From Chania:Elafonissi Beach Day Trip, Elos, Honey & Wine Tasting

When you are heading out to Elafonisi beach be prepared for it yo get very busy. It’s a very popular beach. Loved that the tour operator offers free use of an umbrella. Also had a Stop over to taste honey and wine of the area.

GetYourGuide blames Platanos Travels but they both rip us off £70.90!That is the incredibly frustrating experience my family and our 9 year old went through. We were caught in the middle of a completely unfair situation of finger-pointing game while losing £70.90. What we realised was that GetYourGuide as a booking platform and the local operator Platanos Tours just took us for granted because we were new to the area by blaming each other while exploiting that sort of classic third-party loophole. GetYourGuide stated that they only process tickets, while Platanos Tours claimed they had not received the booking funds. As it became evident that both companies were not being accountable, we reported the issue to paypal which we used to make the payment as their customer service was not being helpful. Later, in unison they both tried to say we should have cancelled the booking 24 hours before the trip meanwhile the booking was done mistakenly less than 24 hours before the trip. In fact, one lady at platanos tours became even abusive!

This was a very poor trip sadly and we were so looking forward to this day we planned and came away really dissapointed. We have had great experiences and trips so far on viator, until this one. First of all this started off badly getting the coach. We were the first ones at the bus stop waiting 20 mins before our pick up time of 7:50am. We waited exactly where the pin on the map said. We ended up being the last on the coach because the tour guide had decided to wait down the road next to another coach. This other coach was doing a different tour, picking up at the exact same time and was the same coach provider, so as you can imagine, very confusing and that driver got fed up of tourists asking if this was their coach! The guide took everyones names down the other end of the street so we didn't even see her behind the large crowd for the other tour, so ended up getting on last minute. The wine tasting comes first at 9am. It was like a cattle market as you turn up to the small space longside several other coaches. Not a pleasant experience, hardly any tables left. You have to queue up for your shot glass of wine and the honey tasting off a stick, with several people pushing in and pushing you out the way. Not relaxing and at 9am, who drinks wine! You spend 20 minutes of the half an hour dedicated here queing up and forget nipping to the loo as no time due to queues. I will say the honey tastes really good. But it is not a 'tasting' experience. Why not do this after the beach trip in the afternoon? Would be much better. The beach is a 20 minute walk to from where the coach drops you off. Some big rocks to go down which is not mentioned in the trip details. This may be an issue for some people with mobility issues so wanted to mentuon, as the walk back up in the heat with all beach gear is tough! The beach itself is beautiful to see, clear water and pink sand. But the actual reality is, it is heaving, noisy and you cannot get one photo of the lovely beach due to the volume of people! There are people listening to loud music or videos with no headphones in so it disturbs everyone else. People sit right on top of eachother, so you get no space really to spread out. The minute someone leaves, someone else arrives so you constantly have people walking all around you when lay down. It was the most unrelaxed we felt all holiday and it was very much one of those instagram vs reality places sadly. The same 2 lads were late back to the bus at every stop we made, really frustrating for the rest of ua and after the beach they were 25 mins late back. The guide was trying to figure out where they were, but why hang around? If they can't be bothered to get back in time like the rest of the coach then we should not all have to wait for them. We all had to sit waiting and then they turned up covered in sand so we had to wait again while they got cleaned up and dressed as they were not allowed to get sand on the chairs - something we were told before getting off for the beach. The tour guide on the bus was not a guide in any way, no 'tour' or history given when driving through Kissamos, no talking at all apart from details of the trip when we were getting off etc and telling us all we will see is trees. We did not see the cave, no idea why this was missed. We visited the next town after and this was in my opinion pretty pointless. We figured they must take you here purely as they have a deal going on with the restaurant owners, as there is a church, a pharmacy and 3 places to stop and eat. Very basic food. You spend an hour here so all we could do was have a drink and waste the hour. The highlight here was seeing a kitten. Then starting the journey home, no talking again, most of the coach slept and we arrived back later than planned at 6pm due to the guys being late back on the coach. Don't waste your money and find a quiet beach elsewhere.

Great option for one day getaway. Many thanks to our guide Ingrid and driver Nikos, you both were great and you made our trip unforgettable.

Awesome guide and driver. The trip was seamless and we had a great time. Would highly recommend it to others.

I would not recommend this trip if you are elderly or have any disabilities as no one mentioned the coach drops you a good 20 minute downhill walk to Elefonisi beach on uneven ground with rocks and no shade. Once you get to the beach you think it will be worth it as you will be able to hire a sunbed and relax for the 4 hours. WRONG. the sunbeds were already taken and absolutely no shade anywhere. We got there at 1100 - 1500 so we could only sit on the wet sand or as we did after a dip in the sea, walk back up to the car park after several breaks on route as it was 32c and no shade or breeze. Dont get me wrong but the beach is beautiful and yes we could see pink at the waters edge. The main issue for us being in late 60s is the walk up to the car park. It took us 40 minutes. We were both exhausted and waited in a cafe for a further 3 hours before going off to a village for lunch at 3.30pm. It is a stunning place but there must have been at least 4000 people there so certainly would not say it was relaxing. Nowhere did it say it was disabled friendly. So please think twice or go or a boat specially designed for elderly or disabled guests.

They picked us up in an air conditioned bus. Driver was good with all the winding roads up and down the mountain. Bus was full. Gave us enough time at the beach (4 hrs) & the 2 stops before and after.

If you don't want to drive yourself and you're not a family of four for which a private tour might make more sense, this tour offers about the only option to get to Elafonissi beach. Yes the beach is crowded, yes you may have to get through a waist deep water during high tide to cross over to the island, but you keep walking until you will be by yourself. Beware if you are staying in the old town you're the first to be picked up and the last to be dropped off, which takes about an hour each. As I said, it's worth it. The transfer between the minibus and the big bus was smooth and the big bus driver Yannis was very experienced, and our guide Anastasia was so nice, sweet, smart, and informative! Thank you 😊

The beach was fantastic! The stop in Elos was very disappointing. Could have done without and got back earlier. It would have been better to stay longer at wine and honey tasting and coffee shop on way out!

pick up was on-time, good start! Tour guide, linda, was excellent throughout, spoke excellent english. I would recommend using this company and Elafonissi is a must visit.