Horse riding
Horse riding in the Messara.
Photo: Nadiia Astakhova / Pexels
Quick facts
- Region
- Heraklion
- Start town
- Matala
- Typical duration
- 2–3 hours
- Type
- Horse riding
Riding in the Messara is a farm or track hour among olive groves and fields, not a beach gallop at Matala. Beginners are expected. The morning is the right slot because the plain gets hot and bright. You will not cover much ground. You will be on a horse with a guide, which is the entire product.
Stables are inland of the south coast. Transfers from Matala are short. Wear trousers and closed shoes and mention your weight when you book.
It suits novices staying in Matala or Agia Galini. Skip it if you wanted the caves and the sea. Ride on a different day from the beach crawl.
Horse riding in the Messara needs 2–3 hours from Matala. The months that usually work are April to November. Beginners are the point of the hour. Wear trousers and closed shoes, mention weight when you book, and stay off noon in August. The stable near Matala sets the age and weight rules. Those rules are the booking. Horse riding in the Messara uses the stable that serves Matala. A ride in another town is a different horse and a different track.
Is it worth it
Horse riding in the Messara is worth the hours from Matala when it suits novices staying in Matala or Agia Galini. Beginners are expected. If that is the part your group will fight, leave it for another date.
What to bring
- Water and a hat, because Riding in the Messara is a farm or track hour
- Shoes that match the ground on Horse riding in the Messara. Stables are inland of the south coast. Transfers
- A layer for the start in Matala. April to November still has cool mornings and wind.
- The return hour written down. Horse riding in the Messara takes 2–3 hours, and a second plan the same day is how you miss it.
Tips
- April to November is the window to trust for Horse riding in the Messara. Outside it, ask whether the day is even running.
- Leave Matala with 2–3 hours clear. Stables are inland of the south coast. Transfers from Matala are short.
- Search “Horse riding Messara Crete” and check that the meeting point really is Matala.
Related tours
Day tripMatala cliffs and beach
Matala3–5 hours
Matala is the cove with artificial caves in the cliff above a sandy beach, on the south coast of Heraklion prefecture. The caves are the photograph. The beach is the visit. You can swim, walk the cliff path, and eat in the village in one unhurried stay. It is not a hike, and the caves are not a palace. High season fills the sand by late morning. The usual length is 3–5 hours, and the months that usually work are April to October. It suits a south-coast day and anyone interested in the 1960s history of the caves without needing a lecture. Skip the cliff path if you cannot manage uneven rock in the sun. Drive the Messara roads to Matala or come across from Agia Galini. Park at the village and walk to the sand. The caves are in the cliff on the north side of the cove.
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Horse ridingHorse riding above Plakias
Plakias2–3 hours
Riding above Plakias is a guided hour through olive slopes or along a track with a view of the bay, not a beach gallop through sunbathers. Beginners are the usual guests. The heat on an open ridge at noon is the limit, so morning and late afternoon are the rides that make sense. Helmets are not optional. The usual length is 2–3 hours, and the months that usually work are April to November. It suits novices and older children who meet the stable’s age and weight rules. Skip it if anyone is afraid of horses. A frightened rider spoils the group and the animal. Stables are on the hills around Plakias. A pickup from the village is normal. Wear long trousers and closed shoes, and say if you have never ridden.
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Phaistos and Matala
Matala5–7 hours
Phaistos is the Minoan palace on a hill above the Messara plain, quieter than Knossos and barely reconstructed. Matala’s beach is the swim afterwards. Together they are a coherent south day from Heraklion: stones in the morning, sand in the afternoon. Reversing that order means you tour a palace in the heat and swim in a windier evening. Gortyna, with its law code and basilica, can replace one of them. It should not join both unless you enjoy being late. The usual length is 5–7 hours, and the months that usually work are Year round, the beach is seasonal. It suits people who have seen Knossos or who prefer a site without the crowds. The palace has less shade and less signage. A guide earns the visit. Phaistos is inland of Matala, a short drive. Tours from Heraklion cross the plain. Start with the archaeology.
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FAQ
Questions.
- Plan on 2–3 hours from Matala. It suits novices staying in Matala or Agia Galini.
- April to November. Outside those months the day is often closed, cancelled, or a different trip. Ask the day before you leave Matala.
- Stables are inland of the south coast. Transfers from Matala are short. Wear trousers and closed shoes and mention your weight when you book.
- It suits novices staying in Matala or Agia Galini. Skip it if you wanted the caves and the sea. Ride on a different day from the beach crawl.
- Horse riding in the Messara is worth the hours from Matala when it suits novices staying in Matala or Agia Galini. Beginners are expected. If that is the part your group will fight, leave it for another date.