A Crete submarine cruise takes you out in a semi-submarine boat with a viewing area below the waterline. This page covers the vessel, the harbours, the views, the season and who it suits. The homepage lists more Greece Tours like this one.
Each tour card below opens a live GetYourGuide booking. Dates, departure times and group sizes are shown there.
What is a Crete submarine cruise?
A Crete submarine cruise is a short boat trip in a semi-submarine. The boat has a viewing cabin below the waterline. Passengers sit dry behind glass windows and watch the sea floor and its fish.
The word submarine sounds dramatic, so here is the plain version. The Crete submarine trips in this post run on a semi-submarine, a boat with a cabin under the waterline. The Chania boat is a semi-submersible and a modern version of a glass-bottom boat.
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That Chania boat is 10 metres long. Its inner cabin is immersed in nearly 1.5 metres of water. Large glass windows face the sea, and passengers sit in comfortable seats, safe and dry.
The Agios Nikolaos vessel is a catamaran. It carries a lower cabin below the waterline, lined with big glass windows, and a shaded upper deck above it. The cabin sits one floor below the deck, and it is air-conditioned. This Crete submarine version works on two levels: fish below, coastline above.
The main point is the view under the surface. Through the glass, passengers see the sea floor and the marine life. Both outings share one idea: the underwater world seen from a dry seat. Both boats also carry an audio guide. A Crete submarine cruise is about looking, not swimming.
Agios Nikolaos and Chania both run a Crete submarine outing. Agios Nikolaos lies east of Heraklion, the island’s capital, and is the capital of the Lasithi regional unit. Chania lies along the north-west coast of Crete, and its old town sits next to the old harbour. Agios Nikolaos has a small lagoon, Lake Voulismeni.
A Crete submarine trip suits anyone who wants an up-close look at the Mediterranean without getting their face wet. The Agios Nikolaos trip is aimed at families and friends who want a day on the water without getting wet.
Crete is the largest island of Greece. In the Mediterranean Sea, only Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus and Corsica are bigger, so Crete ranks fifth. The island has more people than any other Greek island. Its capital and largest city, Heraklion, sits on the north shore.
The island covers more than 8,000 square kilometres, and its coastline measures 1,046 kilometres. From west to east it spans 260 kilometres, yet it is narrow from north to south. Four regional units share the land: Heraklion, Rethymno, Chania and Lasithi.
The land rises to Mount Ida, also called Psiloritis, at 2,456 metres, the highest point of the island. The White Mountains reach 2,453 metres, and the Dikti Mountains reach 2,148 metres.
Crete lies about 100 kilometres south of the Peloponnese and about 300 kilometres south-west of Anatolia. The Sea of Crete lies to the north and the Libyan Sea to the south. The island forms the southern border of the Aegean Sea. It sits south of nearly all the rest of Greece.
Where does a Crete submarine cruise leave from and how long does it take?
A Crete submarine cruise leaves from the port of Agios Nikolaos or from the old Venetian harbour of Chania. The Chania trip lasts 35 minutes. The Agios Nikolaos cruise sails for about one and a half hours.
Two towns run a Crete submarine trip. Each has its own boat, its own boarding point and its own trip length. Treat them as two separate cruises. The sailing time differs, so pick the town first and the time second.
At Agios Nikolaos, the cruise starts at the port. Guests meet at the ticket counter marked Semi-Submarine, and the street address given for the meeting point is Koundourou 5. Find that counter before you look for the boat.
Departures from Agios Nikolaos run daily. This Crete submarine cruise asks for arrival at least 15 minutes before the boat leaves. The booking pages ask for 20 minutes, so plan for 20. The exact meeting details arrive with the booking confirmation.
The whole activity takes around two hours. The sailing itself lasts 1 hour 25 minutes on one booking page and 1 hour 30 minutes on another. Both the length and the route depend on the weather.
On the Agios Nikolaos route, the Crete submarine boat goes around Mirabello Bay. It passes the coastal waters of Agioi Pantes, an islet close to the town. After that it cruises through the bay and heads back to the port.
The commentary plays as audio, and passengers choose from five languages: German, Russian, Greek, French and English.
The Chania boat sails from the old Venetian harbour in the centre of the town. The address given for the departure point is Akti Enosseos in the old port. The meeting point is at the Neoria houses. The Neoria are Venetian-built arsenals in the old port, where ships were repaired in winter.
The Chania ride lasts 35 minutes. About 25 minutes go all around the old harbour, and 10 minutes more are spent outside it. Bad weather can limit the tour to the harbour.
Boats on the Chania Crete submarine route leave every hour, daily, from 11 in the morning to 10 at night. Each trip carries up to 12 passengers. Sunset and night tours run by reservation only and last about 60 to 70 minutes. Sunset trips cover the area from the Venetian harbour to Lazaretto island.
Narration in Chania comes in Greek and English, and three booking pages add Russian. Hotel pickup is not part of either cruise, so travel to the harbour yourself.
Side by side, the two differ clearly. The Chania Crete submarine ride is the shorter outing, with 35 minutes afloat and up to 12 passengers. The Agios Nikolaos cruise is the longer outing, with a bay route and five narration languages.
