Parking Balos Beach

When we arrived all the parking was pretty much taken and you have to park on the side of the road. The road is very very uneven and you can’t really drive faster than 20km/h or your springs in the car just explode in 100 pieces. Takes pretty much half an hour or so to arrive in the parking area from the beginning of the road. After the parking you need to hike down the hill which could take around 20 min if you walk slow. Bring good shoes.

The most beautiful beach that I ever see. BUT 😂 it’s not easy to go there. You have to drive like 7km through a “medieval” road.. that’s crazy, the parking lot ist too small and cost 3€ if you are lucky to find a spot, or you park with 1-2 km before parking lot 🤦🏼‍♀️. The stairs leading to the beach are a real pain, but it’s worth it! 😇

You need to pay 5€ per person in the entrance and the parking area is well organized and 25 minutes walk from the beach! There are goats everywhere that “protects” you car.

Nice drive that’s easily done in any rental car, just take it slowly! Arrive before 9:30AM to get a parking spot. €1 to use the toilet, small cafe selling drinks and food.

The drive to the beach is on a dirt road with loose stones and ensure that you get a fully insured car to drive through as the small rocks can cause spots on your car. The 7km drive will take you around 35 mins due to road conditions. The beach itself is super beautiful with a small hike of around 45 mins. You can spend an entire day chilling here and soaking in the beauty of the landscape, vegetation, beach and the mountains

Getting to the parking spot is rough to say the least. You get to it through dirt road located at a cliff with no safety features in place. Afterwards, you have to walk about 2.5km through many steps, hills and sand heaps (more of a hike than a walk) in non shaded conditions. I've seen many people faint. Save yourself the journey and take ferry to the beach from Kissamos. The only fun thing about the parking are the goats.

If you like a little adventure and are good on foot you should definitly take the parking to Balos Beach. Some tips before going: It's a road that's not paved only two short distances are paved. So you really can't drive any faster than 20-25 km/h during this road. It takes about 30-40 min to drive the last 7km of the road. The road itself isn't in the best condition so if you don't want to take the time enjoy the view and drive carefully i don't recommend it. But if you want to enjoy some beautifull views definitly take this road. We decided to go early as some of the reviews on google recommended and it definitly was worth it. We arrived with the car from Rethymno to the parking at 8:00 in the morning (entrance 1 euro per person, parking 2 euro per car). Then there are not alot of people already there so you can park your car easely. The hike down the hill to the beach gives some amazing views and you have so much peace and quiet when walking through the mountain path and going down an old path with stairs. (Not recommended for older people/little children/people with an walking dissability/ etc). people who don't have alot of stamine i would say it's possible but take some pauzes while going back up because it gets really warm during the day so you might needs some breaks walking up the stairs while returning to the parking after exploring the beach. Be warned: if you decide to take the car to the marking later than 10:00 in the morning you'll probably don't have any place in the parking so you'll have to park on the road leading up to the parking (yes you still have to pay even then). When we returned (at 13:00) it was full of cars and the people were still comming in so alot of cars were parked in a line acros the road people had to walk like 30min to just get to the parking and then start the hike down to go to the beach. In my eyes itns definitly not worth it just wake up early go to see the beach in the morning when it's nice and quiet and leave at around 11:30-12:00 when the tourists are comming in from the boat tours.

Some parking places, but the road to get there is very rough. Unpaved, lots of stones and steep. 8km took us approx 45min. You can do it with a small car (we did it with fiat panda) but be patient and careful drive very slowly. Only for experienced drivers Lots of goats near the road.