Why go south
Most visitors landing at Heraklion stay on the north coast, where the resorts line up along a busy main road. Head south instead and the character of Crete changes within an hour. The road climbs through olive groves and vineyards, crosses the spine of the island and drops towards the Libyan Sea, where the villages are smaller, the beaches are wilder and the evenings are quieter.
The southern shore also tends to be calmer when the summer meltemi wind is blowing hard on the north side. If you wake up in Heraklion to whitecaps, it is often worth checking the forecast for the south before writing off a beach day.
Matala and its neighbours
Matala is the best-known name on this coast, famous for the caves carved into its sandstone cliffs, once used as Roman-era tombs and later as a home for travelling hippies in the 1960s. The bay itself is sandy and sheltered, and the village has an easygoing mix of tavernas and small shops.
If Matala feels busy, walk or drive to the neighbouring bays. Red Beach sits over a rocky headland and rewards a short, scrambling hike with reddish sand and fewer people. To the north, Kommos is a long, open stretch of sand next to a Minoan archaeological site, and it often has room to spare even in August.
Further east: Lentas and Kaloi Limenes
East of Matala, the coast becomes more rugged. Lentas is a small village tucked under a headland shaped a little like a lion, with a pebbly town beach and a few quieter coves reached on foot. It suits travellers who want a simple room, a taverna with a sea view and nothing much else on the agenda.
Kaloi Limenes is mentioned in the Bible as the Fair Havens, and today it is a working harbour with an oil-tanker anchorage offshore, so it is more of a curiosity than a swimming spot. Still, the drive through this corner of the island is spectacular, with narrow roads, sudden views and goats that have right of way.
Getting there and staying over
From Heraklion airport, Matala is typically around an hour and a half by car, depending on traffic and how often you stop for photos. Buses run from the city's main bus station, but a rental car makes it much easier to explore several beaches in one day and to stay out for sunset.
A day trip is possible, but the south coast really rewards an overnight stay. Consider splitting your holiday, with a few nights near Heraklion for the archaeological sites and a few nights in the south for swimming and doing very little. A Flight + Hotel package to Heraklion combined with a rental car gives you that flexibility.
Good to know
- Bring water shoes: many southern beaches have pebbles and rocky entries.
- Fill up the tank before crossing the mountains, as petrol stations thin out.
- Sunset at Matala is popular, so arrive early if you want a spot on the sand.