Private Boat Trip Chania - Balos/gramvousa

We booked a private half-day boat trip at the last minute and had an absolutely amazing day. Our skipper was incredibly friendly, professional and made the whole experience really enjoyable. Balos is breathtakingly beautiful, and taking a private boat meant we could enjoy it at our own pace, away from the crowds. It was definitely worth the extra cost and one of the highlights of our trip to Crete. Highly recommend!

Great skipper Stefanos, able to deal with waves one by one for our better comfort. We opted for a larger boat, as suggested by the Notos team, to be faster and better balanced given some growing waves at some point, but I would have expected a more significant discount in turn. We also returned 30 mins earlier, which might have been spent visiting some of the numerous caves along the route, although nothing would have compared to the breathtaking Balos.

Nikos was excellent! All went perfectly. Nice food platter and beers etc but the highlight was going to Balos and the ship wreck opposite where we went snorkelling. Magical stuff

Returning customers here. Our private charter from Chania this July didn’t go as smoothly as our previous experience with Notos Mare — the day itself disappointed us. What followed, however, was some of the finest customer care we have encountered anywhere in our travels. General Manager Lefteris Tsirintanis replied to our concerns personally within days, apologised sincerely, investigated properly, and resolved everything with genuine grace — offering first a complimentary South Coast charter, and when we couldn’t use it having left Crete, arranging fair compensation without any argument at all. Mistakes can happen anywhere; what matters is how a company responds. Notos Mare responded superbly. Our confidence in them is fully restored, and we will sail with them again on our next visit to Crete. Recommended — this is a company that genuinely stands behind its service.

Worth EVERY penny!!!! What an absolutely wonderful day!!! Directions to find our boat for the day we're incredibly easy and our Captain was just a delight! A lifelong Chanian and a VERY skilled sailor/boat operator! We had an adventure out to Balos, learning about the geography and history of Crete on our ride and a relaxing day in beautiful Balos and a fantastic lunch and hike at Gramvousa. The views from Gramvousa were SPECTACULAR!!!! Would recommend this trip and this company over and over again!!!

Our boat captain was very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed our trip to Balos and Gramvousa.

We loved the experience! Our skipper Jimmy was friendly and kept us on time for a return to the port (cruise). Our lunch was delicious and the beach areas were just beautiful - wish we had more time.

Our captain Gregory was fabulous. The boat was new and comfortable. Highly recommend Notes Mare based on their customer service!

We had an absolutely wonderful day out on the sea with Notos Mare. From the very beginning, everything was handled professionally and with great care. We had initially booked the Axopar 22, but because of expected winds they upgraded us to a RIB boat — and we’re so glad they did! It was the perfect choice for the conditions. Our captain, Gregory, made the trip truly unforgettable. As he proudly said, “I was born here and I will die here,” and his love for Crete really showed. He shared so much information about the island and the places we visited, all in excellent English. Gregory’s warmth, humor, and knowledge made us feel both welcome and safe throughout the day. We visited Balos and Gramvousa, as well as a few other beautiful stops we requested along the way. Even when the waves picked up higher than anticipated, Gregory’s skillful navigation meant we always felt completely safe and in good hands. This was a day to remember, and we highly recommend Notos Mare to anyone looking for a professional, friendly, and memorable boat trip in Crete. Thank you for giving us such a fantastic experience!

Vey enjoyable half day boat to two lovely beach locations. Amazing boat with great sound system and a very good skipper who gave plenty of updates along the way. Due to an unfortuante event in the morning, we did much later than the advertised time which made one of the stops feel rushed and unable to properly enjoy the very good sampler grazing plate and drinks. But full credit for swift action and appropriate refund to address. Overall an enjoyable trip

Great captain and amazing tour. The best in Crete! Very knowledgeable and fun. The service is top of the top. The boats are well maintained and very clean.

What an amazing day! The sites were fantastic and a half day was the perfect amount of time. Our skipper Gregory was the best and made sure everything was comfortable. He even let me play my own music the whole time!

My wife and I went on a private boat trip from Chania and had the most amazing time! There were a few stops along the way at various beaches, and each one was more beautiful than the last. We were provided plenty of drinks and a light lunch, which was perfect. We could not recommend it more!

What a wonderful amazing day we had on our private boat trip for 4 adults and 2 children. Our captain Louis for the day could not have been more helpful providing interesting information and best spots for anchoring up. Louis was always aware of what was going on around to ensure our safety whilst we sailed in the spacious comfy boat. Food provided was fresh and tasty and there was ample choice of drinks. We truly did make some fabulous family memories. Would definately recommend this company for a boat trip out whilst in crete.

We had a wonderful time taking a rib boat to Balos Lagoon. As a non-swimmer, it was a little tough for me to walk from the boat to shore in wavy water, but all the others were thrilled. Luis was a wonderful skipper/host. Highly recommend this tour, but be sure to take your jackets and/or towels to keep warm as you sail around Crete! The sea had the most beautiful shades of blue and green.

