Gramvousa Balos Cruises — Local services in Municipality of Kissamos

Main point - I would have no concerns planning a trip with this company. Things were pretty much as expected (though a different boat from what is shown on the website, probably because we are traveling in June and there are less customers, but even the smaller boat was not over crowded - I've included a picture of the boat we took).

Plenty of parking at the port, and a 2 or 3 minute walk to the Blue Daily Cruises office (which is actually a sort of pre-fab shack, but nice). We had pre-booked, so showed the booking and were handed the tickets. Make sure you have a euro for each adult, it's a tax to contribute to keeping Balos in good condition, you pay it there at the office.

Easily got seating on the boat. Yes, as per some other reviews, you can smell some fumes. It's not as bad as some make it out, and it stops once the boat gets moving away from other boats in the port. You can stand outside and take in the views, which are lovely - you can even watch the brave souls who are driving the dirt roads to Balos in the distance.

Tour ran very much to schedule, I think we maybe had a little longer at Gramvousa. When you get off the boat they hold a sign to say exactly what the departure time is.

Gramvousa has a nice beach, but I decided instead to visit the fort. It looks a long way up, but I'm 38, not especially fit, and was up in 10 minutes. I wish there was a little more info on site, but you can look up the fort history before visiting. The history is fascinating - and the view is spectacular. Careful on the side of the fort away from the beach - you can find yourself at the edge very suddenly. The rest is mostly safe, there is one tunnel you can walk through that is perhaps not in the best shape.

Lunch on board was fine - not overpriced, some variety. We got a massive slab of pasticcio (aka pastitsio) for 9 euro. Ice creams are a little expensive maybe, but they are sort of a luxury add on.

Balos was very beautiful, though a little busy even in June. Some people are there before the boats even leave - they arrive via car and walk down. Not an appealing option for us with kids, the walk back up looks about 3 times as long and steep as Gramvousa fort. The lagoon was really pleasant to walk around, little shoals of tiny fish swimming around your ankles. The bay made for great swimming. It stays shallow a long way out, so there's plenty of space for even young swimmers to spread out. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot to see in the water. Snorkeling was pretty dull - a few anemones, a small group of tiny fish...that's all I could find. Happily I didn't see much rubbish on the floor.

Everyone wanted shade on the way back after being out in the sun, so there was a little more 'competition' for seating. Maybe come back to the boat a little early if you have kids or sensitive skin!

A worthwhile and not too pocket draining experience, and I think Blue Daily Cruises is probably as good an option as you'll find (they seem to maybe be an off-shoot of Cretan Daily Cruises, as the crew wear t-shirts from that company). Yes, this is a highly tourist experience, and yes, these companies compete for your euro to basically deliver as many bodies as possible to the place. But the fort and beaches are particularly nice, and if you're going, it might as well be on a boat that gets there early, and seems to be as...

Mixed views. We came for the Kissamos to Gramvousa and Balos route. It’s good if you want an on-time ship that is mostly indoors with chairs, and the option to have a quick meal, snacks, or rent an umbrella. What we didn’t care for and a little more detail on each is below.

Size: It fits a few hundred so mid-range for this route.

On-time: It was almost exactly on time for each stop, varying by only 1-2 minutes. I liked the promptness but be sure you’re on time or you’ll be left.

Seats: There are four seating areas and get there very early if you have a large group or preference. One bench seating area is outdoors: about 1/3 in shade and 2/3 in sun. There are two areas on the ground floor, where windows a little higher - one has larger booths (near snacks) and the other has chairs. There is then a larger indoor seating area upstairs - with tables and chairs plus benches. We arrived 45 minutes before departure and on the boat 35-40 minutes before (after queue) and there was only one table available against the window with seats for two people. Larger groups after (2+) were usually split up across tables.

Getting on & off: Not bad. Though queue guessing 5 minutes for ship to offload at stops, via a small metal gangplank/bridge.

AC: There is light AC inside. It consistently felt about 1-2 degrees warmer than I’d like but not bad. I would’ve preferred a little fresh air though.

Toilets: Adequate but small and hot. They are definitely ship toilets.

Food: Decent mix of snacks and mains - though expensive and vegetarian main options are limited. Main options half gone by 13:00 so get yours early. Veg options: Boureki, stuffed tomatoes, pastries like spinach pie. By comparison, 3-4 meat sandwiches, 5-7 other mains, ham pastries. Snacks: Yoghurt, apple, banana, watermelon, biscuits, crisps, pastries, ice cream, and lots of water and other drinks for sale. Note: Bring cash as there are some places without mobile service where they won’t be able to accept cards.

Ceiling height: Low, typical for ships. In some places 6 feet, so taller people were ducking.

Staircases: Steep if going to the upper level. If a problem stay on ground where embark/disembark from as few (no?) steps.

Umbrellas: Available to rent for €7, plus €10 deposit. Not sure needed. Gramvousa has shaded trees if you arrive early. Balos can be so windy it’s hard to raise - requires stacking some nearby rocks along it to hold in place.

Safety: No info provided but clear signs for where lifejackets were.

Seas: calm waters there, but higher waves and a bit of movement on the way back. Crew passed out bags in case anyone was ill (but don’t think...

My experience with Blue Daily cruises wasn't a good one. Took a boat ride from Kissamos to Gramvousa and Balos mid september. For a 40e ticket i was expecting a comfortable cruise but actually the boat was packed with people many of them and us sitting on the floor, stairs,etc. I raised this with the cruise company and they said it was within the authorised capacity. I have no expertise yo chalenge that claim, i can only say comparing to cruises in other parts of Greece(Lefkas, Thasos, Sithonia) it was almost double the price and the least comfortable. On the way back we managed to secure some chairs as i suspect some tourists did not return with the same boat. So 2.5 stars for this part. What turned it into a 0 star experience for me was the following: i rented an umbrela from the boat to use at Balos, for 7e. When retunung from the beach one of the crew members started shouting at me as soon as he saw me, claiming i had not paid for the umbrella. He kept shouting at me while i was digging through my beach accessories to find the receipt and all the way to the bar where he took the receipt to be checked for authenticity. Only then he stopped the agresive attitude and told me that umbrella belongs to the crew, is not for renting and is taken by tourists quite frequently. To my eye it looked the same as all other umbrellas in the rent rack, it was just closer to the door and that's why i took it(after paying the 7e). I only receieved an apology after confronting the crew member further and writing an email complaint to the company( which was answered very quickly yo give them some credit). Just a thought, if that umbrella belonged to the crew why not put it someplace out of reach of tourists or signpost it appropriately. Anyway it's not very logical thinking that someone who pays 40e for a ticket then shies away from paying 7e for an umbrella.... Concluding, i felt humiliated in front of all other passengers and receieved an apology only after insisting. Given how crowded the boat was and the crew experience I would not recomend this company although they may be the only ones to cover...