We took a guided bus trip to Matala beach, village and caves while on holiday in Crete with our teen daughter. We went on a very warm but windy day. The bus trip was very interesting as we saw parts of Crete that we would not have otherwise seen. The tour guide told us about the area and then we had 4 hours in Matala, exploring the shops, having lunch by the sea in a taverna and then my husband and daughter visited the caves while I went on the beach. The shops were really nice but quite pricey, and we enjoyed looking around. There are plenty of cafes and tavernas for a drink, snack or meal. We went in 2 Friends for lunch, on the boardwalk, which was really nice. Matala is where the hippies lived in the 60s. I'm accident prone and, as it was windy, decided not to risk climbing up to the caves on the cliff-face. Instead, I got sand and water blasted on the beach. There were plenty of sunbeds and parasols at €8 a set which was quite reasonable. The beach was more grit than sand which meant it hurt quite a lot when the wind whipped it up. I didn't stay long. My husband and daughter climbed quite a way and went in some of the caves and said they were interesting. In all it was a lovely day.

Visited on a Sunday and it was quite busy when we arrived early afternoon. It took around an hour from Heraklion and our hire car was very underpowered for the hilly drive! We managed to park on the approach road which was just as well as the beach parking lot looked full. The village has plenty of cafes and stalls selling mainly tourist stuff but the area has a nice ambience and is worth visiting.

The beach pebbles felt very nice and warm on our feet in March. The beach is home to a unique feature which are some caves carved into the cliff face that were made in the prehistoric period. The caves and town used to be home to some hippies and the hippy culture remains in the artwork around the area. The cost to enter the caves is 2 euros and there was an attendant there despite the beach not being that busy - there were only a handful when we visited. In addition to the caves the beach itself has some Greek mythology about itself and was where Zeus brought Europa to bring her on to Crete. One of the variations of the 2 euro coin features Zeus abducting Europa as a bull and bringing her to Crete which might make for a fun photo. However, this coin was not easy to find when we visited. There are services including changing rooms and toilets by this beach but they were closed and locked when we visited in March. There were a couple of restaurants open and a grocery store but we suspect the majority of the shops were closed due to the low winter season when we visited. We spent about an hour on the beach and made it part of our road trip around Crete. We could have easily spent more time here if we were more prepared and brought towels but the water was still kind of cold in March. We could see this beach being very popular in the high season.

If you love sandy beaches with an easy entry to the sea, you will hate Matala Beach. 4€ to park in the beach car park, 4€ to visit the hippy caves, 14€ for three sunbeds and a brolly. I did ask jokingly if the brolly could be removed, of course it couldn’t because it was a wooden Pole with a fixed coconut matting top. Get there early as all sun beds are taken by 11:00am and this was mid September. On the day we went the sea was calm. The beach itself is not sand, it is very small grit pebbles. As you enter the sea they give way like quicksand before you encounter the large rocks/boulders under the water. The water however was crystal clear, almost clearer than water from the tap. The secret is to launch yourself quickly! We enjoyed our day here but there are much better beaches to be found and the area is quite commercialised.