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When you think of Greece what comes to your mind? Maybe the idea of democracy? Or Mythology? Nature? This ancient European is notoriously famous for its islands, but if you had to pick a single one to visit which one it would be? I bet many would choose Santorini just because of the opportunity to take beautiful Instagram pictures, but what would you learn about Greece from it?
If I had to choose one island I would choose Crete. The first thing to mention is that the weather in Crete is amazing. Maybe even too hot for a northerner like myself. Though it is not a tragedy to endure some heat in exchange for some tan, warmth and, of course, production of vitamin D of which it is impossible to get enough in the North without supplements.
Due to its size and its geographical location, the island has more to offer than just countless beautiful Cretan beaches. Not only it is full of breath-taking gorges and mountains – Crete is the home to the ancient civilization of the Bronze Age – The Minoans. Yes, the Minotaur Labyrinth, Daedalus and Icarus came from this ancient island. Oh, and do I have to mention Zeus?
The best way to experience the most Crete has to offer within a day is to take a route from Heraklion via the Capital of Minoans, Knossos, and then head to South where concentration of beautiful beaches is the highest. Personally, I started the route with 8 hours left before the sunset, from which we spent 2 on the road and one in THE archaeological place to go in Crete – Minoan Palace of Knossos. So the time we had in Matala Beach and its surroundings was fairly limited, if you want to spend more time chilling on one of the beaches – leave earlier.
If you are only interested in visiting beaches and want to see the best of it, I would recommend Elafonisi Lagoon instead. Even though this beautiful beach is located at the edge of Crete, it is still possible to visit Elafonisi Lagoon from Heraklion within a day. You can read more about it here.
There are so many interesting places in the island that it is hard to get around with a public transport. There is just too much to see in Crete. While this article is about my personal choice of how I would spend my time in Crete if I had only one day to explore the island, there is no right way to do it. Though, one thing is fore sure – good mobility is a game-changer here. Everybody I know, who visited the island either rented a car or SUV with driver.
First things first, we filled our fuel tank in EKO petrol station, the price of 95 petrol was 1,670 € per liter in 2018 June. You can find BP and Schell petrol stations in the area as well. Don’t go out of the Heraklion without filling it as it might be hard to find a petrol station outside of towns.
The adventure started with visiting a legendary the oldest town in Europe – Knossos. If you ever decide to do the same, here is some basic information for you:
Working hours: 08h00 – 20h00 from Apr 1 to Oct 31 / 08h00 – 17h00 from Nov 1 to Mar 31;
Prices: 15 € per pax or 16 € per pax combined ticket with the Heraklion Archeological Museum, valid for three days. You can get it if half a price if you are senior or student. It is free if you visit on Sunday, Nov 1 – Mar 31.
You can find more details about visiting the legendary Knossos Palace in this article.
Though the roads around Heraklion City felt like a Minotaur’s Labyrinth as well. Besides that if you survive it, inland roads seem to be relatively in a good shape and fun to drive, the only problem is that you might get stuck behind a slow big car which maybe will help to enjoy a beautiful scenery of cultivated lands. My guess would be that the trees I see everywhere are olives and by everywhere I mean everywhere. The landscape in Crete is full of mountains and every hill seemed not to be left without a purpose, which is no surprise, without exploration of difficult terrain not much would be left for the agriculture.
If you liked Knossos or enjoy history and archeology on your way from Heraklion to Matala Beach, you can visit the second biggest Minoan ruins – Phaistos.
The town Matala itself seems like a small one road village full of restaurants and apartments, which totally makes sense because it is located in a gorge and opens up to a beautiful beach. You can also find a nice market, but my guess would be that you can buy the same stuff at Heraklion half a price. If you really want a souvenir from Matala you should probably buy some hand-made accessories from local nomad artists in Matala caves.
The beach itself is somewhat crowded with bars and restaurants, the price for an umbrella or sea sunbed is 2€ each, the same price we paid for parking next to it. Everything seems mediocre, except the views and it is more than worth it. As I mentioned before the place opens up to Libyan sea from a gorge which approx. 500 m wide. You are surrounded by two golden cliffs and what is even better those cliffs are full of caves. From what I read further down the cliff there are more secret caves which are inhabited by humans. Matala Beach used to be a famous hippy place.
