Strating the trip from Malia it is the best choice to get the transport organized like this! Everything went smoothly, Balos was amazing: in 2:40 minutes you have time for a dip, sunbathing and a hike to see the lagoon from a higher viewpoint. You can hire chair+umbrella against the sun, there’s is a bufe and toilet (1€) to use. For Gramvousa, you get 1 hour to either swim&snorkelling or have a little hike to see the remaining of the fort. Although many people did the hike in flip-flops, it slowed down the queue so please just bring a pair of sport shoes/light hiking shoes! It’s easy to slip. On the boat, there’s toilet (free) and you can have drinks,food&snacks (fruits and salad too) from their kitchen. The boat is collecting a lot of people so it’s a little tricky to get a seat all together if you go with family or group of friends. Negotiate or be flexible. And don’t hold a seat just for your bag,please! Our guide,Elena was amazing and took good care of us!:)

A great excursion to do absolutely if you are in Crêtes. It takes about 4 hours to go and 4 hours to return. Balos is really beautiful but too bad we didn't stay a little longer but barely 2 hours. As for Gramvoussa, it's a great island but you have to be mentally prepared if you want to climb the mountain to reach the fortress! A big thank you to the guide Elena for the day and her little historical facts along the way.

As expected, the trip was very long but accompanied by a lot of different information, which I really liked. I would have liked a little more time on Gramvousa, since the ascent to the castle already takes at least 20 minutes, of course you also want to spend 10-20 minutes there and the descent also takes 20 minutes. So there is little or no time to go into the beautiful water and cool off. Otherwise I really enjoyed the trip.