TAXI FROM HERAKLION AIRPORT TO MATALA

Crete Taxi Services provides taxi service for transfer from Heraklion airport to Matala.For your return trip by taxi from Matala to Heraklion airport you get discount.

 

Crete taxi provides quality taxi transfers in low prices. Heraklion airport taxi to all destinations.

Matala is located 65 km southwest of Heraklion and is famous for its clear waters and the golden sand. 

It allows to swimmers to swim in the beautiful waters of the Libyan Sea with the company of the towering cliffs which are the trademark of the region.

The sandy beach, with a length of 300 m, forms a semicircle on both sides, where cliffs rise up forming a small enclosed sheltered bay.

Matala became widely known in the 60s for the carelessness and the different lifestyles of those who decided to live in the numerous caves and cavities in rocks formed by the fury of the waves and the saltiness of the sea.

All these it may not have been preserved in our days but it is worth visiting the beach. 
There are plenty of accommodations (hotels, rooms, houses, studios, etc.), of different categories and types that will surely satisfy any of your needs. 
In a short distance, you will find a great variety of cafes, tavernas and restaurants, where many of these embrace the sea and literally hanging over it, on the left side of the beach.

You will find many shops of folk art and memorabilia shop, and several shops with tasteful goods. 
There is also the opportunity of camping.

In Matala is held every year a song festival and in the summertime there is route to Agia Galini by boat.

In Matala there is also a local office of the Organization for the Protection of Marine Turtle.

 

Now in its 3rd year almost 100,000 fans of music and art have enjoyed ‘The Matala Beach Festival’ on the sands beneath the caves made famous during the hippie era of the 1960s and ‘70s. Matala attracted international attention in the early 70s when Joni Mitchell released her critically acclaimed album ‘Blue’ which detailed her experiences whilst living in the caves with the young hippie travellers enjoying the tranquility of Matala Beach.

 

Matala’s culturally unique heritage continues to attract visitors of all ages.

 

The Matala Beach Festival features a range of music from the 1960s to present day and is pleased to announce that Hugh Cornwell former frontman of The Stranglers will be the first international artist to headline the event. Hugh had a series of international hits with The Stranglers in the 70s and 80s such as Peaches, No More Heroes, Golden Brown, and Always The Sun.

 

SOURCE http://matalabeachfestival.com/

 

Recommended Accommodation in Matala

 

Fragiskos Hotel is built in the picturesque village of Matala situated on the south side of Crete. It is a family business established in 1975. The recently renovated hotel comprises of 72 beautifully appointed rooms including Family Rooms as well as four Adult Rooms. All rooms are comfortable and spacious and offer unparalleled views to the crystal clear waters of the sea which is located only 50 meters away from the hotel.

 

VISIT http://fragiskoshotel.gr

 

A safe natural harbour on the Bay of Messara, blessed with a gently sweeping sand and pebble beach, the place in legend where Zeus swam ashore in the guise of a bull with Europa on his back. Many people make this village their base for Cretan holidays, as it is so central on the south coast, and away from the over-development of the north coast. The beach is 250m long and 45m wide.

 

Matala has something for everyone. Although it has become a popular tourist destination it still retains the charm and character of the quiet fishing village it started as at the beginning of the 20th-century, and the laid-back lifestyle of the hippies of the 60’s and 70's lives on. Half the beach is fringed by tamarisk trees, leading the eye on to impressive formations of sandstone rock cliffs with their famous caves sliding into the sea at an odd angle, creating one of the most unusual beachscapes on the island.

 

There have been many pages of history here. Nobody knows quite who started caves but it seems likely that they were first hollowed out as Roman or early Christian tombs. There are other ruins at the eastern end of the village and if you go snorkelling in the clear waters of Messara Bay there are ancient ruins to be seen in the depths. Matala it is one of just over 400 beaches in Greece that have been awarded a Blue Flag. This exclusive eco-label is given to beaches that offer cleanliness and safe bathing areas and has strict criteria dealing with water quality, environmental management and safety. There is a lifeguard and first aid facilities, as well as toilets and showers. Near the beach are opportunities for learning about environmental projects, such as with Archelon, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece.

 

The beaches of Matala, Kommos and Red Beach come under Natura 2000, a European Union network of nature protection areas established to assure the long-term survival of Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats. At the beach there are sport facilities as well as activities for children, and if you would like to go further afield you can also rent a car, bicycles and motorbikes. Yet all this is only 65 km from Iraklion.

 

SOURCE http://www.visitmatala.com/aboutmatala.php?lang=en