Gramvousa Island and Balos Lagoon Day Trip from Karteros

Please make sure that you have correctly identified your vacation area in Crete and read the cancellation and refund policy.

If there is less than 24 hours before the trip, please contact the manager to check availability before you make a booking!

Firstly, you can come to one of our offices where booking for all services is available and payment can be made either by cash or card.

Secondly, in case of online booking you can choose cash payment (which is available for some areas only) or you can pay online by card. In the case of cash, we will arrange a meeting with our courier in advance, who will bring the prepared documents to your hotel or villa and collect the cash. Please note that this option is only available for bookings made well in advance (days or weeks before the trip!). In case of online payment, you will receive the tickets by e-mail or WhatsApp – as you prefer.

Please keep all documents and tickets until the end of your trip!

Karteros is more of a beach than a village. In fact, the village is very small. Tiny. There aren’t many large hotels here, just a few, but there are plenty of small apartments and villas, which make up most of the accommodation on offer. These combine proximity to the beach with the coziness of… a garden setting (sometimes) 🙂 All of this is situated around a single two-lane road, from which a network of small streets branches off.

This trip is available to guests staying at one of the following hotels or apartments (just to name a few): Amnissos Villas, Anemos Suites, Ariadni Apartments, Cicada Suites, Karteros Hotel, Knossos Apartments, Minos Village Hotel, Pnoe Breathing Life Hotel, Prince of Lillies Hotel, Unique Blue Resort and Villas and some others.

Usually we collect guests from larger hotels in the area, main roads or bus stops – wherever is most practical. If you’d like to confirm your exact pickup location and time, or if you’re unsure of your accommodation’s details, simply reach out via WhatsApp or email and we’ll take care of it!

It depends on the location of your hotel or villa. In some cases a tour bus will literally stop at the front door of the hotel and you just have to be there, in others it may be a short walk to the nearest pick-up point. This is usually a large central street, bus stop, square, car park, etc. – somewhere where there is no risk of the tour bus getting stuck on a narrow one-way street or stuck in traffic.

If your hotel, villa or apartment is located outside of the tourist areas, please contact us in advance to arrange a possible meeting point.

You will receive full details of the time and place of the pick-up with your travel documents when you make your booking. Please read it carefully before the trip.

This excursion is also available from various locations across the island of Crete. The tour itself will follow the same itinerary and programme, with only two differences. Firstly, there may be different transfer options available, which may result in a different price in some locations. Secondly, the departure and return times may be different too.

You can join this activity from any of the following towns: Achlada, Agia Pelagia, Ammoudara, Analipsi, Anissaras, Bali, Fodele, Gournes, Gouves, Heraklion (city), Heraklion area (other cities), Hersonissos, Kokkini Hani, Malia, Milatos, Sissi, Stalida.

There are no obligatory long walks. On the island of Gramvousa you can climb up a stony path to the fortress at an altitude of 140 meters above sea level. If you don’t want to go up to the fortress and prefer the view of the confluence of the three seas from the top of the island to swimming in the sea, you can stay on the beach all the time.

After arriving at the port of Kissamos and until the end of the boat trip, you will be exposed to the sun for many hours. Please keep this in mind – it’s better to bring appropriate clothing and sunscreen. Also, remember that you will be traveling by bus and ferry, so this trip may not be suitable for young children who cannot handle long bus rides.

Since the tour starts early, you can order an early breakfast at the hotel restaurant or take it with you (a “lunch box”). There will also be a rest stop at a cafeteria along the way. There you can get a snack and a cup of coffee.

You can enjoy a meal on board, with options including salads, meat and vegetarian dishes. Lunch costs 13 euro per person. You can also purchase drinks, fruits, ice cream, etc. Please note that cash payments are not accepted; only credit or debit cards are accepted.

Make sure you have all the necessary sun protection (sunscreen, sunglasses, headgear, etc.), swimwear, towel and money for extras. If you feel seasick, it is advisable to take tablets one hour before departure.

Yes. On the way you will be accompanied by a representative of the tour company. Your guide will introduce you to the program of the trip, explain the organization and give you some information about these places. This trip is considered more of a beach trip, so there will not be a lot of information like on our excursions to archaeological sites or museums.

Partly. Mostly it’s the beautiful views, the sea and the beach.

Languages: English, German and French are available on any scheduled day throughout the season. On certain days, we can also organise this tour in Italian, Polish and Russian. These usually run from May onwards.

The weekly language schedule for this trip is as follows:

• Monday: English, French, German;
• Thursday: English, French, German, Italian, Polish;