The shallow water
Barely half a metre deep in places โ an almost tropical colour.
dronepicr โ CC BY 2.0 ยท Olaf Tausch โ CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท Olaf Tausch โ CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท dronepicr โ CC BY 2.0
**By boat** for most people: from **Kissamos** port, about an hour, usually stopping at the islet of **Gramvousa** so you can climb to its Venetian fort before it takes you on to Balos โ two sites in one trip, with no rough road and no hard descent. The drawback is that it arrives **around midday**, when the lagoon is at its most crowded and hottest, and leaves at a fixed time. **By car** is better for quiet: set out **very early** and you find the lagoon nearly empty before the boats arrive. โ But check your **hire contract** first โ many explicitly forbid the dirt road.
**Everything** โ rely on no facility. There is no drinkable water, no real restaurants, no dependable hired parasols and no lifeguard; what exists is seasonal and very limited. Carry: **more water than you think** (the climb back in the heat drinks it), food, **a parasol** since there is no natural shade at all, sun cream, **closed shoes** for the gravel path (not flip-flops), and cash. And carry your rubbish out โ the site is a protected area and bins are few or absent.
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The most famous natural sight in Crete: a **shallow lagoon** formed between the **Gramvousa** peninsula and the islet of **Imeri Gramvousa** at the far north-west โ water grading from turquoise to pale blue over white sand flecked **pink** with ground shell. The shallowness is the secret: in places the lagoon is barely half a metre deep and warms in the sun, so its colour looks almost tropical โ very rare in the Mediterranean. Facing it stands the islet of **Gramvousa** with a Venetian fortress on its summit. โ Getting there is the challenge, and there are two ways: **By boat** from the port of **Kissamos** โ about an hour, usually stopping at Gramvousa and then Balos, and far the easier option. **By car** along an **unsurfaced dirt road of about 8 km** ending at a car park, then a **walk down of 20โ30 minutes** on an exposed gravel path โ and the climb back is harder. โ Many **car hire companies prohibit** this road and void the insurance โ check your contract. โ There is no shade, almost no facilities and no lifeguard.
Barely half a metre deep in places โ an almost tropical colour.
Ground shell mixed through the white sand.
A Venetian fort on the facing islet, where the boats stop.
Balos, Kissamos, Crete