Crete: Elafonisi – 4 hours in the beach
Description
Elafonisi Beach, located on the southwest coast of Crete, is one of the island’s most breathtaking natural wonders. Famous for its crystal-clear turquoise waters and pink-hued sand, created by crushed shells and coral, this unique beach is a must-visit destination. The area is a protected nature reserve, home to rare plant species and sea turtles, making it a paradise for nature lovers. • The bus picks up passengers between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM, depending on the location of your hotel. • The journey to Elafonisi takes approximately 3.5 hours. • There is a 40-minute stop along the way for those who wish to use the restroom or grab a snack. • Upon arrival, visitors will have to walk for about 15 minutes from the bus parking area to reach the beach. • You’ll have 4 hours to enjoy the stunning scenery, swim in the shallow waters, or simply relax on the soft sand The bus will return to Rethymno, arriving at approximately 6:30 PM.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We'll have a break for coffee and toilet.
You will have free time to relax on this wonderful beach with pink sand and turquoise water. ATTENTION: 1)Because Elafonisi beach is so famous, sometimes (especially in high season) it's difficult to find sunumbrellas and sunbeds. We recommend you to carry an umbrella with you. 2) The toilets there costs 0,50€, 1€ or 2€. 3) There are 3 canteens for something to eat or drink.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pick up and Drop off in Bali, Panormo, Skaleta, Adele, Platanias, Missiria, Rethymno Town, Atsipopoulo, Kavros, Georgioupoli.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(30)
The guide was super helpful! Very committed and nice, fun to hear facts about Crete on the way there and home. The driver seemed to be in control of the situation and was nice as well. The beach was of course very beautiful but feels a bit overrated. Not as pink as seen in the pictures from Apollo's website. The most negative thing was that the bus drove among several high mountains, on very narrow roads and sometimes at higher speeds, where signs also say 50 km/h. It went smoothly but feels like you are still putting several people’s lives in one person’s hands. Think it is a miracle that no damage has been done to these buses that travel on these roads. Creeds for that!
Dear Victoria, Thank you very much for your kind words about our guide and driver – we’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the experience with them and appreciated the interesting facts shared along the way. We understand your comment regarding the beach and are sorry to hear it didn’t fully meet your expectations – photographs can often be influenced by weather and seasonal conditions. As for the route, it’s true that it includes some mountainous roads, but please rest assured that all our drivers are highly trained and experienced, strictly following our company’s safety standards. The safety of our passengers is always our top priority. Thank you again for sharing your experience. We hope to welcome you on another tour in the future!
Excursion on top! Elafonisi beach is beautiful, crossing the lagoon we were almost alone. A real little piece of paradise. The Guide was very friendly and congratulations to the driver as the road arriving is very narrow.
Super nice place, great food and lots of activities to do. Good bus commute to nearby cities. Better than chania. Don’t call taxi to your accommodation rather take it from the taxi stop, much cheaper.
Lovely view, a fabulous place, made a lot of photos from different points, the only flaw is the distance to get to the beach from the parking lot
Very beautiful and characteristic beach, sometimes pink sand of course like all the attractions of Crete you have to go very early to find a free umbrella, Still worth going
beautiful beach or actually there are people but it is so big that you can find a location alone!!!! Trip Tip! go to the other side crossing the small channel
If you are traveling solo don't expect the same treatment that couples get with them. Just like most things when traveling solo you often pay more and treated less.
Top tour!!! From the Creta Marine Hotel (Panormo) it takes a good 5 hours to get there and back (with a short break in a tavern), depending on how many tour guests are picked up at other hotels! The trip itself is a highlight!! We won't say any more. Thanks again to Kevin (tour guide) and Manolis (driver), top class!!! Elafonisi Beach is also great, of course! The 4 hour stay was enough for us as it was already very hot. Sunscreen is a must!
The beach is magnificent! the pinkish tint of the sand, however, is only observed when you emerge from the translucent water! The downside: the parking! 5€ even in low season to stay 2 hours (it’s a flat rate of 5€ no matter how long you stay there) then you still have to walk a long way to get to the beach… The price of the deckchairs is quite expensive for the umbrella + 2 deckchair package, we paid around thirty euros in October! But it remains a magnificent place to see, we had quite a bit of wind and that's why we shortened the time there! On the other hand, with young children, getting down and back up can still be a little complicated.
We really wanted to see this famous beach but after reading about the road we didn’t want to make the drive. Our driver was amazing and our tour guide George was great! Umbrellas and chairs were gone when we arrived due to so many people but we walked over to the island where it was more quiet and enjoyed the beautiful waters and views.There was more pink sand over there to see too! Definitely so happy we made the trip and we expressed our gratitude with tips for the driver and guide who did a great job!
