Matala: The Caves, the Beach and the Hippie History

Carved in the Neolithic Age

The artificial caves above Matala beach were created in the Neolithic Age, per Wikipedia's account, making them far older than the village's modern reputation implies. During antiquity Matala served as a working port, first for Minoan Phaistos and later for Roman Gortyn, and their original purpose is still debated by historians, though their sheer volume makes residential use the more likely explanation than any more exotic theory.

The Legend of Brutospeliana

One of the caves carries the name Brutospeliana, tied by legend to the Roman general Brutus, per Wikipedia, a naming tradition rather than a confirmed historical connection. The caves' long working life as a port facility for two successive Cretan centres, Phaistos and then Gortyn, is the better-documented part of their story.

Living in the Caves

In the 1960s, the caves above the beach were occupied by hippies, who were later driven out by the church and the military junta, per Wikipedia's account of the period. The village transformed afterward into the tourist destination it is today, with gift shops and bars replacing what had briefly been an informal commune carved straight into the cliff face.

Joni Mitchell's Matala

Canadian musician Joni Mitchell spent time among the Matala hippies in early 1970, and her experiences here were immortalised in her songs "Carey" and "California," both from her 1971 album Blue, per Wikipedia. The connection still draws visitors specifically for the music history, not just the beach.

The Matala Beach Festival

Matala's hippie history is now celebrated every June at the three-day Matala Beach Festival, held annually since 2011, per Wikipedia, a modern commemoration of the era that first put the village on the map internationally.

Hours and the Fee

The Ministry's Matala Roman cemetery site, which is how the caves area is officially classified, opens 10:00 to 19:00 through summer, stepping to 10:00-18:00 from 1 October and 08:30-15:30 in winter. The fee is $5.61 (€5) full price, $3.37 (€3) reduced, paid at the gate to the fenced area.

What's Inside the Fence

The ticketed area covers the cave-cut cliff face itself, fenced off from casual access to protect the site. The beach in front of it, where most visitors spend the bulk of their time swimming and sunbathing, sits outside that fence and charges nothing at all, which is why many day-trip itineraries treat Matala primarily as a beach stop with the caves as an optional add-on.

From Commune to Tourist Village

After the hippies were driven out, the village transformed into the tourist destination it is today, with gift shops and bars lining the short seafront road, per Wikipedia's account of the period. Unlike some of Crete's larger resort towns, Matala has stayed small, built around the single curve of beach and the cliff behind it rather than sprawling inland.

A Living Link to the 1960s

The hippie identity is not just a marketing line here. The annual Matala Beach Festival, running every June since 2011, keeps the connection active rather than purely historical, and several long-standing tavernas and bars in the village still trade on the era directly, with photographs and memorabilia from the period on display. Visitors who want more than a beach day can spend an hour simply walking the handful of streets behind the seafront to see how thoroughly that decade shaped the place.

A Small Footprint by Design

Matala's location at the end of a single access road, with the caves and cliff closing off one side of the bay, has kept large-scale development out in a way that has not happened at every Cretan beach town. That geography is part of why the village still feels distinct from its 1960s photographs rather than unrecognisable, and it is also why parking fills quickly on a busy summer afternoon, with most visitors leaving a car at the edge of the village and walking the last stretch down to the water.

Every routing assumes a stop at both the beach and the caves, since the two sit side by side.

By KTEL Bus

KTEL Herakliou-Lasithiou runs buses from Heraklion to Matala via Moires three times a day on weekdays, 07:30, 12:45 and 14:00, with a similar three-times-daily service on weekends, per the official timetable. No fare is published on KTEL's own booking tool for this route.

A Blue Flag Beach

Matala is award #37 on the 2026 Blue Flag list for the Heraklion municipality, per blueflag.gr, a certification based on water quality and beach management that nearby Preveli, for comparison, does not currently hold.

• The caves were carved as far back as the Neolithic Age, long before either the Minoans or the Romans used Matala as a working port (Wikipedia).
• Matala served as the port for two different Cretan centres in sequence, first Minoan Phaistos, then Roman Gortyn (Wikipedia).
• Joni Mitchell wrote two songs on her 1971 album Blue, "Carey" and "California," directly inspired by her time among the Matala hippies in early 1970 (Wikipedia).
• The hippies who lived in the caves in the 1960s were eventually driven out by a combination of the church and Greece's military junta government (Wikipedia).
• Matala carries the 2026 Blue Flag award, while nearby Preveli, often compared to it as a south-coast beach, does not (blueflag.gr, read 2026-10-02).