With limited time we decided that getting to the nearby mixed nudist Red Beach is how we should spend what is left of the day. The hike is short, only 1.5 km, but it is way harder than it sounds. Personally, I have a mindset of a savage and I just don’t give fcuk, but the sun does its job and you need to climb over a mountain. For less experienced hikers it might be hard, but it is doable. Just take enough of water and it will be worth all of your struggle. There are a few nice places on the top of the cliff to observe both Matala Beach and Red Beach, so be sure to check it out. The view toward Matala beach is especially nice as behind the cliff you can see giant mountains hiding behind layers of clouds, from here you can really appreciate how amazing this oasis is. I love walking, so it was my favorite part of the day, the feeling of approaching this mysterious supposed-to-be nudist Beach added to this as well.
With that in mind I must say it took quite a while to notice any nudists, the beach is definitely mixed and at the center of it, where you enter it after your short hike, looks like a normal beach. If you want to drop-off your clothes between the like-minded you should go to the edges of Red Beach. You’ll be also be rewarded with a better view of which I couldn’t take photos for obvious reasons. Beach has a single bar, but it is relatively expensive, from what I heard Mojitos are really good here and the price is very reasonable. Since I’m are not a nudist and didn’t feel like turning into one after observing a beautiful beach and an amazing cliff, we were fast to turn back. One last thing about the pace, as a proof that the hike is way more manageable than what you see in comments I present you a bribe who did it with a wedding dress. If it ever gets hard climbing a mountain, just remember her. Things you do for love.
Things I do for love is usually climbing since I’m really in love with mountains (I live in a very flat region). A good place to express my love was to climb a bit in-between Matala caves, not to be mistaken with Matala caves on the other side of the gorge where you can find artists selling stuff next to pleeenty of bars and restaurants, the caves seems to be abandoned, but it definitely was inhabited back in the less touristy days. The caves have sculpted of the rock rooms and even beds, it is like a super mini Petra. I guess people who are more into nature are fast to remember our prehistoric ways of living.
You enter the area for 2€ and is more than worth it, just be sure to be careful while climbing, you can not only to hurt your self but to drop a stone and injure someone below you. For those less fit, there is plenty to explore on the lower levels, but the crown jewel is on the top from where you can observe the whole gorge and Matala with its beach. If you feel like these beaches does not fulfill your needs, there are plenty others to choose from. You can read more about the most beautiful beaches in Crete here.
Don’t get me wrong, these beaches are amazing, but instead of spending our time enjoying the sun we decided to spend it in a car and to see Kommos Minoan Antiquities with Kommos Beach nearby. The place maybe is not as amazing, but on your way there you can enjoy an amazing panorama of mountains. Kommos beach is a way better place for people who like less crowded places as well.
Kommos Minoan Antiquities is either closed for public or we came too late as it was locked and we could only observe it through a fence.
The trip back to Heraklion was chaotic, and by chaotic I mean it, rules don’t feel to apply here as everyone is crossing even double lines. Though it was fun and setting sun provided a lot of beautiful views.
After we got back to our hotel, we went to chill near the pool with a beer. Very few things are better than washing your day’s sweat, cold beer, and a good company, though, after reading and hearing a lot about Crete being a really good place to the party we were eager to go out of the hotel and look for some beach party fun.
The closest beach to out hotel was Heaven Beach with some nice cozy cafés in it. It was Friday and we thought that we are definitely going to find a party down here. We had visited the place twice before and we thought it was empty due to being just a wrong day to look for a party. But when we saw that there was not a lot of people on Friday we were totally lost. Though, the place is good for a meal, chill and talk with your friends without a major disturbance. The beach is nice as well as it offers a picturesque view of the coast to the west, where the mountains reach it.
This experience made us research a bit more and after some more in-depth we understood that we are on the wrong side of Heraklion. It seems like unless you live in one of those Ammoudara’s fancy hotels, this is not the place famous for its parties in Crete. If you want those good time beach parties you should go to Hersonissos, Malia or even Chania. Heraklion itself is a good place for city parties, though, it is more filled with local people and their most popular club is Greek only.
Anyway, the lesson of the day is to drink cappuccino frappe instead of whatever coffee you prefer.
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