A Crete submarine trip is a ride on a semi-submarine, a boat with a glass-walled cabin below the waterline, from the port of Agios Nikolaos on Mirabello Bay or the Venetian old port of Chania, to watch fish and the seabed while staying dry. Tours across the rest of the country are listed on Greece Tours.
The sections below cover the trips you can book, how a semi-submarine works, each harbour’s cruise, the sea life, the departure quays, who it suits, the months and booking, with links into the Crete pages. The trips shown are checked on GetYourGuide.
What is a Crete submarine trip?
A Crete submarine trip is a ride on a semi-submarine, a boat with a glass-walled cabin below the waterline. Guests sit in the cabin and watch fish through the windows. Trips run from Agios Nikolaos and from Chania.
A semi-submarine never dives. The boat floats like any other, while its lower hull sits under the surface. Guests move between the cabin below and the open deck above.
Two harbours run a Crete submarine trip on the listings. Agios Nikolaos lies on Mirabello Bay in the east of the island. Chania sits on the north-west coast, around its Venetian old port.
No swimming or diving skill is needed. Guests stay dry for the whole Crete submarine ride, inside the boat or on its deck.
The Agios Nikolaos boat is the larger of the two. It takes up to 38 passengers, against 12 on the Chania boat.
Which Crete submarine trips can you book?
Three Crete submarine trips are listed online. GetYourGuide sells the Agios Nikolaos semi-submarine cruise and the Chania semi-submarine trip. Viator sells the Creta semi-submarine from Agios Nikolaos. Chania also runs sunset and night tours.
- Agios Nikolaos: Semi-Submarine Cruise (GetYourGuide): about 1.5 hours on the Creta Semi-Submarine
- Chania: Semi-Submarine Boat Underwater Experience (GetYourGuide): 35 minutes from the old port
- Creta semi-submarine (Viator): the same Agios Nikolaos boat
- Sea Adventures sunset tour in Chania: 60 to 70 minutes, out towards Lazareta island
- Sea Adventures night tour in Chania: about 35 minutes after dark
Combined day tours from south Crete also include a semi-submarine ride at Agios Nikolaos. These packages run 4 to 8 hours, with transport and a guide.
A second Agios Nikolaos listing gives the cruise as 2 hours. The length of a Crete submarine trip on that bay runs 1.5 to 2 hours, by seller.
How does a semi-submarine work on a Crete submarine trip?
On a Crete submarine trip, the boat stays on the surface. Its lower hull sits below the waterline. That hull holds an air-conditioned cabin with large glass windows. Guests walk down into it and view the seabed sideways.
The Chania boat keeps its cabin 1.3 to 1.5 metres below the surface, as Sea Adventures states. The upper deck gives open views of the harbour and the coast.
The Agios Nikolaos boat is a catamaran, a vessel with two parallel hulls, built for underwater trips. It measures 15 metres long and 6 metres wide. Its build record reads like this:
- Designed by a French naval architect
- Built in Volos under the Hellenic Register of Shipping
- Underwater windows certified by Germanischer Lloyd
- An air-conditioned cabin one floor below the deck
- A shaded area on the upper deck
What does the Agios Nikolaos Crete submarine cruise include?
The Agios Nikolaos Crete submarine cruise lasts about 1.5 hours on the Creta Semi-Submarine. It carries up to 38 passengers into the Cretan Sea and back. An audio guide runs in five languages, and a fish chart helps name the sea life.
Departures leave the port of Agios Nikolaos daily. Guests meet at the boat on Koundourou street, 20 minutes before the start.
The audio guide speaks German, English, French, Russian and Greek. Snacks and drinks are not included, and guests buy them on board.
From the upper deck, the coastline around Agios Nikolaos opens up as the boat sails out. Guests return to the cabin for the underwater part of the Crete submarine cruise.
A family business runs the boat, with more than twenty years on the bay. The town itself, with its lake and harbour, is covered on the Agios Nikolaos page.
What does the Chania Crete submarine trip include?
The Chania Crete submarine trip lasts 35 minutes on a 10-metre semi-submersible boat. Guests watch the seabed from the inner cabin, then climb to the deck. From there they see the old port and the White Mountains.
Sea Adventures runs the boat from the old port quay of Akti Enosis. Each trip carries up to 12 guests. Audio narration plays in Greek and English.
The day trip passes the Venetian harbour and its lighthouse. The lighthouse stands at the end of the breakwater, at the mouth of the old port. The streets around the quay are covered on the Chania old town page.
