Crete Day 4: May 7th - Balos

Our next stop took us to Balos, which is about a 1.5 hour drive from Rethimnon. There, we wanted to see the Blue Lagoon.

The drive itself was beautiful, with views of mountains and sea, and the beautiful flowers along the roadside. Every stretch of road was an adventure! The driving has been going really well so far. There is hardly any traffic outside of the cities, which is a far cry from Germany, so we were able to get around without any problems.

Balos Beach Hotel

We planned to stay at Balos Beach Hotel, where we were allowed to view a room upon request, and we immediately took it. It was the most expensive accommodation on our entire trip, but it was definitely worth it! The rooms were huge with a direct view of the sea, the hotel had its own pool, and even a small private beach.

An unexpectedly long drive

Our actual destination on this day was Balos Bay, also known as the Blue Lagoon. There were two ways to get there:

Option 1: By ferry

Option 2: By car

Since we had a car, the option with the car seemed fairly good. Plus, I had been here the previous year with my mother on an organized tour, where we took the ferry, which was completely overcrowded. I didn't want to experience that again. Also, having a car made us more independent and we didn't have to stick to any specific schedules. Since the road was described in the travel guide as unpaved and a bit bumpy, we asked the hotel if it was possible to drive it with a small car. The receptionist assured us that many tourists drove there by car every day and it was fine. We trusted her statement and set off towards the beach, which started right behind the hotel.

A short hike

The path to the beach led us back down the cliffs, which took about another 20 minutes. But the view made up for all the effort.

Finally arrived!

Unlike last year, there weren't as many people in the bay today. There were (still) no excursion boats on site and the tourists who were already there were well spread out on the spacious beach, so there were plenty of quiet spots. We set up our camp, which was a bit laborious because it was very windy today. The water was also too cold for swimming, but the view of the beautiful bay was more than enough. However, it was very inconvenient that there were no sanitary facilities here. So, when nature called, we eventually had to leave. The wind had picked up tremendously by then, so it was almost impossible to sunbathe without getting an involuntary sand peel. So, we embarked on a very strenuous uphill climb, which seemed to last an eternity.

And because it was so beautiful...

We arrived at the top of the parking lot completely sweaty, where a herd of goats awaited us. They had also left their mark on the car. Specifically, there were hoof prints on the roof. Fortunately, the car wasn't damaged, the hoof prints just stood out on the completely dusty car. Now came what we had already dreaded: the return journey. It wouldn't be much better than the journey here. Unfortunately, the dirt road had not magically turned into well-paved asphalt. One can hope! When we were almost done with the drive, we were unsettled by a dragging noise from the car that wouldn't go away. Our mood was quite low by now because we were afraid that the rocky road had taken its toll and the car was damaged. When we finally stood in the hotel parking lot again, Luke examined the car but couldn't find anything. After a test drive on a paved road, the noise had disappeared. It was probably just a stone that had lodged somewhere. In hindsight, I wouldn't recommend driving this route with a normal car. We would only attempt it with an off-road vehicle, regardless of what others say! The ferry is probably the better alternative...

Dinner

After this somewhat stressful experience, we didn't feel like leaving the hotel anymore. So, we quickly showered and had dinner at the hotel. It may have been a bit pricier than eating outside, but at least we didn't have to go far.

We went to bed early as the next morning we plan to go on a trip to Elafonisi.