The first signs of settlement date back to Minoan times. In 1579 during the Venetian occupation of Crete the Venetians built a fortress on the island to guard the bay of Mirabello. In 1715 the Turks, who occupied Crete for almost 200 years took over the fortress. Between 1900 and 1957 it was used
as a leper-colony. Today the island is an
open-air museum.

This day is beyond any doubt one of the highlights of your holiday on Crete.

Olus is an ancient ruin of a town located under the water in the bay of Elounda. This intriguing site can be reached by snorkelling or diving from the narrow strip of land that joins the mainland and Kolokytha peninsula, with access just south of Elounda. It is thought to have existed before 780 AD. Some mosaic floors and ruined wall structures can be seen on land, on the thin isthmus between Elounda and Kolokytha.

Depicting birds and fish, these mosaics are all that remain of two chapels associated with the town.

Coins excavated from the site show Zeus, an eagle, a dolphin or a star. Artefacts from the site can be seen in the archaeological museum of Agios Nikolaos and in the Louvre.

Olus, and accordingly the wider region, were depopulated at the middle of the 7th century because of the raids of the Arab pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. Olus remained deserted until the mid-15th century when the Venetians began to construct salt-pans in the shallow and salty waters of the gulf. Subsequently, the region acquired commercial value and became inhabited. This fact, in combination with the emergent Turkish threat, particularly after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, and the continuous pirate raids, forced the Venetians to fortify the island of Spinalonga.

Very close to Elounda and the Spinalonga peninsula there is an islet called Kolokytha. On the opposite side of the islet there is a wonderful beach, the beach of Saint Loukas or “Kolokythas“, as it is called by the locals.

The water is superbly clean, and the branches
of the old olive trees literally reach over
the sandy beach.

This extraordinary trip is full of surprises. While sailing by scenic coasts, secluded rocky coves and hidden caves you may come across beautiful dolphins, rare turtles and various types of birds.

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Daily Cruise to fishing village Mochlos

Daily Cruise to Mirabello Gulf

Feast your goggled eyes on the rich underwater world of the coast that surrounds
the Mirabello gulf.