The boat was spotless, the snacks and drinks were very good, our captain was very knowledgable and accommodating. We had a wonderful time and we will book Notos Mare again for July and I'm sure other future trips.

We had a fantastic day on the Mediterranean with friends. Communication with NotosMare was easy, always responding to any questions quickly. We rented the Axopar 37. Beautiful boat with tons of room for 6. Captain prepared us a great lunch on board, drinks were flowing and the beaches were gorgeous. Captain Manolis was exactly what we were hoping for, great guy. Made our day quite enjoyable. Thank you NotosMare and Manolis. Your company came highly recommended from our hotel in Chania. I now know why.

Our captain Emmanuel (Mano) was the perfect host. Very knowledgeable about the history, geography and even shared a few secret spots. We swam in crystal blue water in grottos, saw Venetian era fortress, a few wild goats and the most peaceful beaches one can imagine. We even floated over the wreckage of a WWII German transport JU-52. Mano was just the best host and captain. He made the excursion a trip of a life time.

We planned a full day from Marathi to balos with multiple stops. We enjoyed a couple of hours on the boat before we had a mechanical issue. This is something that has never happened before, but the captain was quick to respond and the company trouble-shooted quickly. Although we still had a great time on the water and managed to make a couple of stops, because our trip ended earlier, we were refunded all our money. The owner Niko was a class act!

What an amazing day. We took the half day option and that was plenty of time to enjoy Balos and Gramvuosa. The best part is that Notos makes sure that you arrive at Balos ahead of the ferry. The beach was fairly empty when we arrived and as we left, three ferries arrived unloading an unending line of people. The ride is about an hour from Chania, Captain Andy was great. Made sure we were comfortable and made it fun. Seeing Balos Beach was a highlight of our trip and Notos Mare was definitely the way to get there. A+.

The company was able to accomodate our booking last minute - literally the night before. The boat was in excellent condition and the Caption "Michael" was a great character to spend the day with our family. He was fun and also served a delicious lunch. Thanks again!

We had a brilliant day exploring the beautiful beaches of Crete. Our guide Andy was amazing - informative, good fun and great with our three daughters. Our experience with Notos Mare has been a highlight of our European adventure. Thanks Andy for a wonderful day that we will remember for years ahead.

Amazing day with Andy celebrating our friends 60th birthday.Everything he said but better still!!Out to Balos,Gramavousa and more!! Thank you Andy,wonderful memories for all.

We had a great time on the boat visiting lovely places around the cost, great snorkling, nice boat, good snack lunch, a lot of refreshing cold drinks. Just increadible nice, we loved it! Huge thank you to captain Roland who also added additional joy to the day!

Andy was excellent. We had a brand new boat. The scenery was incredible. We loved all of it. Would certainly recommend to anyone!

We took the small Saxdor boat through the Balos route. It was lovely and new and quite comfortable. We had an amazing British skipper (I'm terrible with names but we'll call him "search and rescue" as that's his regular job). He explained things to us and made as feel so comfortable, constantly checking in if we were doing ok etc. He even swam the not so confident swimmer out to the bay and "picked" them up again when they were ready to get back on the boat. We really enjoyed our time and would highly recommend (especially if you can find our legend of a skipper!)

Our captain was extremely communicative, super pleasant, knowledgeable about the area, and was very attentive. Super human being.

We had a wonderful private day trip to Balos and Gramvousa with the boat Cobra. Top-maintained boat and super performance to travel the route without any problems. The team from Notos Mare took perfect care of us from the first contact, through the briefing on the boat, to the conclusion and the safe return. A big thank you to the team around George. The destinations were dreamlike and highly recommended. Also the way there and the view of the island from the water, a dream and highly recommended. We booked again right away to visit even more destinations.

We had a fantastic trip on a private boat with our own captain. We were lucky with the weather and our captain Costas made the trip even better, with his good mood. In addition, his humor fits perfectly to our trio. We visited caves (one we could swim into) and Menies beach where we also could swim. The trip was tailored to our needs and the boat trip was so pleasant. Can highly recommend! We briefly met an English colleague in the office who was just as nice and you could feel there was a good mood among the staff. There was also a large selection of beverages on board (we had purchased an upgrade). 5 stars to Costas and Notos Mare.

What a pleasure to meet very friendly and especially hyper professional people. We rented a 300 hp at a more than reasonable Award without shipper. After downloading a Cretan navigation app, a short briefing on dangerous areas and small corners to do then a short 20 minutes sea tour with a skipper, who explains from A to Z the full functioning: dashboard, tanks ... , we were able to enjoy a beautiful day of sailing on Balos and Gramoussa. Thank you to this great team.

This was the second private boat tour from Chania to Balos with Notos Mare. And it is always a dream to go on a tour with the boats and the team from Notos Mare. Luis, our skipper, was very accommodating, took time to answer all questions and brought us back to the port in Chania very safely. We felt safe the whole time. Luis also anticipated our every wish. Whether it was thirst or hunger. I can recommend Notos Mare 100%.