Elafonisi or Balos Beach? Easy Choice…
When we visited Crete last year (late August 2019), you know back when people could travel the world without fear of a global virus (but we won’t harp on that), my fiancée and I had a decision to make. You see, we only had one day “budgeted” for the beach, yet the west coast of Crete has TWO world-renowned beaches, each about an hour and a half drive from where we were staying, and they weren’t near each other, so it was one or the other.
After much deliberation, given our love for a beautiful beach, we ultimately decided to scrap a different excursion and do two beach days so we could experience both areas of paradise. Each beach was in fact beautiful, however if you only had one day, the choice is an easy one as to which beach you should go to.
Winner By Category
Drive to the beach
In Crete, there are many narrow roads, and as a tourist, you absolutely need to be a confident driver. Each beach is remote and therefore the drive is lengthy, however the trip to Balos Beach is absolutely horrible.
From Chania, Balos Beach is actually not that far geographically, however the majority of the drive, the last six miles (about 45 minutes) is on an EXTREMELY rough terrain, I hesitate to even call it a road. We were petrified that we were going to ruin our small rental car. The “road” is so bumpy that you actually cannot go more than 5–7 MPH for the majority of the drive.
If you do choose to go to Balos Beach, GO EARLY. There is a very small parking lot, and if you don’t make it in that lot, you are forced to park on the side of an extremely narrow road, on the side of a cliff. At some points people park on both sides of this road, making it impossible for two way traffic.
Finally, after you park, you have a serious hike down to the beach. It’s about a 45 minute hike down a (pretty steep at times) dirt path. It’s not all bad, you will absolutely see some goats and have the opportunity for some incredible photos.
The drive to Elafonisi Beach is much simpler. Although there could be some narrow roads where two way traffic seems questionable, at least they are legitimate roads. There is a large parking lot, which is just a short walk to the entrance to the beach.
Winner: Elafonisi
Photo Opportunities
Both beaches offer tremendous opportunities for stunning photos. The geography of Balos Beach, which mandates a hike from high to low elevation, offers an incredible bird’s eye view not offered by Elafonisi Beach — unless you have a helicopter or drone of course. This unique view of Balos Beach, shown above, can be found on souvenirs throughout Crete.
Winner: Balos
Bathrooms, Food, & Utilities
Neither beach has great options here. Given the remote nature of these beaches, there isn’t much of an infrastructure for “nice” bathrooms. There is also a slight charge for use of bathrooms at Elafonisi Beach. There were only squat toilets at Balos Beach. Slight edge to Elafonisi here.
There are a couple of small food stands at Elafonisi which offer small sandwiches, ice cream, and some other snacks. Balos offered something similar but with less options. Edge to Elafonisi.
Balos Beach sold lock box rentals, a nice safety feature that I thought was missing from the Elafonisi experience.
Winner: Tie
Quality of the Beach
Both beaches were stunning, and looking back on photos — especially during the Covid-19 lockdown — makes me so excited to travel again! Both beaches had incredible sand and beautiful clear water, however Elafonisi Beach had much more of it. If what you are looking for is a huge, clean, natural pool-like experience, you will be in heaven at Elafonisi Beach.
Elafonisi Beach offers many different “sections” of the beach. Each of these swimming areas are rather large, and although the beach has a high capacity for people, it doesn’t feel like it. There is plenty of room for everyone.
Niether Elafonisi nor Balos Beach offer waves for surfing, however if you like a beach with waves, Elafonisi has one area on the westernmost edge accessible via a path which offers slightly larger waves (but not really). Other than that, the water at Elafonisi is extremely calm and the water stays shallow very far out, allowing you to take long, knee-deep walks, which are always nice. Another thing to expect to see at Elafonisi is pink sand which is always cool to see.
Balos Beach is smaller, with fewer areas to swim. That also means less people, which is a good thing, until midday when the tourist boats start dropping off people and the beach becomes quite crowded. Also, there were many more areas with rough rock-like materials under the sand, making it less enjoyable for walking.
Winner: Elafonisi
Final Thoughts
Regarding Balos Beach, remember the old saying what goes up must come down? In this case, it’s the opposite. What goes down, must come back up. Remember that long trek down when you were very excited to go to this amazing beach? Well, now you need to climb back up to get back to your vehicle.
Remember the old saying what goes up must come down? In this case it’s the opposite. What goes down, must come back up.
The hike back up to your car is no joke. This is coming from a 29-year-old, who is in pretty decent shape. I cannot imagine an older individual doing well, especially in the potentially 90–100 degree heat. Is it doable? Absolutely, but it’s not very enjoyable, especially when you are dressed for the beach. Wear sneakers!
In Conclusion…
The only thing Balos Beach offers that Elafonisi Beach doesn’t is an incredible bird’s eye view. If I were to go back to Crete, which I hope I do, and if I had two days for the beach, I would spend BOTH of those days at Elafonisi.
I truly believe that the beach at Elafonisi was nicer and more enjoyable than Balos. Additionally, the trek to Balos Beach was so stressful and physically exhausting between the drive and the hike.
Therefore, the answer is simple: Elafonisi Beach.
