Matala Beach
Awaken Your Inner Hippy in Matala, Crete
Matala Beach on Crete is a guest blog for Greece Travel Secrets from the We Love Crete website, inviting you to Awaken Your Inner Hippy in Matala, Crete.
Guest Blog by We Love Crete
Can I hitch a ride baby?
One of the most extraordinary beaches in Crete was discovered by the freedom-loving hippies in the sixties and today is the site of a music festival every year in June.
The Matala Beach Festival revives the spirit of liberty experienced by those drifter types long ago, and remembered with such fondness. The unique geography of Matala beach created a juxtaposition of rock and sand, allowing ancient people to carve caves into the soft rock. So, many years later, Amanda from Atlanta and Silvia from Sydney slept in those caves, danced under a full moon on the beach and felt the exquisite freedom from their parents, their culture and their mundane neighbourhood, even if only for a short time.
Today it is still fabulous to discover Matala Beach. The sleepy fishing village has woken up, the beach is lined with fish tavernas, restaurants and cafes. The water is still clear and love is still in the air.
Those on a budget can still camp at the beach under the tamarind trees for very reasonable rates; sorry the caves are off limits.
Photo by Mark Latter
For those wanting a little more comfort, wonderful accommodation options from pensions to hotels, guesthouses and villas are dotted all around. The string of beaches on the south coast are waiting to be explored; and some are still favoured by naturists.
Matala's Caves
Explore the caves, visit Ancient Matala by walking due south from the village and be sure to watch the sun slide into the Libyan Sea next to the little islands knows as ‘paximadia’ or bread rolls.
Our Pick of the Crete Guides
Red Beach is directly to the south of Matala, easily reached by the walking track which starts at the south end of the beach. Walk for around 1.5km along wide open, sparse, treeless limestone country to the nudist beach, which has a striking orange-red coarse sand. This is another remote and undeveloped beach, with just a few chairs and umbrellas and a make-shift cafe in summer only. Boat trips are also available in summer.
Photo by Mark Latter
Kommos-Kalamaki Beach is one long continuous beach 2km to the north of Matala, reached by road. At the southern end of the beach is the Kommos archaeological site, which was the port of Phaistos dating from around 200BC. The site is closed to visitors, so pick your way past it to visit the beach.
As the beach continues it becomes known as Kalamaki and here is a small settlement of seaside tavernas and holiday apartments. Enjoy the sand and pebble beach, wide open Bay of Messara and take care of turtle nesting sites. Giorgos Fish Taverna is right on the beach here, with fresh seafood.
An excursion to Vathi Beach, a remote and untouched beach about 5 km from Matala as the crow flies, means a boat or car trip. To drive here, go to Pitsidia, Sivas, Listaros and then to Agiofarrago along a dirt track, a total distance of 22km. Your reward is a striking narrow beach at the end of a small gorge, with clear waters, a few shady trees and great snorkelling.
We would suggest staying in the inland village of Kamilari. From here you will experience the best of both worlds, the authentic Greek working farm village and the magnificent crystal clear water and sandy beaches of Heraklion.
Matala Beach is 75 km south of Heraklion in Crete. Take a one hour flight from Athens to Heraklion Airport HER, hire a car or take the local bus to the southern coast, away from it all.
Other Crete pages
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Crete Botanical Gardens near Chania and finds a wonderland of colourful plants, trees, and flowers filling a lovely valley.
The Dalabelos Estate offers luxury eco-tourism accommodation on Crete in the hills near Rethymnon with its own farm, vineyard and olive groves.
Agios Nikolaos is a pretty and popular town on the north coast of Crete and this page on Greece Travel Secrets covers its history, museums and beaches.
Greece Travel Secrets tours the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete and learns about Crete grape varieties such as plyto, dafni, vidiano, vilana, mandilari and kotsifali.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to eat in Eastern Crete including restaurants and tavernas in Elounda, Agios Nikolaos, Sitia, and Kato Zakros.
The Battle of Crete during World War 2 inspired several books and took place with an airborne invasion over Maleme on the north coast of the island.
Keramos Studios in Zaros on Crete is an inexpensive two-star hotel/guesthouse with one of the best breakfasts on the island using food from the family’s farm.
How to make Petimezi, the sweet Cretan syrup made from wine must, is explained to Greece Travel Secrets.
Visiting the Arkadi Monastery near Rethymnon is one of the best things to do on Crete.
This tour around central Crete lists some of the area’s highlights such as the traditional village of Arolithos, Minoan remains at Tilisos, and Agioi Deka.
Greece Travel Secrets page on Phaistos or Faistos, the site of one of the finest Minoan palaces on Crete and is where the mysterious Phaistos Disc was found.
The Goules Taverna in Goulediana, south of Rethymnon, has been called one of the best tavernas on Crete and Greece Travel Secrets recently visited them.
The Snails House in Plouti near Phaistos in southern Crete serves the Cretan delicacy of snails, cooked in several different ways.
Western Crete in five days allows time to visit Chania and Rethymnon, enjoy the beaches, hike the Samaria Gorge and see the monasteries at Arkadi and Preveli.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in Irakleio, the capital of Crete, including nearby beach resort hotels and accommodation in the city centre.
This Lasithi Plateau drive on Crete starts in Neapoli and ends in Malia, covering a distance of 80 km (50 miles) and taking two to three hours.
Greece Travel Secrets visits Visual Arts Crete who offer accommodation and run art courses at their home and studio in the village of Kastellos near Rethymnon.
Greece Travel Secrets’ potted guide to Eastern Crete and why you should consider it for a holiday, including seeing Agios Nikolaos, Sitia, Vai Beach and Zakros.
Lonely Planet Crete is an excellent and thorough guide of almost 300 pages to the largest of the Greek islands.
Sir Arthur Evans is the archaeologist famous for the excavations he made at the royal palace of Knossos on Crete.
The largest of the Greek islands, Crete has four ENUESCO sites, which are Sitia, Psiloritis, Asterousia, and the Gorge of Samaria.
Driving central Crete in three days gives you time to see the highlights including the Minoan palaces at Knossos and Phaistos, the beaches and the Diktean Cave.
This Amari Valley drive in southern Crete starts and ends in Ayia Galini, takes four to five hours and cover 100 kilometres or 62 miles.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to eat in Western Crete with tavernas and restaurants in Chania, Rethymnon, and Paleochora.
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