Surely sooner or later you will have seen the cover photo, maybe you have always seen it without even knowing what it was, here this is the Balos lagoon which of the second name does Balos beach or better "XNUMX. Paradiso“, Second only to the spectacular Elafonissi beach of Crete.
The Balos lagoon is located at the extreme north west spike of Crete. Here there is one of the best beaches which you can find in Crete. In addition to the clarity of the water, what is most striking about Balos is the postcard landscape just off the top of the path to reach it. You will see if I am not right, you will surely be amazed.
Here, but then concentrate on getting off that it takes a little attention eh!
TWO STEPS FROM BALOS THERE ARE THESE EXAGGERATED BEACHES:
- Elafonissi beach in Crete, a natural paradise
- Falassarna beach on the west coast
How to reach the Balos lagoon of Crete?
You have two ways to go to the beach of the Balos Lagoon: one more touristy and one less touristy.
Il tourist way is to go to the Balos Lagoon with an organized excursion by boat from the port of Kissamos. Organized excursion means people, crowds, seeing the already beautiful lagoon full of people and not immaculate as you can find it early in the morning. Of course, you still don't know what the alternative to traveling by ship is, but you should know that it is much more engaging and characteristic, although a little dangerous.
Il second way, precisely, to reach the beach of Balos is the one by land by car via a dirt road. Browsing the various sites or forums you will notice that there is a bit of disappointment and there are also conflicting opinions about going to Balos beach in this way. I'll explain why, then the decision is up to you.
First of all, to get to the dirt road, from Kissamos you have to go west, reach the signs for Kaliviani and then for the Balos lagoon. At some point there is a kind of "checkpoint" where you have to pay the entrance fee of 1 euro per person (I'm talking about 2013). From here on, the road becomes a dirt road, but don't expect a simple dirt road, the holes are sometimes very big and deep and the speed you can keep is really low.
But better this way! You have the opportunity to enjoy the view, always with an eye to the road. Also pay attention to the various goats you meet on the way, they will not be very inclined to let you pass.
The street is not as small as they say, it is quite wide, in some points it narrows and there are maybe some passages where the road ends with the cliff, but just a moment of attention is enough.
Down the dirt road that you will travel for about twenty minutes, at most half an hour, you will find a large parking lot with a bar.
Leave the car and walk to another twenty minutes and you will have arrived at Balos Lagoon. Do not be scared by the piece on foot, it is very doable, more than anything else pay attention to the return. If you suffer from this type of physical activity, it is better to go back to the floor and take breaks because the sun "beats down".
You want the classic objective advice… here it is.
Consiglio: my idea is that to reach Balos Beach is from prefer the car to the ship, this for many reasons:
- You can arrive at Balos Lagoon much earlier than the hordes of people who come to attack it around 10 in the morning.
- It allows you to see the coast from another perspective
- No you have schedules to respect, just be careful not to return from the dirt road with too dark otherwise it could be really dangerous. For the piece on foot do not use flip flops, better maybe a pair of sneakers that will surely prevent you from having unpleasant consequences.
