Balos and you can drive the long trip there. The drive is hard, dusty and long, but immensely beautiful. Few car rental companies allow their cars to drive out there - remember that. You park at the top, walk a long way over the mountain and voila - comes the view that beats EVERYTHING. The sailing trip is super delicious and relaxing - but book in advance. Then you avoid a very long queue. There are tourists on Balos and Gramvousa - but not unrestrained - precisely because it is a bit difficult to get to, and the ferry leaves after a few hours again, and then most of them are gone again. Gramvousa is very beautiful and you can only get there by boat. None of the places are good for people with walking difficulties - not even the sailing trip, as it is a hassle to get ashore.

Stunning beaches - It was a good experience. We went to sightsee and for the kids to snorkel. I was hesitant about the reviews about receiving pick up info, but ours was very straight forward. Told the day before as promised. Our guide was very informative and helpful. The ferry was busy and the only downside of the whole thing, which is not the fault of the organisers. It was more that the other people aboard don’t want to create space for others to sit down, which we found difficult with a family of four. Disembarking at Balos was slow but we didn’t need to wade through the sea as other reviews suggested. Maybe this is a new addition. Gramvoussa was easier to disembark due to more space once we’d docked. We took our own food but the ferry was well stocked. There’s no facilities or provisions other than on the ferry. Long day but glad we went.

Great wiews but - Amazing wiews and the best trip we’ve been to in Crete. Everything was great planed and the guide was good. But the only thing is that we had to ”swim” to Balos from the boat, and they said to leave our stuff behind. Me and my friends did not want to leave without all our belongings in a locker or something so we just stayed on the boat. So the fact that we did not know everything before hand is the only ”bad” thing, otherwise we loved it.

Good activity for the whole day - Good time for the whole family I liked the trip. The ship was big, there was enough space for everyone. The upper deck had both open benches and covered seating. Since lunch on the ferry was not included in the price, we took a light snack with us - sandwiches and fruit. The bar has an abundance of cold and hot drinks. Comfortable shoes are a must. It is better to take sneakers to climb to the fortress. For swimming - special slippers, without them there is a high risk of seriously injuring your feet. Landing in the Balos Lagoon was right in the water, 100 m from the shore; EVERYONE had to swim in swimsuits to get there; they took valuables (phones, money) with them. Therefore, it is better to have a waterproof bag (backpack). Other things can be left on board. There were many families with children. It seemed to me that this was not the best solution, but people were happy. The lagoon is beautiful, but quite dirty. To get to the fortress we had to wait in line for about 15 minutes. The views from the top are very beautiful. The descent took a little longer, the steps are uneven, you have to be careful. There is almost no time left for the beach. You need to be on the boat 15 minutes before departure. Overall, I recommend it for beach lovers

Disappointed with Gramvoussa, I won't go anymore. - A rocky hill with a small beach of coarse sand you cannot go into the sea because there are rocks all along the shore. Wasted time.

Great tour if you like traveling on buses and ferries - Honestly, the posting for this trip is a bit misleading. Don't expect a smaller boat or provided meals. We spent twice as much time traveling to Balos and Gramvousa in the bus and ferry than we did at the beaches. We maybe got 1.5 hours in Balos at 40ish minutes in Gramvousa. The crowd on the ferry that you travel with is huge, and we went in October! It took 15-20 minutes just to disembark and lay down your towel. We were late getting back to Chania and the bus made a ridiculous amount of stops for pickup. I know it's a but pricy, but it's much more worth it to rent a boat from Chania and just spend some time at Balos before the ferry comes in. I would not recommend this tour to anyone. The beaches were nice though.

Extremely Disappointing Experience - I had high hopes for this tour, but I'm deeply disappointed with the services provided. I was promised a hotel pick-up that never happened. Despite rushing to the Sensal Hotel 10 minutes before the supposed pick-up time and skipping breakfast, I was left stranded on the street for 40 minutes, with no sign of the bus. This level of unprofessionalism was unprecedented in my travel experience. To make matters worse, my drop-off point for the return trip was completely wrong, and this is inexcusable. I even asked the driver before boarding the bus, but it seems he didn't understand English. As a result, I was the last to be dropped off at 19:40, leaving me tired, stressed, and thoroughly unhappy with the entire ordeal. This experience has left a lasting negative impression, overshadowing any beauty I may have experienced on the island. I hope the tour company takes this feedback seriously and improves its services for future customers. In addition to the numerous issues I encountered during this tour, it's worth noting that I reached out to the tour company, but no one bothered to reply or offer an apology. The complete lack of response and accountability for these failures only adds to the overall disappointment of this experience. It's truly disheartening when a company fails to address its customers' concerns and provide the necessary support.