The Balos and Gramvousa boat, the Samaria Gorge, Spinalonga and Elafonissi are the excursions people sort out in advance in Crete, and on every one of them the “from” price can mislead. As of 6 October 2026, the boat from Kissamos costs €40 (€45 in high summer) plus a €1 fee and can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before; Spinalonga charges €20 entry on top of the boat; only one scheduled bus a day goes to Elafonissi; and the Samaria Gorge is closed “until further notice” according to the official portal. Pitfall number one is visible in the listings themselves: offers “without boat ticket”, or a starting price lower than the entry fee. Here is what you can do yourself, what to book, and what to check before paying.
The essentials first (as of 6 October 2026)
Samaria, Spinalonga and Elafonissi each have their own page on the booking platform with thousands of reviews: 11,320 for Samaria, 16,111 for Spinalonga, 12,714 for Elafonissi. The boat trip to Balos and Gramvousa tops 8,700. These are the figures to know before you book:
- Balos and Gramvousa: boat from Kissamos, 7 hours, €40 (€45 from 15 July to 15 September) plus a €1 fee; free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
- Samaria: closed at both entrances “until further notice” according to the official ticket portal; otherwise a season from 1 May to 31 October, ticket about €10, ferry €17.
- Spinalonga: entry €20 (reduced €10), daily 8:30 am to 6 pm until 31 October; the boat comes on top, from €14 out of Elounda.
- Elafonissi: 75 km from Chania; one scheduled bus a day (departing 9:00), tours with pick-up from about €27.
- The trap: “without boat ticket” and starting prices below the entry fee. Read the “Included” list.
- The safety net: most activities can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before, according to the platform’s help page.
Every figure comes from pages read on 6 October 2026. A “from” price applies to the cheapest date and the cheapest option: read it as a dated reading, not as an offer.
On your own or as a booked excursion: the comparison
Four outings, two ways to do them. The “On your own” column gives what operators and authorities publish; the “Booked excursion” column gives the platform’s “from” prices on 6 October 2026.
| Excursion | On your own | Booked excursion (from) | Where it snags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balos and Gramvousa | Boat €40 + €1 fee = €41; Kissamos is 42 km from Chania | Boat and bus from Chania from €52; boat only from the harbour from €40 | “Without boat ticket” from €20 shows only the bus |
| Samaria Gorge | Ticket €10 + ferry €17 = €27, plus the bus | Guided from €28; with ferry and entry from €53 | Closed for now; season ends 31 October |
| Spinalonga | Boat from Elounda from €14 + entry €20 = €34 | Boat with swim stop from €25; 8 to 11-hour day tour from €38 | The €20 entry is usually not in the boat price |
| Elafonissi | Car, 75 km from Chania, or scheduled bus (about €11) | Tour with pick-up from about €27; from Heraklion, 13 hours from €55 | One bus a day, stop 650 m from the beach |
The “from” price is not your final price. By the page’s own description, the order of the list mixes popularity, ratings, availability and revenue, so it is not a pure quality ranking: sort by rating and number of reviews yourself. Which half of the island suits you is covered in East or West Crete: Balos, Samaria and Elafonissi are in the west, Spinalonga in the east; Heraklion to Chania is 138 km, Heraklion to Agios Nikolaos 65 km (explorecrete.com).
Balos and Gramvousa: the boat from Kissamos
Many rental contracts forbid the track to Balos (crete-car-rental.com, 8 August 2026), so the boat from Kissamos is the standard way. What the lagoon looks like is shown in the best beaches in Crete; here it is all about booking.
What the ticket costs. The operator, Cretan Daily Cruises, lists for 2026: April to 14 July and 16 September to 31 October, €40 (age 13 and over) and €24 (ages 3 to 12); 15 July to 15 September, €45 and €27; under 3 free. A €1 administration fee from the municipality of Kissamos applies per person from age 13, and a meal on board costs €13 extra. In October an adult therefore pays €41. Two adults and a child pay 40 + 40 + 24 = €104 plus €2 in fees, €106 in all; in high summer, 45 + 45 + 27 = €117 plus €2, €119 in all. For Balos only, without Gramvousa, the operator lists €36 (children €21), and €40 (children €24) from 15 July to 15 September; the €1 fee applies here too.
The schedule. Departure daily at 10:35 am, return around 5:50 pm, 7 hours in all: about 2 hours at Gramvousa, about 2.5 hours at Balos. The operator asks you to be at the harbour 40 minutes before departure.