What do you see on a Crete submarine cruise?
On a Crete submarine cruise you sit dry in a cabin below the waterline. Large glass windows show fish, sea turtles and other sea life. Back on deck you see the harbour, the bay and the coast.
The windows are the point of a Crete submarine trip. Guests sit fully dry in the underwater chamber and look straight out into the Cretan Sea. At Agios Nikolaos the cabin is air-conditioned as well, so the view comes with a cool seat.
At Chania the windows open onto the sea bottom and its marine organisms. Caretta caretta sea turtles, bottom-living creatures and fish are the sights named for that boat. Two of those turtles live in the old port of Chania, and guests are asked to look out for them.
Sightings on a Crete submarine cruise are never guaranteed, because wildlife is unpredictable. A turtle or dolphin sighting is a matter of luck on both routes.
The Agios Nikolaos trip shows the marine life of the coastal waters around Agioi Pantes Island. Sea turtles, dolphins and seals sometimes swim over to investigate the vessel. The audio commentary explains the flora and fauna that pass the glass.
On the Agios Nikolaos Crete submarine cruise the boat crew feeds the fish. Colourful species are part of the show. Crete’s sea life also includes eels, seahorses, crabs, lobsters and rays. None of them is promised on the cruise.
At Chania each guest sits in a comfortable seat beside a large glass window. Chania also has deck seats for the surface views.
Above the water, a Crete submarine cruise from Chania shows the old Venetian harbour. The views take in its original Venetian structures and its lighthouse. From the deck seats you also see the White Mountains, known as Lefka Ori. The old town sits right beside the old harbour.
From Agios Nikolaos, guests climb to the upper deck for views of the town and the Cretan coast. The upper deck has sun protection. A sea breeze comes with the view as the boat heads back to the port.
Agioi Pantes matters on land as well. It is one of three small islands off the coast of Crete, with Dia and Thodorou, where the kri-kri survives. The kri-kri is a feral goat, also called the Cretan goat, and today it lives only in Greece.
On the Chania Crete submarine cruise, the turtle guests look for behind the glass is the loggerhead. Adults weigh 80 to 200 kilograms, and the shell is 70 to 95 centimetres long. A loggerhead feeds on bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Greece is a major nesting site in the Mediterranean, with more than 3,000 nests per year.
Commentary on a Crete submarine cruise comes as an audio narration at both Agios Nikolaos and Chania. At Agios Nikolaos the crew also tells guests about the surrounding area. The Agios Nikolaos page tells guests to bring a camera and capture the moment.
Which seasons and visitors suit a Crete submarine cruise?
A Crete submarine cruise suits all ages, since the Agios Nikolaos and Chania boats both take children. Weather decides each sailing, because the operators can change or cancel a trip in bad conditions. Book early for weekends and public holidays.
The Agios Nikolaos boat takes passengers of every age. Parents can bring a pram or stroller for an infant on board, and infant seats are available. Every minor must travel with an adult. That makes a Crete submarine cruise from this harbour an option for a family with a baby.
The Chania boat is suitable for both children and adults. Its operator describes the vessel as fitting every age group and as designed with easy access for everyone. On a Crete submarine cruise there, the deck is reached by going upstairs.
The Agios Nikolaos trip is listed as wheelchair accessible and suitable for all physical fitness levels. Guests with a medical condition that affects taking part are told to consult a doctor before booking. Wheelchair access at Chania is not spelled out, so ask that operator before planning a Crete submarine cruise.
Weather shapes every sailing. At Agios Nikolaos the duration and itinerary depend on conditions. If bad weather cancels the trip, the operator moves it to a new date or returns the money. At Chania the captain can keep the tour inside the old harbour in adverse weather, for the safety of passengers.
Weather notes for a Crete submarine cruise start with the meltemi, a strong, dry north wind of the Aegean. Its season runs from late spring until mid-September. Over the Cretan Sea it blows as a northwesterly. Afternoons bring its strongest gusts, and a spell can last for days.
Crete falls mainly in a hot-summer Mediterranean climate zone, and its winter is fairly mild. Western Crete, where the Chania province lies, receives more rain than the east. It is recommended to take seasickness medication before boarding the Chania boat.
Seats on the Agios Nikolaos boat are limited, so booking a Crete submarine cruise ahead is sensible. For Chania, the advice is to book as soon as possible. That counts especially in high season, on public holidays and at weekends. Cancelling the Agios Nikolaos boat at least 24 hours before departure brings a full refund.
Visitors who want to get wet have other choices. Discover scuba diving in Agios Nikolaos Bay needs no certification. The minimum age is 8, and you need swimming ability and general health. A certified dive guide leads the 2-hour session, and the gear is included.
Certified divers can take the guided boat dive around the same bay. It asks for a diving certification, and a certified dive guide, a tank and diving gear come with it.
The Heraklion snorkelling tour with a seascooter includes a 45-minute snorkel session and the snorkelling equipment. Good swimming skills are not a requirement, but you need to feel comfortable in the water. People with mobility problems are not recommended to join.