LODGING_LIST_IN Matala

I have stayed in Matala many times since 2001,always on the campsite.This is good place with a diamond studied night sky where one may lay and count the shooting stars and other intresting objects above.The village is littered with friendly bars,some of which stay open untill morning filled with tourists mainly European who mix well with the local people and the talking and drinking goes on untill early morning.
People from all over Europa see Matala as a second home,often sleeping directly under the Tamerisk trees at Matala camping,and, if you stay there or at one of the hotels you will find somewhere different at the worlds end with out a care.Go to Matala

I stayed in Matala for many months many years ago before tourism had really hit Greece. It was a frienldy beautiful place then and after going back after 13 years it still had the charm and frienliness that it had all those years ago.

There were a few more tourist shops around and quite a few more hotels but it still felt like the same Matala that i had lived in all those years before. Even some of the hoteliers remembered me and treated me like an old friend.

The beach is gorgeous and the caves make it just more interesting.

I would say to anyone to go and spend time there. It is a truly wonderful place to visit.

I visited Matala in 1993 when the southern side of Crete was just getting "developed". There were incredibly new hotels (not with air conditioning, but clean and cheap) at the height of the season to accommodate any travelers. It was a wonderful respite, our day at the beach there, it being our only day of total relaxation. It was very easy to get to and close to several of the archeological sites that were on our itinerary. The food was great, the people friendly. In July, the sere winds blow constantly across the sea directly from the Sahara at over 100 degrees F. When we set our blanket down amid the hubbub of the somewhat crowded main beach, I (from Miami) went off to test the water. My friend called out "How´s the water?" I responded, "Like home in January". The entire beach went mute. It was one of those moments where you could read the minds of everyone around, because they were all thinking the same thing -- "Where in the world are these Amerikanakia from?" We were sad to leave it, but we had many places to see and only had a week to see 1/2 of Kriti. It ranks an AAA+++ in my book for a place out of the way to go and flake out in Greece.