With soft music playing in the background, we will be sailing in the emerald waters of the Libyan Sea, accompanied by seagulls and dolphins. The trip from the port of Ierapetra to the exotic Chryssi lasts about 1 hour.

Chryssi does not have roads or shops, because is Wildlife Refuge included in the European initiative Nature 2000. The ship's self-service restaurant is open throughout the cruise, so you can enjoy a delicious meal, salad, snacks, drinks, coffee, ice creams, etc. on board or take away your meal in a package.

We will anchor on the south side of the island and its only port. The nearby beach is ideal for swimming and relaxation.
The cedar forest extends to the centre of Chryssi, covering an area of 350,000 square meters, which is about 1/4 of the island, with an average of 14 trees per 1,000 square meters, and an average age of trees 200-300 years. Those trees are a rare variety of Lebanon cedar with a root system that develops at a radius of at least double their height. The path through the forest and the dunes are simply magical.

At the point of disembarkation, there is a path that goes through the cedar forest and ends up on an exotic beach with thousands of shells, named Belegrina or Chryssi Ammos (Golden Sand in Greek).
The colours of the rocks here are spectacular, while almost the entire island is covered by golden sand. The base rocks of Chryssi were created through the solidification of lava that poured out of the undersea volcano, millions of years ago. The fossils found on the island come from the sea and were imprinted on the volcanic rocks 350.000 years ago when the island was still underwater.

If you walk west of Belegrina, the next beach you will see is Hatzivolakas. This is a more quiet area, against a rockier landscape, with the beach surrounded by large cedars. West of Hatzivolakas there are traces of a Minoan settlement that prospered from the trade of Porphyra, which is the popular red pigment used for dying royal clothes. Recently, the biggest laver farm in the Mediterranean was discovered there.

The scenic chapel of Agios Nikolaos and the island's lighthouse are located right there. On the northeast of the church, there is an old salt marsh and the island's only house, built atop ancient remnants. Another beautiful pristine beach is Kataprosopo, which faces the Mikronissi islet, on the east of Chryssi, and is a habitat for thousands of birds.