35 km from Heraklion, the administrative center Greek island Crete, located resort town Malia (Malya). It's quite small town ok, it is inhabited by a little less than 3,500 people.

Things to do in Malia

In Crete, and in Greece, Malia is known as one of the most party places - young people and lovers of nightlife come here. We must immediately make a reservation that this youth is mainly from France, Germany and England, there are almost no Russian speakers. People who first came to Malia and went for a walk in the late afternoon may not only be surprised, but perhaps shocked. Local TV channels do not stop showing what is happening in Malia in the evenings, and the inhabitants of Crete are only outraged, but do not take any concrete measures.

As a rule, young people from European countries come here in large groups, relax relatively peacefully and without fights, spend a lot of money - this is one of the main reasons why they are welcomed as guests in this small city of Greece.

Nevertheless, Malia has everything to make your vacation unforgettable: clear sea, comfortable beaches, numerous clubs and restaurants, hotels of different stars, souvenir shops, large supermarkets, a variety of entertainment and attractions. Here you can rent any vehicle: bike, scooter, motorcycle, car.

Zig Zag

The central part of Malia is the center of clubs, bars, discos, restaurants. The most popular among young people are Camelot Castle, Candy, Appolo, Zig Zag, Malibu Club, Banana Club, Warehouse. Almost all of them work from 22:00 until the morning, admission is free, you only need to pay for the ordered drinks.

In addition to restaurants and clubs, this Greek resort has other entertainment. What can you see in Malia on the island of Crete? For example, you can see the aquarium, visit the water park, take a horseback ride.

The stable closest to Malia located at: Leoforos Eirinis 26, Stalos, Crete. In addition, it is not only the closest, but also the most inexpensive on the island - a two-hour tour costs 35 € per person.

The Amarillis Stable is located in the mountains near the town of Stalis. They keep well-groomed and well-trained horses, short pacers. There are no cafes or taverns on the territory, from the amenities there is a toilet.

Amarillis Stable

It is Amarillis Stable for horse riding that is offered by employees of many hotels and tour agencies in Malia. But you can order sightseeing tour, by writing directly to Amarillis Stable - the owner of the stable, Nicholas, responds very quickly and, if necessary, picks up from the hotel.

Tourists are offered to make a two-hour trip to the sea or longer trips (5-6 hours each) to the mountains, inland of Crete to the lake, to the village of Mochos. The path to the sea is rather monotonous (on an asphalt road lined with houses and hotels), but everything on the coast is very beautiful. Touring the mountains is much more interesting, although more tiring, and sometimes more dangerous. The terrain dictates its own conditions: sometimes you have to get off the horse and lead it along. During any trip, Nicholas is on good English language talks about the history of Crete and interesting places along the way.

Nicholas suggests how best to handle the horses, looks after their behavior. But for beginners riding a horse for the first time, it is still better to be very careful and first make a safer trip to the sea. As for small children, it is better not to take them on horseback riding at all.

There is another important point: you need to find out in advance whether insurance covers medical expenses for treatment if it becomes necessary after a fall from a horse.

The water park is not in Malia, but in the city of Hersonissos, the address: Hersonissos 20, Crete. Many consider the water park to be a great alternative to the usual beach of Malia on the island of Crete, especially since the entrance to its territory is free. There are almost always a lot of people here.

The beach here is small, the beach strip is narrow and the sun quickly hides. But entry into the sea is very convenient: sandy, gently sloping. There are no breakwaters here, so on some days, human-sized waves rise from the very morning and it is impossible to swim.

Music plays in the water park all day long, at 16:00 they organize a foam party - both adults and children like this show.

• Slides are open from 11:00 to 18:00, a ticket for all this time costs 8 €.
• Pools are free, renting an umbrella costs 2 €, a sunbed - 3 € (they give a check, so you can leave and then come back). There are 2 playgrounds and 2 areas with pools for children - sunbeds are free there.

On the territory of the water park there is an open stage, where DJs perform in the evenings.