The sunset tour runs 60 to 70 minutes, from the Venetian harbour out to Lazareta island. The night tour keeps the 35-minute length after dark. Both evening tours take reservations only.
What sea life do you see on a Crete submarine trip?
A Crete submarine trip shows fish around the seabed and the rocks. Breams and black gobies swim past the Agios Nikolaos windows. Two loggerhead turtles live in the Venetian harbour of Chania, as Sea Adventures states.
The loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, is the sea turtle that nests on Greek beaches. Sea Adventures calls its two harbour turtles permanent residents of the port.
Breams are silver fish of the sea bream family. Gobies are small fish that rest on the seabed. On the Agios Nikolaos boat, a board with pictures and facts helps guests name each fish.
- Breams around the rocks
- Black gobies on the seabed
- Loggerhead turtles in the Chania harbour
- Fish shoals along the coast
Where do Crete submarine trips leave from?
Crete submarine trips leave from two harbours. The Creta Semi-Submarine sails from the port of Agios Nikolaos, on Koundourou street. Sea Adventures sails from the old Venetian port of Chania, at the Akti Enosis quay.
Agios Nikolaos has a free car park at the port. Hotel pickup is not part of the cruise, so guests reach the quay on their own.
Agios Nikolaos lies about 65 km east of Heraklion by road. Chania lies about 140 km west of Heraklion, so each Crete submarine trip suits a stay in its own end of the island.
The old port of Chania lies in the centre of the town. Guests staying in the old town walk to the Crete submarine quay along the harbour front.
Both quays sit on the busy harbour fronts of their towns, among cafés and tavernas. Arrive early in high summer, when the harbour roads fill with traffic.
Who suits a Crete submarine trip?
A Crete submarine trip suits families, non-swimmers and older travellers. Guests stay dry inside the boat, and the Agios Nikolaos cruise lists no age limit. The 35-minute Chania trip fits a short slot in a family day.
- No age limit on the Agios Nikolaos cruise
- Air-conditioned cabins on both boats
- A fish chart for children to follow
- Snacks and drinks on sale on board
Neither operator lists wheelchair access. The Agios Nikolaos cabin sits one floor below the deck.
The fish chart and the audio guide give children a task during the ride.
More family days on the island are on the Crete with kids page.
Which months and times suit a Crete submarine trip?
Crete submarine trips run daily through the main season. Midday departures bring the strongest light into the water. Chania adds sunset and night tours, while the Agios Nikolaos boat sails in late morning and the afternoon.
One autumn listing shows the Agios Nikolaos boat running through late October. Departures that month leave at 11:30, 13:30 and 15:30.
Sea Adventures sails every hour from 11:00 to 22:00. The sunset tour time follows the sun through the season.
Daylight lasts longest in June and July. That widens the window for a bright Crete submarine ride in the middle of the day.
How does a Crete submarine trip compare with other boat trips, and how do you book it?
A Crete submarine trip shows the seabed without getting wet. Other boat trips focus on swimming and beaches. Online booking covers the three listings. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before the Agios Nikolaos cruise.
- Agios Nikolaos boat trips sail to Spinalonga and swim coves
- Chania boat trips head out to the islets off the coast
- Crete snorkelling puts guests in the water with a mask
- The Cretaquarium shows Mediterranean sea life in tanks near Heraklion
Show the voucher at the boat on the day. The Chania sunset and night tours take reservations only.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you get wet on a Crete submarine trip?
No. The viewing cabin sits inside the hull, behind sealed glass windows. Guests stay dry below deck and on the open deck above. The trip involves no swimming, so normal clothes and shoes suit the ride.
How deep does a Crete submarine go?
It does not dive at all. The boat keeps floating, and only its lower hull sits under the water. In Chania, the cabin sits 1.3 to 1.5 metres below the surface. That places the windows among the fish near the shore.
Is the semi-submarine the same as a glass-bottom boat?
No. A glass-bottom boat has glass panels set in its floor, so guests look straight down. A semi-submarine has a cabin with side windows below the waterline. Guests sit in it and look out sideways at the fish and rocks.
Does the Agios Nikolaos semi-submarine go to Spinalonga?
No source lists a Spinalonga stop for the Creta Semi-Submarine. The boat sails the Cretan Sea off Agios Nikolaos and returns to the same port. Spinalonga boats run as separate trips, mainly from Elounda and Agios Nikolaos.