The Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos is a seat on an off-road bus that leaves the port town of Kissamos, climbs an unpaved road to the Balos parking and ends with a walk down to the lagoon. Travellers who look for other trips on Crete can browse the tours in Greece page.
Below are the vehicle and the stops, the road and the path, the order of the day, the guests the trip suits and the questions that come up.
What is the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos?
The Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos is a seat on an off-road bus. The bus leaves Kissamos and follows a dirt road to the parking above the Balos lagoon. After beach time, it returns to town.
Wikipedia lists Kissamos as a town and municipal area at the western end of Crete, part of Chania’s regional unit. The article calls it a port and fishing harbour and gives it a second name, Kastelli Kissamou. The municipality includes the Gramvousa peninsula. Operators start the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos in the town itself.
Operators describe the same outline. The bus leaves town on the asphalt road and follows the dirt road to the parking lot, says one operator. Guests walk down to the lagoon, spend time on the beach and ride back. One tour listing carries the title “From Kissamos: Daily Balos Beach Tour by Off-Road 4x4 Bus”.
On Wikipedia, the Balos lagoon is the water that lies between the Gramvousa island and the shore of Crete. A Chania tourism page puts it 17 kilometres northwest of Kissamos, flanked by Cape Tigani and the Gramvousa peninsula. The same page names white and pink sand and shallow, warm water. It says deeper water lies beyond the rocks.
Wikipedia gives the name Cape Tigani, Greek for frying pan, and counts an islet as part of it. A tourism page adds a chapel and a cave there. Gramvousa names two small uninhabited islands and the peninsula beside them. One operator says the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos crosses that peninsula.
Pages give reasons to choose the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos over a car or a boat. One operator says the bus protects a rental car from rough roads and saves guests a parking search. Another says guests need not drive the dirt roads themselves. One operator adds that its bus arrives earlier than the ferry boats.
What does the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos include?
Operators list a seat in an air-conditioned 4x4 vehicle, an English-speaking driver and the ride back. These make the core of the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos. The lagoon entrance is listed as an extra.
Operators list the inclusions of the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos in different words. One lists transport by air-conditioned jeep, an English-speaking local driver and public liability insurance. Another names the 4x4 bus transfer, air conditioning and a professional, non-smoking driver who speaks English. A third page adds a bottle of water.
Extras are listed too. One operator names the municipality tax and personal food and drinks as not included. Another lists a lagoon entrance payment, made while guests travel toward the lagoon. Sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach are an extra payment at one operator and not included on another page.
One operator states the stop of the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos as four hours at Balos beach. Its timetable lists swimming and relaxing, the departure from the parking and the return to the pickup point in Kissamos. Another listing gives the whole trip as five hours.
Operators differ on the vehicle and the group size. One says its jeeps take only six guests each. Another page lists an air-conditioned minibus that seats up to nineteen guests. A third operator runs a 4x4 bus with comfortable seats. So the vehicle, the seat count and the extras differ between operators.
Pick-up points differ for the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos. One operator’s bus leaves from the centre of Kissamos, opposite the archaeological museum, where its office stands. Another operator says its tour departs from and returns to its travel office in Kissamos. A third page names hotel collection and return, in Chania or Kissamos.
Where does the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos go?
The Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos leaves town on the paved road. Then it switches to a dirt road and ends at a car park that overlooks the Balos lagoon. The car park stands on the Gramvousa peninsula, up in Crete’s far north-west.
Out of town, the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos follows the asphalt road first, one operator says. The bus then takes the dirt road toward the lagoon parking. Road pages for drivers name Kaliviani as the last village before the pavement ends. One page puts it seven to eight kilometres from Kissamos.
The bus stops at the parking, which lies above the lagoon and not beside the beach. One page calls it a wide parking area next to a canteen, just over the lagoon. Another calls it the starting point of the path. A vantage point with wooden rails, shortly after that start, looks over the lagoon, Cape Tigani and Gramvousa.
