The 15 Best Day Trips in Chania

1.Elafonissi Beach Day Trip from Chania -Stop in Elos Village

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 744 reviews · 10 hours · from $37Our pick

Day trip from Chania to pink-sand Elafonissi with four hours to swim, plus a stop in Elos Village for optional lunch.

“The beach and island is absolutely beautiful and we did locate some of the famous pink sand (here and there). Our young driver was very skilful navigating the narrow Cretan roads and did a fantastic job at getting us safely to/from the destination. The pickup from a pre-determined location was on time and our guide made every effort to make sure everyone was happy. Please note the activity offers many pick-up locations, however not necessarily from Your hotel, so you may need to travel to a pre-determined spot. The bus itself was a little cramped (I measure about 5'6" or 176cm) and my knees where against the seat in front…”

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2.Balos Gramvousa Day Trip with Boat Ticket

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 590 reviews · 12 hours · from $64

Chania to Balos Lagoon and Gramvousa with air-conditioned transport and skip-the-line boat tickets. Swim, snorkel, and climb the fortress.

“Happy with everything. The guide, Irene was simply amazing, a very good sense of humour and you can tell she loves hwr job!”

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3.Elafonisi Beach Day Trip with Elos Stop and Transfer

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 306 reviews · from $32

Pink sand at Elafonisi plus an Elos village lunch stop, with roundtrip hotel pickup from Chania and a guided day that moves at a steady pace.

“Very good tour - defiantly worth it. The tour guide was amazing, I would highly recommend.”

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4.Full-Day Samaria Gorge Hiking Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 162 reviews · from $32

Full-day Samaria Gorge hike from Chania/Kalyves with guide, transfers, and time to swim in Agia Roumeli plus ferry return.

“Fabulous trip, booked via GYG and delivered locally with Io Tours. Our guide Pari was exceptional, really knew her stuff and organised us all with ease. Reasonable challenging hike - pole(s) a very good idea, can be bought at the cafe stop 5 mins before the gorge entrance. Stunning scenery - early October and very hot (though initially a light layer needed at high altitude start). So glad we did this - highlight of the holiday!”

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5.Knossos Palace and Heraklion Full-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 153 reviews · 12 hours · from $56

From Chania, tour Knossos Palace and Heraklion Museum with a guide, plus Rethymno free time, headsets, pickup, and drop-off.

“Great day! Our guide was lovely and Heraklion and Rethymno are beautiful places to explore, Rethymno especially. Our only issue was I don’t think it’s worth paying an extra €20 to get into Knossos Palace for less than an hour - there was more to see there than what we had time for.”

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6.Full-Day Trip to Santorini

★★★★★★★★★★3.8 · 97 reviews · 13 hours · from $282

One full day from Chania to Santorini by high-speed catamaran and air-conditioned bus, with Oia views, Fira free time, and optional volcano boat.

“The coach to take us to the port was very efficient, arrived on time and it was lovely watching the sun rise. The high speed catamaran was very informative on what the activities were, how to book additional activities and that the tour guide on the bus would tell us more about this activity. The catamaran had refreshments on board. The tour guide on the bus was very knowledgeable and pointed out landmarks as we toured around Santorini. Timing is short in the towns if the volcanic activity is included and the towns are very busy during the height of the season. Overall a great day out, highly recommended.”

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7.Preveli Palm Beach Day Trip by Bus and Boat

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 95 reviews · 1 day · from $34

Georgioupolis day trip to Preveli palm beach by bus and water taxi. Swim, explore the palm forest, enjoy Plakias and gorge views.

“Es war ein guter Ausflug, Preveli und Plakias sind schöne Orte. Einzige Kritikpunkte: Preveli hat zu wenig WCs, die Wartezeiten sind ewig und die Bootstour dauerte viel länger als angegeben, da wir zusätzlich Leute in einem anderen Dorf in entgegengesetzter Richtung aufladen mussten, ich hätte einen längeren Aufenthalt in Dorf 1 bevorzugt, es hat eine wunderschöne Kirche auf einem Berg und die Zeit hätte locker gereicht, diesen Ort besser zu erkunden und erst beim erneuten Stopp des Taxis dort einzusteigen.”

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8.White Mountains Preserve Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 80 reviews · 6.5 hours · from $100

Ride a 4x4 into Crete’s White Mountains for Mitato shepherd-hut cheese stories, top Chania views, coffee stops, and a Cretan lunch.

“Our guide John (Giannis?) did an excellent job driving us through the mountains and countryside. He was informative and the stops were just right and beautiful. Obviously, there were many other places we would have loved to have stopped to snap a picture but he accommodated us as best as possible.”

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9.Elafonisi Island Day Tour by Bus

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 71 reviews · 10 hours · from $33

Pink sand, turquoise shallows, and a dramatic gorge drive from Chania, with hotel pickup and 4 hours on Elafonisi beach.

“Esperienza consigliatissima. I ragazzi che guidano le jeep coinvolgenti e simpatici hanno reso questa esperienza molto piacevole. Grazie di tutto !”

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10.Preveli Beach and Plakias Full-Day Trip From Rethymno

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 59 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $26

A full-day trip from Rethymno to Preveli’s palm river beach, Damnoni, and Plakias, with gorge walking, swims, and scenic returns.

“Not much to say..just amazing experience overall! The weather was great and everything went well from the beginning to the end!”

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11.Gramvousa Island and Balos Bay Full-Day Tour from Chania

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 55 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $23

From Chania, visit Gramvousa Island and Balos Lagoon by ferry for swims, fortress views, and door-to-door pickup, then head back in the evening.

“Beautiful journey and grateful the food and beverages on the ship were decent and reasonably priced.”

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12.Private Beach Day Trip with SUP

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 51 reviews · 6 hours · from $70

Private 6-hour Elafonissi beach day from Chania with SUP and snorkeling gear, plus fruit, juice, and comfy round-trip transport.

“This was great! I went with a group of friends and the driver was so nice and he brought us snacks and snorkeling gear. He said we could stay however long we wanted and offered to take us to other places too! He then offered to drive us to the airport the next morning. Very good and cheap option if you just want to get to the beach and hang out there.”

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13.Day Trip to Preveli Beach & Damnoni Beach

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 44 reviews · 10 hours · from $42

From Chania, a guided day trip to Damnoni and Preveli Palm Beach, with ferry crossing, gorge views, and time in Plakias.

“The weather was not suitable for the tour so they made some changes, but the overall communication and customer support was dissapointing.. I can’t comment on the actual tour, since we didn’t get to to that, but next time I will definitely not choose them”

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14.Day Trip to Elafonisi Island From Chania with English Guide

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 31 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $35

A guided day trip from Chania to Elafonisi for pink sand beach time, scenic inland drives, and village breaks like Elos and Amigdalokefali.

“The tour guide was great, we really enjoyed her facts and stories about Crete and the culture on the bus ride to the beach. The bus itself was pretty miserable due to the seats being so close to the row in front of you that you could not get your knees in (even for someone who is only 5'6"). The beach was very beautiful but it was so relentlessly windy that my chair was blowing up and whipping me in the back, and any food you tried to eat blew out of your hands. Apparently this is not even the windy season, so beware.”

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15.Elafonisi Beach Day Trip with Local Honey Factory

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 28 reviews

Day trip from Chania to Elafonisi pink sand beach, Natura 2000 nature time, and a visit to a local honey factory.

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