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Elafonissi Beach: Pink Sands and Blue Waters
4.1
12 Ratings
Topolia
Discover the stunning beauty of Elafonisi Beach and Agia Sofia Cave on a day tour. Explore one of the top ten beaches in the world with its pink sand and blue-green waters. A premium destination for nature lovers, it is protected as part of the Natura 2000 network.
Discover the stunning beauty of Elafonisi Beach and Agia Sofia Cave on a day tour. Explore one of the top ten beaches in the world with its pink sand and blue-green waters. A premium destination for nature lovers, it is protected as part of the Natura 2000 network.
Duration:
10 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Agia Sofia Cave - The Cave of Agia Sophia is one of Crete’s most stunning caves, featuring a central hall with a height of 20 meters and a diameter of 70 meters. It is situated just beyond the village of Topolia. Visitors will also find the church of Agia Sophia, from which the cave derives its name. The cave’s walls are adorned with numerous…
- Agia Sofia Cave - The Cave of Agia Sophia is one of Crete’s most stunning caves, featuring a central hall with a height of 20 meters and a diameter of 70 meters. It is situated just beyond the village of Topolia. Visitors will also find the church of Agia Sophia, from which the cave derives its name. The cave’s walls are adorned with numerous impressive stalagmites and stalactites, some reaching up to five meters in size. According to legend, St. George passed through the Cave of Agia Sophia, leaving a mark in the rock from his horse’s horseshoe. In this cave, scientists have uncovered artifacts indicating its use by people during the Neolithic Period.
- Elafonissi Beach - The Libyan Sea and Elafonissi, the southwesternmost point of Crete, are nearby. This area is renowned for its breathtaking beauty, featuring pale pink sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters.
- Elos - Elos is a quaint village with a few stone houses, where most residents are engaged in agriculture.
The charming, traditional village of Elos is located 60km southwest of Chania Town, a short distance from Kissamos on the western part of Crete, en route to the famous Monastery of Chrissoskalitissa and the exceptional, expansive sandy beach of Elafonissi.
The village is enveloped by lush greenery, olive groves, and plane trees. There will be a stop here for approximately 45 minutes to enjoy lunch at a traditional taverna.
What's Included
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Climate-controlled vehicles
- Professional tour guide
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Climate-controlled vehicles
- Professional tour guide
What's Not Included
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Breakfast
- Lunch
Additional Information
Elafonissi, with its stunning scenery of pink sand and turquoise waters, is not only one of Crete’s most renowned beaches but also one of Greece’s most celebrated. This remarkable location has earned a spot among the world’s top ten beaches. It is a prime destination for nature enthusiasts, with the island and its surroundings safeguarded as part of the Natura 2000 network.
Elafonissi, with its stunning scenery of pink sand and turquoise waters, is not only one of Crete’s most renowned beaches but also one of Greece’s most celebrated. This remarkable location has earned a spot among the world’s top ten beaches. It is a prime destination for nature enthusiasts, with the island and its surroundings safeguarded as part of the Natura 2000 network.
Location
Agia Sofia Cave
Eparchiaki Odos Kaloudianon-Chrisoskalitissas,
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.1
(12 Ratings)
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281090909090909
Jun 30, 2024
Elafonhsi - There is no words for how we
fealt,when we arrived at this magnificent place! Enjoyed every minute, will be here again,trust me!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trail63049507048
Jun 25, 2024
Fantastic experience - Fantastic tour guide. Well planned tour. Lovely nature. Good restaurant for lunch.
I recommended highly😍
God and safe bus driver 🙏
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Debbie_m
Jun 19, 2024
Great trip to Elafonisi beach - We were a family of four including our daughter and 17 year old granddaughter.Trip there and back was interesting & beautiful. Simona was excellent. Her stories & information made the drive time fly by. Highly recommend!!