Wikipedia describes the Balos lagoon as water in the gap between Crete’s coast and the island Imeri Gramvousa. The Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos ends above it. Wikipedia defines a lagoon as shallow water set apart from a bigger water body by a narrow landform. One tourism page puts Balos about seventeen kilometres north-west of Kissamos.
Pages describe the water as very shallow and warm. One page says it is rarely more than one metre deep in the main swimming area. Two pages link the pinkish tint of the sand to crushed shells. Beyond the rocks along the lagoon’s boundary, one page says, the sea runs deeper and colder.
The Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos ends inside a protected area. Two pages say the lagoon falls under the Natura programme for protecting nature. Wikipedia explains that this European Union network joins Special Areas of Conservation with Special Protection Areas. One page adds that camping and fires are banned at Balos.
What is the road like on the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos?
The road on the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos is an unpaved dirt road over the Gramvousa peninsula. One car page calls it rough, dusty, narrow and uneven. Pages give its length as eight to ten kilometres.
The dirt section of the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos takes about thirty minutes by bus, one operator says. Pages differ on the distance. They give its length as eight kilometres twice, nine once and ten once. Drive times for cars on the dirt section run from twenty-five to forty minutes.
Wikipedia defines a dirt road as an unpaved road made from the native material of the land it crosses. It adds that such roads almost always form washboard ridges. One car page calls the Balos road manageable for a standard car but slow and rocky. Another suggests a car with higher ground clearance.
A seat on the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos hands that road to the driver. One operator says its bus keeps rental cars off rough roads. Another says its 4x4 vehicles and drivers manage the dirt road for the guest. Wikipedia says an off-road vehicle needs high ground clearance and a four-wheel drive powers all wheels.
A marked path leads down from the parking. One page calls it wide, stony at first and then stepped. It adds that the ground is slippery in places. Pages differ on length: one says one kilometre, another one and a half. The walk down takes about twenty minutes on two pages and twenty to thirty minutes on a third.
Going back up, a car page allows half an hour to three quarters of an hour. One operator page says thirty to thirty-five minutes. One tourism page calls it steady but never difficult. Another calls it strenuous because of the slope. For the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos, one operator says to start climbing thirty minutes before departure.
How does the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos work?
The Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos follows one order. Guests board the vehicle in Kissamos and ride the dirt road to the Balos parking. A footpath then leads to the lagoon, where the beach time begins. After that come the climb back up and the ride home.
The return needs planning. One bus operator advises setting off on the walk to the parking thirty minutes before the bus departs. That leaves time for the toilets and a snack. A jeep operator asks guests to stand at the parking ten minutes ahead of departure.
The Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos has no single timetable. One jeep operator lists five departures. The first leaves at 7 in the morning, the last at 3 in the afternoon. Each trip gives four hours at the lagoon. A bus operator lists three windows, the earliest from 8 in the morning until 1 in the afternoon.
One information page says the lagoon is reachable from late April through October, and July and August are the peak. One site rates the wind exposure as moderate and says afternoon gusts can make the beach uncomfortable. Another page on that site says the Meltemi wind can cancel ferries at short notice.
For the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos, pages list closed shoes, water, snacks, swimwear, a hat and a towel. Sunscreen is listed too, and Wikipedia says it helps protect the skin against sunburn. One bus operator says the parking and the beach both have a canteen and toilets. Another page calls the facilities minimal and lists no showers.
Guests on the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos enter a protected area of the Natura network. One page says camping and fires are banned there. Another page calls the area a shelter for two protected animals. It names the monk seal and the Caretta caretta turtle. One operator accepts cancellations until twenty-four hours before the excursion.
Who is the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos for?
The Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos suits guests who prefer not to drive the dirt road themselves. For one bus operator, the point is the rental car: the bus saves it from the rough road. A jeep operator says its trip spares guests the hassle of driving.