Hersonissos boasts another interesting place that can be attributed to both entertainment and attractions. It's about the aquarium. located at the address: 7 Filikis Eterias /Hersonissos Port.

This is a very small aquarium, which will be interesting for children to visit. The staff there is very friendly, they give you to hold a python, turtles, reptiles. In general, a good mood and a lot of various photos for the memory of Malia, the island of Crete and Greece are provided.

• Adult ticket costs 8 €, for children - 4 €.
• The entrance for visitors is open from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:15.

Sights of Malia

Sightseeing lovers will also appreciate this small town in Greece on the island of Crete: in Malia, more precisely in the Old Town, there is a lot of interesting things. For example, the church of St. Dimitrios, the Venetian church of St. John, the church of St. Nektarios. It's nice even just to walk along the narrow streets of the Old Town, where there are pretty houses with beautiful blue doors, with shutters on the windows and with curly flowers on the balconies, where there are small taverns with live music.

But still, the most significant sights of Malia are located in the vicinity of this famous resort Greece.

The ruins of the Mali Palace are located 3 km from the resort - you can easily walk there or take a bus from the center of Malia in just 10 minutes.

Entrance 6 € per person. Excursion service is not provided, tourists themselves walk among the excavations, guided only by diagrams and short captions in English.

This landmark of Greece is remarkable in that it is in the form in which it was discovered during excavations, that is, without reconstruction. There is no palace as such here, mainly these are meter-long contours of ancient large structures and several restored vases the size of a human being. Some of the excavations are under open sky, part - under a canopy.

By the way, excavations continue, and who knows what other sights will be found here.

Holidaymakers of the Malia resort, among other attractions of the island of Crete, can visit the Lychnostatis open-air museum, which is located near the town of Hersonissos (address: Plaka, Hersonissos 700 14).

This attraction is open all days of the week except Saturday from 9:00 to 14:00. It is best to go to the opening, because by 11:00 a lot of people gather there.

The entrance ticket costs 5 €, for an additional fee you can take an audio guide in Russian.

The Lychnostatis Museum is one of the most colorful and visited attractions in Greece. Its exhibits allow you to learn the customs and features of the life of the inhabitants of Crete, acquaint you with the history of the development of culture. The most interesting expositions are the reconstruction of a traditional Greek farm, weaving and pottery workshops, and a distillery. In a small cinema, a film is shown that tells about the history and life of Crete.

The museum adjoins the garden, walking through which you can get acquainted with the rich local flora.

Beaches

How can there be a resort town in Greece without a beach? There are many of them in Malia on the island of Crete, it remains only to choose the most suitable one.

At a distance of 2 km east of the port Malia, not far from the famous attraction - the ruins of the Malian palace, is not too crowded Potamos beach. This is a spacious beach with coarse golden white sand, good entry into the sea and crystal clear water. At some distance from the coast, a rocky ridge stretches, against which waves break - as a result, there is always calm and clear water without algae.

The beach is equipped with everything you need: changing cabins, fresh water showers, dry closets (sometimes even with paper). For 6 € you can rent sunbeds and umbrellas for the whole day.

Near cafes, several bars, a tent with fruit, and in the morning a van with ice cream, drinks and food (gyros, sandwiches) arrives.

The best and closest beach to Malia on the island of Crete is the beach of Stalis (Stalida). It stretches along the central part of the settlement of the same name and is 4 km away from the center of Malia.

A long and not too wide beach with a sandy bottom, although in some places there are stones. There is a gentle entry into the sea and very clean water, you can meet crabs and even large sea turtles near the stones.

Along the beach there are many cafes and restaurants with delicious food, almost all have a children's menu.

By the way, it is in these establishments that you can rent sun loungers with umbrellas for 5-8 €. And in some restaurants (for example, Ocean, Irish Pub), visitors are given them for free: you can order drinks and lie down and sunbathe.

Toilets are also in the cafe, there are no separate toilets on the beach. There are no changing rooms, only showers.

At some distance from Malia, there is Bufos beach, which belongs to the Sissi resort.