Review provided by Viator
Norwayemma
Dec 4, 2023
Long bus ride from Platanias for day trip to Elafonisi - Beautiful beach. Few sunbeds, so you have to lie on a towel if you arrive after 09.00. Deep, beautiful!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nomad810262
Jul 24, 2023
Beautiful beach - Beautiful beach, obviously very touristy, to realize in the morning by car
Parking 5 euros
Watch out for the winds
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Amanda_t
May 30, 2023
Beautiful beach. Excursion great value for money. - Stunning natural beauty. Crystal clear water, well maintained beach with the added bonus of the option to hire sun beds and beach umbrella ( 20 euros for 2 for the day).
Visited end of May, would imagine July onwards gets very crowded.
10 min Walk on uneven ground to reach beach, may be challenging for some people.
Sofia cave well worth a visit too. Saw three wild vultures.
Excellent guide and driver (probably not for those a bit nervous about winding mountain roads)
Review provided by Viator
Katie_s
Jul 13, 2024
Simple and Lovely Tour with Beautiful Beach Views - We booked this tour knowing it would be simple and bare bones. We saw it as a cheap way to get to this beach without a rental car. We were pleasantly surprised! Our bus driver was exceptional. Our guide was informative. The extra stops were lovely bathroom breaks with EXCEPTIONAL views. We expected simplicity as that’s the budget of this trip. It was indeed simple and we enjoyed it very much. We went in mid-July.
A few ways to make the most of the trip for yourselves. There will most likely not be pre-installed beach umbrellas or chairs available for rent. I advise you bring a temporary beach umbrella (or buy one by the parking lot at the beach for about €20) as there is limited shade. I wish someone at this beach would start renting beach umbrellas, but you can always donate yours to someone you see walking down the hill later!
There are a few lovely restaurants on your walk down to the beach and up from
The beach! Go a bit early for lunch to the tavern so you get a table!
The snack bars on the beach also sell lots of snacks, drinks, sandwhiches and some baked goods!
Give yourself lots of time to walk back up the hill! I appreciated having a pair of running shoes with me so I didn’t have that long uphill walk in flip flops, but lots of people looked happy in their flip flops.
Most of all, it’s beautiful and worth all the effort! Enjoy the stunning beauty of the beach, the shallow entry and the warm July waters!
Review provided by Viator
Brendaddd
Oct 1, 2024
Interesting trip average beach - I did get sucked in by the colour enhanced photos, that’s partially my fault. Was still interesting to see the pink coral and how it affected the sand colour. I am not used to such crowded beaches where I’m from. The water was beautiful, even though the day was windy.
Enjoyed the stops at the cave and village. Found them interesting and the guide had some good info.
The guide shared some interesting information about Crete along the way, and it was just the right amount of info, interesting but not constant, great.
I understand why the windows on the bus are tinted to help with the sun glare, but it made it hard to see out the window as I was constantly seeing the reflection from the window on the outside of the bus, it also made taking photos through the photo difficult and there are spectacular views of the gorge.
Glad I went so I could see what this fabulous beach was about, and glad I didn’t try and drive there myself, the roads are narrow and scary. But as far as beaches go there are many more that are more beautiful.
For those that care about the environment, take a bag with you so you can help out and pick up a bunch of trash that’s lying around, for a protected area the tourists should be more respectful with their rubbish
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maryam_s
Jun 23, 2024
Elafonisi and Agia Sofia Tour - Beautiful Gorge view on our way and enjoyed the Agia Sofia cave. The beach was windy and had no available rental beds and umbrellas at the time we arrived. There was no place to take a break in the shade. Food stop was a nice place in Elos with good food. At the time of pick up the bus arrived 15-20 min late. Overall a good experience.
Review provided by Viator
Christine_m
Jun 29, 2024
Beach overrated - Beach was overcrowded and windy. Had 4 hours at the beach but could only stay for an hour due to the poor conditions.
Our guide told us to buy a beach umbrella for €11 that ended up being a total failure. We could have hired an umbrella and 2 sun beds for €20, a much better option!!
Our guide also told us to buy our lunch at the first cave stop as the shops at the beach were very far away…wrong again. There were shops on the beach.
On the way back to our accommodation we were forced to stop at a restaurant for 1 hour to eat at 4.00 pm. Who wants to eat a meal at that time.
Overall extremely disappointing day.
Beach overrated!!!
Review provided by Viator
