Balos
6-26-2022
The best for last. This beach was easily my favorite beach of all the beaches I went to on this trip to Crete. There were a handful of reasons that were giving me doubts about going to this beach. People had warned me that the road to the beach was rough. When I picked up the rental car the rental agent made sure to tell me that the insurance would cover nearly everything. Except for any damage that would happen to the underside of the vehicle due to driving on bad roads, like the road to Balos. There are other options. We could drive to the town of Kissamos and take a ferry to the beach from there. But that seemed like more hassle than it was worth plus, we were trying to keep on a budget, and the ferry was more than we cared to pay. As I researched Balos, the pictures I saw didn’t seem to impress me much. But everyone we spoke to had great things to say about it. We finally decided to risk it and drive there. Its not far from Chania, there's a quick drive through Kissamos and along the coast before we reached the dirt road with a woman in a booth. The admission to the beach is 1€ per person, the dirt road is 7 km long, and then there is a 2 km hike to the beach. The road was way better than I had imagined, when people tell me about rough dirt roads, I think of roads I’ve seen before with deep ruts and potholes. This road was flat, or as flat as a dirt road can get, and it was wide enough for two-way traffic not to be an issue. Driving slowly is still recommended, I went at an average of 20 kph.
The entire length of the drive follows the sea, and the views are amazing. There are also herds of goats everywhere too. We saw one far in the distance and thought for sure it was a statue. It was posed perfectly in a field on a lone rock. But as we got closer, it turned out to be an actual goat. The parking lot has a bathroom, a snack bar, and more goats resting in the shade of parked cars. When you begin the trail, you’re in a valley with hills around you. Soon, the hills to the right are clear, and the most beautiful beach is before you. There’s an area before the trail turns into stairs that is perfect for taking in the view and where people will be taking a lot of selfies. Looking down on the beach, the people look like ants. The beach forms a peninsula that ends in a large land mass that's reminiscent of Devil’s Tower from Close Encounters. The water spans a beautiful range of blues that blend into the horizon. The ferry boat was docked along the beach to the left. We descended the stairs, and once on the beach, we crossed over closer to the far side where the hill is. The water was perfect for swimming, with the right temperature, and no wind. This beach had all the amenities of Elafonissi. Around 2 pm there was a mass exodus as the people who came by ferry headed back to the boat. It appeared that at least 80% of the people there had come by this mode of transportation. All the chairs with umbrellas that we were sitting near were now vacant. A kind woman that was leaving let us know that she had paid for her chairs for the entire day and handed us her ticket.
Know Before You Go:
The entrance to the beach is 1€ per person.
From the entry point, there is a drive of 7 km along a dirt road, it is manageable in an economy car, but it is advised to drive cautiously and slowly.
Once parked there is a 2 km hike to the beach, going down isn’t so hard, but going back up can be a challenge. There are a lot of steps, the incline is gradual but long.
Another option to get to the beach is by ferry. https://blue-daily-cruises.com/ferry-to-balos-gramvousa-tickets-schedule/