Day trip
Matala cliffs and beach.
Photo: Dzmitry Charnou / Pexels
Quick facts
- Region
- Heraklion
- Start town
- Matala
- Typical duration
- 3–5 hours
- Type
- Day trip
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.
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.
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.
Matala cliffs and beach needs 3–5 hours from Matala. The months that usually work are April to October. The road or the boat is part of the day, not a preface you can ignore. Carry water and shade for the hours away from Matala, and do not book a sunset table at home until you know the return. Matala cliffs and beach is one day from Matala. A beach, gorge or monastery with a similar photograph is a different outing when the route changes.
Is it worth it
Matala cliffs and beach is worth the hours from Matala when it suits a south-coast day and anyone interested in the 1960s history of the caves without needing a lecture. The caves are the photograph. If that is the part your group will fight, leave it for another date.
What to bring
- Water and a hat, because Matala is the cove with artificial caves in the cliff
- Shoes that match the ground on Matala cliffs and beach. Drive the Messara roads to Matala or come
- A layer for the start in Matala. April to October still has cool mornings and wind.
- The return hour written down. Matala cliffs and beach takes 3–5 hours, and a second plan the same day is how you miss it.
Tips
- April to October is the window to trust for Matala cliffs and beach. Outside it, ask whether the day is even running.
- Leave Matala with 3–5 hours clear. Drive the Messara roads to Matala or come across from Agia Galini.
- Search “Matala beach and caves Crete” and check that the meeting point really is Matala.
Related tours
HistoryPhaistos 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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Boat from Matala along the cliffs
Matala3–5 hours
A boat from Matala runs along the cliff coast to coves that are awkward by road, for a swim and a return. The village beach is the backup when the swell is up, and on this south coast the swell is the cancelling condition. The trip is short. It should not be sold as a cruise to another prefecture. You are looking at the local cliffs from the water. The usual length is 3–5 hours, and the months that usually work are May to September. It suits people already in Matala. A long coach from Chania for this boat is the wrong shape of day. Stay south and the boat is a pleasure. Boats leave the Matala cove in the morning in season. Ask the return time before you swim, and have the beach as a second plan.
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Kommos beach and the Minoan harbour
Matala3–4 hours
Kommos is the long sandy beach north of Matala, with the remains of a Minoan harbour in the dunes at one end. You can swim and walk to the fenced ruins. Facilities are fewer than in Matala village, which is why people who know the area come here. Wind can be strong. There is no town on the sand. The usual length is 3–4 hours, and the months that usually work are May to October. It suits a quieter swim after Phaistos or instead of crowded Matala. Bring what you will drink. The taverna situation is thinner than the village cove. Drive toward the coast between Kalamaki and Matala. Tracks lead to the sand. Do not expect a promenade. The ruins are signed at the north end.
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FAQ
Questions.
- Plan on 3–5 hours from Matala. It suits a south-coast day and anyone interested in the 1960s history of the caves without needing a lecture.
- April to October. Outside those months the day is often closed, cancelled, or a different trip. Ask the day before you leave Matala.
- 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.
- 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.
- Matala cliffs and beach is worth the hours from Matala when it suits a south-coast day and anyone interested in the 1960s history of the caves without needing a lecture. The caves are the photograph. If that is the part your group will fight, leave it for another date.