Its width is 60 m, the water is clear. The beach is pebbly, the entry into the water is pebbles and sand, but a little further the bottom is covered with large stones and rock outcrops. If the wind blows stronger, then rise big waves and swimming becomes dangerous. The depth from the shore gradually grows “up to the chest”, then there is a rocky shallow, and then the depth increases sharply to 3-4 m.

The beach has a volleyball court, showers, a cafe and a bar, you can rent 2 sun loungers with an umbrella for 7 € for the whole day.

Video: holidays in Malia on Crete.

Accommodation in Malia

The choice of housing in the city of Malia on the island of Crete is very large. The hotels of this resort (their number is about 100) have different stars and offer rooms of various price categories.

happy days

For example, for 20 € per night, you can rent a standard studio with two single beds in the Happy Days apart-hotel. The hotel is located in the heart of the Old Town of Malia, within walking distance from top clubs and bars.

For 55 € you can stay in a standard double room, for example, in family hotel 3* Malia Mare.

Royal Heights Resort

Apartments, of course, will cost more. So, 200 € is a suite at the 5 * Royal Heights Resort. The room has 1 bedroom with 2 single beds and a living room with a large sofa, which can sleep two children up to 12 years old.

It should be noted that for those who want to relax in peace, it is best to stay on the outskirts of Malia - there is no noise from parties and numerous discos.

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When is the best time to come

Weather in Malia the same as in all the resorts of Crete, located on the coast Aegean Sea: warm and humid in winter, hot in summer.

The season in Malia, as in many resorts in Greece, begins in April and ends at the end of October. The air temperature can reach +35°C, the water temperature is about +25°C.

The warmest month in Malia is August, when the average daytime temperature is about +29.7°С, and the nighttime temperature is +22.9°С. The sea warms up most of all also in August - up to + 26.2°C on average.

In winter in Malia (Crete) it is rainy, but not cold: it is never less than +14°С.

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) but to the islands. I lived on the island of Crete for a week, visited several towns and villages - Heraklion, Malia, Stalis, Herosnissos, Agios Nikolaos, Koutouloufari and piskopiano. Traveled to the island Santorini, where he visited the towns And I, Fira and Kamari. So it turned out pretty intense, although I took much fewer photos than, for example, in recent Belgium.) In general, this is my third trip this year (January - France (), June - Belgium, the Netherlands, France ()), I don’t like the heat and the sea, but the views are certainly beautiful ... The sea is blue, and in the bays - the same color as in the top photo ( Old Fortress in the port of Heraklion), on which I did not add saturation at all! So it is.) The sun is hot. Temperature from 27 to 33 degrees. Clear, but one day it started to rain.

I lived between the towns of Malia and Stalida. But in fact the entire promenade of Crete is a long resort town with cafes and souvenir shops. And the fact of towns is determined only by the presence of a sidewalk.) different cities there are very comfortable air-conditioned buses, similar to tourist ones (there is a place for suitcases below), you wait for it at the bus stop, and the ticket is sold to you by the conductor. Moreover, transport is inexpensive - a ticket from Heraklion to Malia (more than 30 kilometers) costs 3.80. And from Hersonissos to Malia - 1.60. The fare on a regular city bus in Heraklion costs 1.50. I walked a lot - for example from Malia to Hersonissos. I updated my southern record - earlier the most southern place I visited was the Greek town in the Peloponnese - Nafplion, and now - Agios Nikolaos (it is even south of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia! By the way - the very north is St. Petersburg, the very west is La Defense (a suburb of Paris) and the easternmost - Sukhumi). Updated my travel map ().

About individual towns.

Malia, Stalis and Hersonissos- typical resort places with a bunch of related infrastructure. Absolutely all traders know Russian, signs are in Russian everywhere and there are very, very many Russian tourists. All the locals are friendly, sociable and in general we are obviously glad. There are also signs in other languages, for some reason I often noticed inscriptions in Hebrew. It is not clear what the Israelis are doing in a similar climate.

Agios Nikolaos - beautiful town in eastern Crete. I advise you to visit. Not only tourists, but also interesting place with beautiful views. The sea is also beautiful.

