Gramvousa: Crete’s Pirate Island and Shipwreck

Gramvousa: Crete's Pirate Island and Shipwreck

Gramvousa rises dramatically from the turquoise waters off Crete’s north-west coast, a pair of rocky islets crowned by a crumbling Venetian fortress that once sheltered pirates. The larger island, Imeri or Wild Gramvousa, draws visitors to its steep summit for sweeping views and to the sandy beach below, where a rusting shipwreck lies half-submerged in … Read more

Balos Lagoon: Crete’s Turquoise Beach and Islet

Balos Lagoon: Crete's Turquoise Beach and Islet

Balos Lagoon is one of the most photographed places in the whole of Crete, and the reality lives up to the pictures. This shallow turquoise pool spreads across the Gramvousa peninsula in the far north-west of the island, north of the port town of Kissamos. White-to-pink sand rings warm, waist-deep water, and the rocky islet … Read more