Day trip
Kolymbari coast and a short swim.
Photo: Nadiia Astakhova / Pexels
Quick facts
- Region
- Chania
- Start town
- Kolymbari
- Typical duration
- 3–4 hours
- Type
- Day trip
Kolymbari is a coast village between Chania and Kissamos, with a monastery, a small harbour and ordinary beaches rather than a famous lagoon. The day is a swim and a lunch on the way west, or a destination if you are staying there. It is not Balos. The wind that cancels the cape boats is the same wind that can make this shore choppy. Use it as a nearer swim, not as a substitute photograph.
Drive the coast road from Chania. The monastery and the harbour are the landmarks. Parking is in the village.
It suits a half-day from Chania or a rest day in the village. Skip it if the group will only be happy at Elafonisi or the lagoon.
Kolymbari coast and a short swim needs 3–4 hours from Kolymbari. The months that usually work are May to October. The road or the boat is part of the day, not a preface you can ignore. Carry water and shade for the hours away from Kolymbari, and do not book a sunset table at home until you know the return. Kolymbari coast and a short swim is one day from Kolymbari. A beach, gorge or monastery with a similar photograph is a different outing when the route changes.
Is it worth it
Kolymbari coast and a short swim is worth the hours from Kolymbari when it suits a half-day from Chania or a rest day in the village. The day is a swim and a lunch on the way west, or a destination if you are staying there. If that is the part your group will fight, leave it for another date.
What to bring
- Water and a hat, because Kolymbari is a coast village between Chania and Kissamos, with
- Shoes that match the ground on Kolymbari coast and a short swim. Drive the coast road from Chania. The monastery
- A layer for the start in Kolymbari. May to October still has cool mornings and wind.
- The return hour written down. Kolymbari coast and a short swim takes 3–4 hours, and a second plan the same day is how you miss it.
Tips
- May to October is the window to trust for Kolymbari coast and a short swim. Outside it, ask whether the day is even running.
- Leave Kolymbari with 3–4 hours clear. Drive the coast road from Chania. The monastery and the harbour are
- Search “Kolymbari beach day from Chania” and check that the meeting point really is Kolymbari.
Related tours
- History
Gonia monastery at Kolymbari
Kolymbari2–3 hours
Gonia is the monastery on the shore at Kolymbari, west of Chania, with a courtyard and a small museum collection. The visit is about an hour. Clothing rules apply. It sits on the coast road, which makes it an easy stop on the way to Kissamos and a poor reason to cross the island. The yard looks over the sea. Pair it with a short coast walk, not with a Balos boat the same morning. The usual length is 2–3 hours, and the months that usually work are Year round. It suits people driving the west coast who will cover shoulders and knees. Skip it if the group wanted a beach and will resent a church. The monastery is on the seaward side of the road in Kolymbari. Parking is nearby. Morning is quieter.
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Kolymbari wine and coast
Kolymbari4–5 hours
Kolymbari is the coast town west of Chania where the wine country meets the sea, with the monastery of Gonia on the water and vineyards behind. A half-day can hold one cellar and a walk on the front. It is not Balos, which lies much further west, and the road beyond Kolymbari toward Kissamos is a different commitment. The usual length is 4–5 hours, and the months that usually work are April to November. It suits a gentle westbound day from Chania. Skip it if the group will be disappointed not to reach the lagoon. The two do not share an afternoon. Drive the north-coast road from Chania, about half an hour. The monastery is on the seafront. Cellars are signed inland of the town.
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Boat tripBalos and Gramvousa boat from Chania
Chania7–9 hours
The west-coast boat day pairs the Venetian fortress on Gramvousa with the lagoon at Balos. Boats leave Kissamos, so a Chania start includes a coach to the port and back. The road alternative ends above Balos on a steep path and never reaches the fortress. Shade on the lagoon is scarce, and the northwest wind cancels sailings. The usual length is 7–9 hours, and the months that usually work are May to October. It suits people who want both places and can give the day to them. Skip it if you dislike small boats, if someone cannot walk the fortress path, or if you are based in Rethymno and would spend the day on the transfer. You do not board in Chania old harbour. The boat leaves Kissamos, usually with a hotel coach from Chania included in the day.
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FAQ
Questions.
- Plan on 3–4 hours from Kolymbari. It suits a half-day from Chania or a rest day in the village.
- May to October. Outside those months the day is often closed, cancelled, or a different trip. Ask the day before you leave Kolymbari.
- Drive the coast road from Chania. The monastery and the harbour are the landmarks. Parking is in the village.
- It suits a half-day from Chania or a rest day in the village. Skip it if the group will only be happy at Elafonisi or the lagoon.
- Kolymbari coast and a short swim is worth the hours from Kolymbari when it suits a half-day from Chania or a rest day in the village. The day is a swim and a lunch on the way west, or a destination if you are staying there. If that is the part your group will fight, leave it for another date.