This summer in Crete, Chad and I found a place where tomorrow never comes. A place where everyone seemingly lives in the moment of today. And, we are officially obsessed. If you find yourself in Crete this year (and we highly recommend that you do in fact go to Crete, like now), put Matala on your itinerary. Trust us, you will not regret it!
My dad lives in Crete, so Chad and I find ourselves there pretty regularly, i.e., once a year. Every time we go to Crete, we make it a point to visit parts of the island that we have never seen before. The options are virtually limitless. This year, we planned a day-trip from Chania to Matala, which is located in the prefecture of Heraklion.
If you don’t already know, Crete is the largest of Greece’s islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean. Crete is divided into four prefectures: Chania, Rethymnon, Heraklion and Lassithi. Crete was also the home to the ancient Minoan civilization.
There are two ways to reach Crete: you can fly in from Athens or other European cities or you can take a ferry from Athens and certain other Greek islands, like Santorini. If you choose the ferry option (I suggest the upgraded cabin seats if you go with this option), you will port in Heraklion. Matala is located about an hour away from both the airport and ferry port in Heraklion. However, we prefer the flight option. The flight is the easiest option as it is only 30 minutes from Athens with multiple regularly scheduled flights that are not very expensive on Aegean Airlines. You can fly into either Chania or Heraklion. We usually fly into Chania because this is the closest city to where my family lives, which is in Anopoli, Sfakia.
We rented a car for the day from the city center of Chania. The daily rate was about 65 Euros with unlimited miles and a turn in time of 10:00 p.m. If you prefer to use the pretty reliable public bus system that runs throughout Crete, called the KTEL, you can find the schedules and prices here. The drive from Chania to Matala is about two hours, mostly on highway, and it is very scenic. Our first stop was to the Archaeological site of Phaistos. 
To reach Phaistos, follow the signs along the highway, which direct you up a pretty easy mountain road. If you use your iPhone navigation, you will be directed to leave your car and walk. Ignore those directions. The road is paved all the way up to the site, and it is in great condition. When you reach the site, there is a parking lot on the left, and the entrance is a short 3 minute walk on a paved road to the right. It costs 8 Euro per person to visit the site. Once inside, there are clean restrooms located inside a snack bar that also doubles as a small souvenir shop. Also, there is free Wi-Fi! More information on visiting the site can be found here, including hours of operation. The site is certainly not as big, well preserved, or as popular as the Palace of Knossos, but it is also WAY less crowded (you almost have the whole place to yourself), and it is pretty interesting and well worth a visit. We were able to visit the entire site in a little over an hour.
Phaistos, like the Palace of Knossos, was a Minoan palace and the place where the Phaistos disc (which is now on display in the archaeological museum of Heraklion) was discovered. Phaistos was one of the most important centers of Minoan civilization and the most wealthy and powerful city in southern Crete. If you are coming from Heraklion, I suggest you stop at the museum first and then make your way to Phaistos.
We were pretty hungry after our visit, so we decided to drive over to Matala for a sea-side lunch and swim. The drive from Phaistos to Matala beach is about 15 to 20 minutes.
Matala is small beach community that now caters mainly to tourists. The beach is just breathtaking, with a large cliff to the right of the ocean. Matala was originally the port of Phaistos in the Minoan period. In the Neolithic Age, artificial caves were carved into the cliff by the Romans and were used as tombs. In the 60s, Matala was a fishing village that became the home of several hippies who lived inside the old tombs in the cliff. The most notable of Matala’s hippie residents was Joni Mitchell, who wrote the song Carey while living in Matala. Joni came to Matala breaking up with Graham Nash. Other notable hippies who inhabited Matala’s caves include Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and Cat Stevens. Matala gained international attention in the 60s after Life Magazine published a story about it. Today, Matala still has a very distinct boho hippie vibe, although it is more commercial than it once was. And, the “new hippies” of Matala still inhabit a more remote set of caves not far away from the ones on the beach.
You’ll know when you have arrived in Matala because you will be greeted by this beautiful tree which sits in the center of the non-pedestrian part of the village.
There is a large parking lot that has direct access to the beach, and it only costs 2 Euro to park there all day. The lot has beautiful street art on the buildings.
From the lot, it is just a short walk onto the beach, which, in late May, was not that crowded. You can walk a path to get to the cliff and actually climb up the cliff and visit the now empty tombs. The cost for the all-day ticket is 2 Euro per person. It’s kind of wild to think that you are visiting both a grave site and the former “homes” of some of the world’s most notable musicians. Apparently, there are additional tombs that have not yet been excavated.
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Once in the water, you can actually swim into the caves of the cliff. The water is clear and cool, and there is a small reef not far from the shore, so bring your snorkel. On the opposite side of the beach, away from all the crowds, sits a sea wall with welcome greeting: “Welcome to Matala George. Today is life. Tomorrow never comes.” Some say that this is a greeting to George Harrison of The Beatles. It is unknown if George ever made it to Matala to see the greeting. Others say that George was a well-known hippie who lived in Matala. If you are interested, I came across this post which is about Matala’s last known hippie (from the 1960s). But, one thing is for sure, this is more than just a greeting; this is a motto for life in Matala. Everyone there is seemingly living in the moment of today. It is refreshing. 
Matala has several sea-side taverns with a view of the beach or you may opt to walk into town where you will find several taverns, bars, and shops. We ate at Taverna Sirtaki, which was great and had an awesome view. After lunch, we walked around town where I got a great pair of handmade sandals and some fantastic handmade jewelry from the shops in Matala.
As you walk around the town, you will notice drawings on the street. These are allegedly made by a hippie named Frankie who, like many of the part-time nomadic hippie residents, spends the summers in Matala.
We left late in the afternoon to make our way back to Chania, but we decided that on our next trip, we will come back to Matala and spend the night. Apparently, at night, when the sun goes down, the hippies appear in their VW vans and set up makeshift shops to sell their handmade jewelry for 2 Euros and smoke weed. Everyone hangs out at an open-air bar called Hakuna Matala where the drinks are cheap and served with watermelon slices.
If you are planning to visit Matala in June you should know that every year there is a huge music festival that takes place during the second or third week of June called Matala Beach Festival. During this festival, approximately 50,000 to 80,000 people descend upon the beach of Matala (where the actual festival takes place) to camp and enjoy the live music. Vendors also overtake the streets of the town. I am certain that this element brings a completely different vibe to the otherwise laid back town of Matala.
On our way back to Chania, we made an hour detour to visit the beach of Triopetra. The beach was breathtaking and empty, but the road to get there was terrifying, which is probably why it is not a touristy spot. If you are not comfortable driving on very narrow, extremely elevated, winding, two-way mountain roads with no guardrails, I suggest that you skip this place. On the other hand, the beach, named for the three (trio) rock (petra) formation, is popular among yogis who come here for yoga retreats and believe the place to be very spiritual.
These next two images are borrowed from the internet to give you an idea of what the beach looks like.
Matala is a place that sort of stays with you. I think part of the reason is that it seems so out of place in Crete. The ethos of Matala almost reminded me of Tulum. Since returning home, I have been thinking a lot about the Matala motto. It seems like a good reminder to live in the moment. After all, isn’t life really just a series of todays?
If you make it to Matala this year or have been before, please send me an email or leave a comment and let me know if you are/were as enchanted by it as we were. It has truly become our favorite place in Crete, and we cannot wait to get back!
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