Solo travellers fit the format, since the jeep operator lists a minimum of one person per booking. The Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos also suits guests who want the lagoon before the boats. One bus operator lists arriving earlier than the ferry boats as a benefit. One page advises arriving in the morning.
At one bus operator, a child aged four or younger sits on a parent’s lap, with no seat. One information page calls the shallow, warm sea ideal for young children. Another page calls the main swimming area a flat, warm wading area that suits non-swimmers.
The Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos includes a walk that one site calls steep, exposed and without shade. Another calls the return climb strenuous because of the slope. The bus operator’s notice says the trip does not suit pregnant women. A third page says the beach works for families with older children who can manage the hike.
Guests who prefer a boat to the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos can take the ferry from Kissamos. One page gives the ferry season as late spring until October. Walkers have a third choice: one page lists a three-hour trek from Kaliviani across Gramvousa.
Guests who prefer a private car can drive the dirt road from Kaliviani. One page advises drivers to arrive early, before 9 in the morning, or late, after half past 3 in the afternoon. Another page recommends a vehicle with higher ground clearance when possible. A seat on the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos replaces that drive.
What else do visitors ask about the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos?
What history lies behind the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos?
On Imeri Gramvousa, named Tame Gramvousa in English, ruins of a fort from Venetian days still stand, says Wikipedia. It went up in the late sixteenth century, under Venetian rule, to defend Crete against the Ottoman Turks. One operator describes the lagoon as framed by the Venetian castle of Gramvousa.
Cretan fighters seized the fort in the struggle for Greek independence and made it their base. They turned to piracy, and Wikipedia says the island gained a school and a church. The Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos reaches the lagoon by road. One tourism page says the ferry stops at Imeri Gramvousa, where visitors see the old fortress.
What is Falasarna, and is it part of the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos?
In Hellenistic times, says Wikipedia, Falasarna thrived as a harbour town on the western tip of Crete. Its remains include sandstone towers, bastions and a closed harbour ringed by stone quays. Two artificial channels link that harbour to the sea.
The acropolis sits on a cape ninety metres over the harbour. Its ruins include a temple of the goddess Dictynna. One operator gives its Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos a short timetable. It names the office, the Balos parking, four hours at the lagoon and the return. Falasarna is not on it.
Which part of Crete holds the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos?
The tour runs in the Chania regional unit, which covers the westernmost quarter of Crete. It is one of four regional units on the island and borders only Rethymno. Chania, the capital, is a coastal city in the north-west of Crete, roughly 145 kilometres west of Heraklion.
The Gramvousa peninsula is one of the three heads of Crete, with a peak of 725 metres. The Lefka Ori, or White Mountains, take up much of the unit. Wikipedia counts over thirty summits above 2,000 metres, the highest being Pachnes at 2,453 metres. Snow on the peaks into late spring gives the range its name.
How big is the island of Crete?
Wikipedia says no Greek island is bigger than Crete. Four islands in the Mediterranean are larger: Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus and Corsica. Crete covers 8,450 square kilometres of land, and its coastline stretches for 1,046 kilometres.
The north shore meets the Sea of Crete, part of the Aegean Sea. The south shore meets the Libyan Sea. Wikipedia’s list of ports around the Sea of Crete names Kastelli-Kissamos. The municipality of Kissamos, where the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos begins, covers about 341 square kilometres.
Which animals do pages link to the Balos 4x4 bus tour from Kissamos?
Wikipedia says the Mediterranean monk seal lives off Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, among other coasts. Adult seals average 2.4 metres in length. One tourism page for the area names this seal and the loggerhead as protected wildlife there. It also lists Eleonora falcons, shags and cormorants as birds that nest in caves nearby.
An adult loggerhead measures about 90 centimetres in shell length, says Wikipedia. A female leaves the sea for a short time only, to lay her eggs on land. The same article says Greece sees more than 3,000 loggerhead nests a year.