Cancellation terms. Up to 24 hours before departure, 100% is refunded; after that, or if you do not show up, nothing. If the trip is cancelled because of the vessel or the weather, the company refunds the ticket price “without any further obligation”. What you booked around it, such as a bus transfer, is not covered: check its own cancellation window.
What the platform shows. The list has “From Kissamos harbour: boat trip to the Balos lagoon and Gramvousa” (title translated from the German-language listing): 7 hours, 4.1 out of 5 from more than 8,700 reviews, from €40. Route, duration and starting price match the direct low-season ticket; whether it is the same vessel, the list does not say. The small-group sailing trips with lunch rate 4.8 to 4.9 but start at €130. From Chania without a car, “boat + transfer” starts at €52, which on arithmetic is €11 above the direct ticket at €41. The trap: “Georgioupolis: trip to Balos and Gramvousa without boat ticket” shows from €20, and the title says so itself; the boat (€41 for an adult) comes on top, €61 in all.
Full guide: Car Rental in Crete: Prices, Deposit and Insurance
All the trips with rating, duration and departure point side by side are on the page of boat trips and excursions in Crete.
Samaria Gorge: ticket, ferry, bus and the closure
Samaria is the excursion where planning matters most: about 16 km, 5 to 7 hours, and you only leave the gorge by ferry.
Status on 6 October 2026. The official ticket portal (samaria-tickets.necca.gov.gr) says the gorge remains closed at both entrances until further notice and will reopen after the required inspections; it gives no date. The information site samaria-gorge.gr lists Wednesday, 7 October 2026 as a closing day, a season from 1 May to 31 October, and changes in bad weather or extreme heat. Book only with a clear cancellation window. If the provider cancels, the platform’s help page says you may be entitled to a full refund.
On your own. The ticket is mandatory and bought through the official portal. It has cost €10 since 2025, up from €5 (Greek press, neatv.gr, 8 May 2025, which gives €6 for families with children; crete-guide.com also says €10, free under 18 and over 65); older advice pages still list €5. The portal shows no price list on 6 October. Entry for the full crossing is from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm. From Chania, the KTEL bus to Xyloskalo leaves at 5:00, 7:45 and 8:45 am; the ferry from Agia Roumeli leaves at 5:30 pm for Chora Sfakion or Sougia and costs €17 (children 5 to 12, €8.50). The buses back to Chania wait for the ferry: 6:30 pm from Chora Sfakion, 6:15 pm from Sougia. Ticket and ferry together are €27, the bus comes on top.
As an excursion. “From Chania: full-day guided hike through the Samaria Gorge” is listed from €28 (4.6 out of 5 from 3,547 reviews), the offer “Samaria Gorge all-inclusive (ferry and entry)” from €53 (4.6 from 290 reviews). The sum shows the snag: €10 ticket plus €17 ferry already make €27. A starting price of €28 for a whole day with bus and guide can hardly contain both; only the second offer names ferry and entry in its title. For each offer, check the “Included” and “Not included” lists. As a substitute, the Samaria list shows the Imbros Gorge (from €27, 4.5 from 500 reviews); we did not check whether it is open. How the hike itself goes is in the Samaria Gorge guide.
To see the tours with pick-up from Chania or Rethymno, open the Crete excursions page with pick-up and cancellation terms.
Spinalonga: two payments, entry and boat
Spinalonga is paid in two separate parts: the state entry fee and the boat.
The Ephorate of Antiquities of Lasithi lists, from 1 April to 31 October, daily opening from 8:30 am to 6 pm and €20 entry, €10 reduced; entry is free on 28 October. From 1 November to 31 March the islet is closed and opens on request for groups. The visit, the page says, depends “on the weather and the boat schedules”. Boats leave from Agios Nikolaos, Elounda and Plaka.
The booking platform lists: “Boat trip to Spinalonga from Elounda harbour”, 2 hours, from €14 (4.4 from 412 reviews); “Agios Nikolaos: boat trip to Spinalonga with swim stop”, 4.5 hours, from €25 (4.4 from 3,600); “Agios Nikolaos and Spinalonga Island – day tour”, 8 to 11 hours with pick-up, from €38 (4.7 from 5,965). With entry that makes 14 + 20 = €34 from Elounda and 25 + 20 = €45 from Agios Nikolaos. The €20 entry cannot be inside the €14 boat; for the others, the “Included” list decides. From Heraklion, Agios Nikolaos is 65 km (about 1 hour) away; day trips also leave from there, such as Elounda and Spinalonga over 10 hours from €48.
