Gramvoussa Fort — Attraction in Municipality of Kissamos

In short, this destination is ideal for tourists who are feeling adventurous, for those who want to burn some calories, and can't (or don't want to) swim, or for those with a real passion for photography.

For everyone else, admiring the fortress walls from below is probably enough, as there isn’t much to see up top.

Highlights: Stunning views: The panorama, especially towards Balos Lagoon, is breathtaking, offering plenty of opportunities for impressive photos.

Free entrance: There’s no admission fee - probably because they couldn’t find anyone willing to climb up there to sell tickets!

Drawbacks: Limited time: If you’re visiting with an organized group, you’ll likely have around two hours on the island. If you choose to hike up to the castle, you won’t have time to enjoy the beach—which is one of the best swimming spots in this part of Crete.

Challenging ascent: The climb is tough. The steps are steep and slippery, making it difficult for anyone with knee or hip problems.

Sparse attractions: Inside the castle, there’s not much to see -just a few crumbling rocks overgrown with wild vegetation like thorns, thistles, and weeds.

Avoid this hike if: You don’t have proper hiking shoes. You have mobility issues, especially with your knees. You have cardio-respiratory conditions. You can’t tolerate...

Sailed here in the evening. Best time to come to avoid crowds is in the evening once all the tourist boats have left. There is a dock to land on and you walk to the beach area. There is a small house at the bottom for the keeper of the island during tourist season. At the beach it’s rocky, you can swim or carefully go to ship wreck and snorkel around there. Apparently there are no sharks near Crete so don’t be scared to have some fun.

The fort is approximately 400 feet at the top, take the ancient stairs (very high steps) for about 15 min. The fort is by beautiful, walk around, take some photos, has a great vantage point of Balos Bay.

Not very strenuous hike, equivalent to walking up 15 stories. Goats along the way. Going down is tough on the knees due to how high the steps are in general but you can walk on the side of them if you wish to avoid the strain. I did it in...

We took the usual ferry to Gramvoussa Fort and Balos. We had around I think it two hours to spend on the island. After the ferry docked on the port. We started the hike uphill towards the Fort. The free audio guide provided us with some history about the Fort. Make sure to download it from the website, or the QR code on the ferry already at the port of Kissamos later the network will be unavailable. It was scenic and fun refreshing hike. Might take about 15-20 mins faster if not a lot of people. We took some pictures. The view was grat coulf see the surrounding island and the rocks. There are some remnants of the Fort, some chambers, a chapel, can imagine how it might...