DAY TRIPS · CHANIA
One spare day and a long list. These 9 day trips from chania are the ones that repay the early start, each with its price, its real length and the one thing to check before you pay.
Review of the $37 Elafonissi Beach day trip from Chania, with four beach hours, scenic mountain roads, Elos Village, and optional Cretan lunch.
“Well worth doing, all very well organised and the food stops were lovely too.”
Review of the Balos and Gramvousa day trip from Chania, with boat transport, Venetian fortress, swimming stops, costs, crowds, and practical tips.
“Trip itself consists of picking up and out from the place near your hotel, giving you a ticket to the ferry (this is a public ferry, you can buy ticket yourself in Kissamos port), 2 hours in Balos and 2 hours on Gramvousa. The trip is worth the money as you don’t need to think about logistics and the ferry is big enough for all people (both organized groups and individual travelers). On our way to the port and back guides told us interesting facts about Crete and Greece. Overall, the guides were friendly too but this is not an excursion it’s rather an organized trip with a local person…”
Review of the $37 Elafonisi day trip from Chania, with pink sand, four beach hours, mountain scenery, and lunch in Elos.
“My wife and I can't recommend this day trip enough! Everything ran exceptionally to time and was so well thought out; from coordination of the various pick up and drop off points close to everyone's various places of accommodation, Irini's warm, witty and insightful commentary, and our driver's confident driving along mountainous roads that would test the nerves of most! Elafonissi is a super magical place, worth getting up early for, and we really enjoyed all the vegan options at the restaurant in Elios we were taken to.”
Hike Crete’s Samaria Gorge from Chania with a guide, hotel transfers, ferry ride, beach time, and practical tips for a long day.
“Fabulous trip, booked via GYG and delivered locally with Io Tours. Our guide Pari was exceptional, really knew her stuff and organised us all with ease. Reasonable challenging hike - pole(s) a very good idea, can be bought at the cafe stop 5 mins before the gorge entrance. Stunning scenery - early October and very hot (though initially a light layer needed at high altitude start). So glad we did this - highlight of the holiday!”
Review of the Chania to Santorini day trip, with catamaran details, Oia and Fira stops, costs, timing, and practical advice.
“These tours do not really give you time to explore properly. you’re mostly just passing through places. In Fira, there isn’t much to see, yet the stop there is longer than in Oia, which is the real highlight of Santorini. For food, don’t waste money at expensive restaurants (where you’ll easily pay at least €50 for small portions). Instead, you can stick to gyros, sandwiches, and set menus in Santorini downtown if you like. So Don’t feel pressured by guides recommendations for dining. Overall, go to Santorini if you wish to see the famous Instagram spots (like we did), but be prepared: reality feels quite different from the dreamy photos…”
Review of a private Chania to Elafonissi beach trip with SUP, snorkeling gear, snacks, hotel transfers, and practical value advice.
“This half-day trip is one of the best memories we will have from Chania! The driver, George, met us at our hotel and gave us all the information about the trip. On our way he stopped at a store because we had forgotten to get some supplies. We were offerred fruits, snacks and juices, as listed, which we took at the beach. He is very professional and careful driver. We had seen that there is a monastery near Elafonisi, which we hadn't book though. George made a shortcut to show as how the monastery looks. It was so kind. Thank you George!”
Review of Crete’s Preveli and Damnoni beach trip from Chania, with ferry rides, palm-lined Preveli, costs, timing, tips, and drawbacks.
“Skøn tur med fantastisk guide. Hun fortalte en masse om græsk historie og mytologi på busturen.”
Review of Crete’s Gramvousa and Balos day trip from Chania, with boat details, costs, walking advice, timing, and practical tips.
“I am highly disappointed with this trip. First of all It's not clearly written that we needed extra cash for boat tickets. I think it should be included in the whole price. Besides that the boat left us in Balos, we saw it leaving. It did not wait for 3 minutes. There were other people with us as well. We had no choice but come to kissamos by another boat and wait for our boat to come back. So basically we skipped Gramvousa which is sad. the tour guide was not with us on the boat so we could not properly communicate. Also before the trip we wanted to reschedule…”
Review of a Chania day trip to Elafonisi Beach, with pink sand, free time, mountain scenery, an Elos stop, and a Crete honey factory visit.
A boat, a castle, a waterfall or a very long lunch.