The season changes the visit: crete-guide.com names April to June and September to October as the best balance, and suggests going early or late in July and August, because stone paths and crowds make midday hard. Water, a hat and closed shoes belong in the bag. Where to base yourself between east and west is covered in where to stay in Crete.
Elafonissi: one bus a day
Elafonissi is 75 km from Chania (explorecrete.com), and with the scheduled bus the whole day hangs on a single departure.
Scheduled bus. Third-party timetable pages list one departure a day at 9:00 from Chania (ktelbusesgreece.com, as of 27 September 2026), a €11 fare for about 2.5 hours (crete.direct, as of 29 September 2026) and a return around 4:00 pm; the stop is about 650 m from the lagoon, and the service is “summer” with no published end date (creteimmersion.com, 3 September 2026). Miss the return, creteimmersion.com warns, and you are left without a bus. The KTEL operator’s own site shows times and price only after a search with a date: check them the day before.
Tours. The platform lists “Chania: Pink Beach of Elafonissi, Elos, honey and wine tasting”, 8 to 11 hours, from €27 (4.7 from 2,738 reviews), and “Elafonissi beach, free parasol, honey and wine tasting”, 10 hours, from €27 (4.6 from 1,706); from Rethymno from €30, from Heraklion 13 hours from €55. Compared with the scheduled bus, you buy pick-up and a guaranteed way back; what the extra covers exactly, the “Included” list says. On wind and crowds, crete-guide.com writes that strong wind changes the visit and that in July and August an early start pays off.
Why book ahead, and what the booking page shows
Not everything needs booking in advance. The Spinalonga entry is paid at the gate, the boat from Elounda at the harbour. Booking ahead pays off when a fixed departure or a single connection is involved: the 10:35 boat, the one bus to Elafonissi, Samaria with the evening ferry.
This is what the platform’s help page says (read on 6 October 2026):
- Cancellation: most activities can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before the start. The condition is written before purchase under “About this activity”, then on the voucher; depending on the provider, a booking is fully, partly or not refundable.
- Refund: to the original payment method, within 3 to 5 business days.
- Cancellation by the provider: you may be entitled to a full refund.
- “Reserve Now & Pay Later”: offered on some activities; the card is charged 72 hours before the start.
- Payments on the spot: any extra fees appear under “Know before you go” or in the booking summary.
Can you trust the platform? On Trustpilot, GetYourGuide stood on 6 October 2026 at 3.9 out of 5 from 56,628 reviews, 68% five-star and 19% one-star. The complaints are about last-day cancellations, refund disputes and customer service. On the excursion pages themselves the ratings are higher: Samaria 4.6, Spinalonga 4.5, Elafonissi 4.5; the big Balos boat is at 4.1. So choose offers with a clear cancellation line and read the most recent reviews. Tour-operator excursions (TUI, Schauinsland) show up in Google’s suggestions for “Kreta Ausflüge”; we did not record any of their prices.
The pitfalls: price, wind, heat, timings, season
- “From” is not the final price. “Without boat ticket” (Balos), entry and ferry (Samaria), €20 entry (Spinalonga): the title usually gives it away, the “Included” list confirms it.
- Wind. The park’s advice page warns that the ferry from Agia Roumeli can be cancelled in strong wind; the company behind the Balos boats refunds the ticket if weather cancels the trip, “without any further obligation”.
- Heat. The gorge’s information site lists extreme heat as a reason for closure; at Spinalonga, midday is hard in July and August.
- Timings. Samaria: entry until 1:00 pm; Balos: at the harbour 40 minutes before 10:35; Elafonissi: bus at 9:00.
- End of season. According to the operator, the boats run from April to October, Samaria closes on 31 October, and Spinalonga stops opening to individual visitors from 1 November.
Before you pay: the checklist
Every point can be read on the offer page or on the voucher:
- Are boat ticket, entry or ferry in the title or in the “Included” list?
- Which cancellation window applies: 24 hours, partial, none? Is it written on the voucher?
- Where and when is the meeting point? For the boat, Kissamos harbour 40 minutes before 10:35; for tours, the pick-up.
- Does the price match the age of every traveller (children 3 to 12: €24)?
- Samaria: check the park status the day before; in wind, the ferry.
- With “Reserve Now & Pay Later”: the charge comes 72 hours before the start.
If those lines check out, you can open the excursions for your dates. To fit excursions into the overall budget, see the ten-day Crete budget.
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