Diving and snorkel
Snorkel at Kolokytha and the gulf.
Photo: Nil Anar / Pexels
Quick facts
- Region
- Lasithi
- Start town
- Elounda
- Typical duration
- 3–4 hours
- Type
- Diving and snorkel
Snorkelling from Elounda is a short boat or a calm shore entry around Kolokytha when the gulf is flat. You see rock, seagrass and small fish. You do not see a reef in the tropical sense. The channel near Spinalonga can be a current rather than a swimming pool. Morning is the slot. If the wind is already whitecapping the bay, the honest plan is to move the cove or to cancel.
Boats leave Elounda harbour, or a guide meets you at a shore entry they pick that morning. Follow the move.
It suits swimmers. Skip it for non-swimmers and for anyone who wanted the fortress walk. A mask does not replace the island ticket.
Snorkel at Kolokytha and the gulf needs 3–4 hours from Elounda. The months that usually work are May to October. You need to be honest about whether anyone is certified, and you need a calm sea. A south or north wind that stacks up a shore break is a day to cancel, not a day to insist. Confirm the meeting beach in Elounda that morning. Snorkel at Kolokytha and the gulf gets in the water on the Elounda coast. Clarity and wind on another shore are a different booking.
Is it worth it
Snorkel at Kolokytha and the gulf is worth the hours from Elounda when it suits swimmers. You see rock, seagrass and small fish. If that is the part your group will fight, leave it for another date.
What to bring
- Water and a hat, because Snorkelling from Elounda is a short boat or a calm
- Shoes that match the ground on Snorkel at Kolokytha and the gulf. Boats leave Elounda harbour, or a guide meets
- A layer for the start in Elounda. May to October still has cool mornings and wind.
- The return hour written down. Snorkel at Kolokytha and the gulf 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 Snorkel at Kolokytha and the gulf. Outside it, ask whether the day is even running.
- Leave Elounda with 3–4 hours clear. Boats leave Elounda harbour, or a guide meets you at a shore
- Search “Snorkeling Elounda Kolokytha Crete” and check that the meeting point really is Elounda.
Related tours
Diving and snorkelScuba diving from Elounda
Elounda4–5 hours
Diving from Elounda is either a first tank with an instructor or a guided dive for people who already hold a card. The gulf sites are rock and seagrass, chosen for the day’s sea, not for a famous wreck. Say which of the two you are booking. They are different mornings. A north wind moves the boat or keeps it in port. Certification cards get checked. Ears and a cold are reasons to be refused, and that refusal is correct. The usual length is 4–5 hours, and the months that usually work are May to October. It suits healthy swimmers who match the course they booked. Skip a discover dive if you expected a specialty wreck, and skip a certified dive if your last tank was a decade ago without saying so. Centres are in Elounda and Agios Nikolaos. The boat is part of the time.
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Day tripKolokytha beach by boat
Elounda3–5 hours
Kolokytha is the peninsula beach east of Elounda, awkward by car and straightforward by a short boat. The day is a swim and a return, not a tour of Spinalonga, though you will see the islet on the way if the boat exits the bay. Shade is limited. The water is the reason to go, and it is only pleasant when the gulf wind is down. A track exists for determined drivers. The boat is the version that still feels like a day off. The usual length is 3–5 hours, and the months that usually work are May to October. It suits swimmers based in Elounda. Skip it as a family plan if small children need facilities. The beach is simple. Take a morning boat from Elounda harbour. Ask whether the return is fixed. Missing it means a long wait or a walk you did not plan.
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View detailsBook now on GetYourGuide- Diving and snorkel
Snorkel trip in the Gulf of Mirabello
Agios Nikolaos3–4 hours
A snorkel outing in the Gulf of Mirabello is a short boat to a calm cove and time in the water with a mask. The bottom is rock, seagrass and small fish. It is not a coral wall and it is not a diving course. Morning departures meet flatter water. By afternoon the meltemi can turn a pleasant cove into a choppy one, and the boat should cancel rather than push it. The usual length is 3–4 hours, and the months that usually work are May to October. It suits confident swimmers, including beginners with a mask. Skip it if anyone cannot swim. Say so before you are on the boat. A lifejacket is not a snorkelling plan. Boats leave Agios Nikolaos or a nearby gulf quay. The operator moves the cove if the planned one is rough. Go with that choice.
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FAQ
Questions.
- Plan on 3–4 hours from Elounda. It suits swimmers.
- May to October. Outside those months the day is often closed, cancelled, or a different trip. Ask the day before you leave Elounda.
- Boats leave Elounda harbour, or a guide meets you at a shore entry they pick that morning. Follow the move.
- It suits swimmers. Skip it for non-swimmers and for anyone who wanted the fortress walk. A mask does not replace the island ticket.
- Snorkel at Kolokytha and the gulf is worth the hours from Elounda when it suits swimmers. You see rock, seagrass and small fish. If that is the part your group will fight, leave it for another date.