Heraklion- a large (relative to others) noisy city. Only there I saw migrants with their simple goods and gypsy beggars. However, all the same - all souvenir merchants are local. Unlike Italian Rimini, where a bunch of entrepreneurs Pakistanis and blacks. Also on the bus from Heraklion to Malia was a gypsy family with children, who left a terrible srach of bakery products and chips in the back seats. In Heraklion, I went to the Palace of Knossos, which somehow did not impress me, especially since it was partially rebuilt by restorers. But there is a very beautiful port.

Koutouloufari and piskopiano- beautiful authentic villages two kilometers from the coast of Hersonissos. I advise you to go up there to see cool houses and cozy streets.

Ride on Santorini took a whole day and took a lot of energy.) Ferries go there for 2.5 hours, but there was a storm and a head wave, so the ferry went 3.5 hours! The vast majority of passengers vomited into bags from pitching. I was pitching to the light bulb (I took a nap, listened to music), but I was shocked by the number of victims. Tip - NEVER ride a ferry in a storm!) But we went back normally. From the port on the island itself, you have to take a bus up a 300-meter mountain serpentine, so there were many adventures. When I flew from Heraklion by plane, then 15 minutes after takeoff, I examined Santorini in great detail from a height of 8 kilometers, where I was, very beautiful! Also, Istanbul, the Black Sea and all sorts of things were visible from the plane. And over Russia - thick clouds!

And I- most beautiful place to Santorini! Recognizable blue domes of churches, beautiful views, height difference - worth a visit!

Fira- local capital. Didn't make much of an impression.

Kamari- a village where the main attraction is a beach with gray-black volcanic sand.

I also want to say about Santorini that do not take excursions from our tour operators - they are unreasonably expensive, for example, we were offered to go there for 130 euros, while we bought from the Greeks for 92 (saving for two - 76 euros!). But the program is the same and the ship is the same. However, if you go there, it is better to go only to Oia and stay there not for an hour and a half, but for half a day. Of course, you can do it yourself - but then it's more expensive - 120 euros for a round-trip ticket without excursions. And you also need some kind of transfer port - Oia (10 kilometers, probably with an ascent to the mountain) and a transfer hotel - Heraklion. So this is the case when the tour is much more profitable.

When I travel somewhere, I photograph what seems unusual to me. This time I took a bunch of fruits / fruits that you won’t find in nature - pomegranates, lemons, bananas.) Well, of course, the main beauty there is nature. Houses in Greece are unpretentious, with rectangular roofs, mostly 2-3 floors. tall buildings almost none in the cities. This is partly due to the threat of earthquakes.

Unlike Athens and Thessaloniki, which are completely polluted with tags, I have not seen anything like this in Crete, although there is such a thing in Heraklion. There is almost no legal, an interesting illegal found only in Heraklion. In general, everything is clean and tidy.

Prices in cafes are MUCH lower than in Western Europe. For 20-25 euros you can eat for two to satiety. This time the hotel had both breakfast and dinner, so there was a lot of food. Moreover, hotel food is just fantastic compared to the same Western Europe where in Paris they give only a croissant with coffee. There is also a huge variety Buffet, take what you want and many times. However, 2 years ago in Greece it was the same. It’s just that I’m not used to resort “rest”) In supermarkets, prices are also normal, I’m glad that there is Dr. Pepper for 90-95 cents.) There are Irn-Bru and Coca-Cola Zero (which is still not in Russia) sweets.

annotation: in the summer of 2010 we rested on Crete (Greece). If you are planning a trip to this wonderful island for the first time, then you may well be wondering how others rested and spent the standard 7-10 days on the "seas".

In this article we tell the chronology of our busy 10-day vacation in the summer of 2010, which combined about 50 to 50% "beaches + swimming" and trips to the sights of the island. A kind of travel diary in addition to our other articles about Crete, maps, photos and reviews! So, budget holiday on Crete, sorted into shelves.

The entire description is divided into several parts. Before you is the first of them, where we will tell our impressions of Hersonissos and a trip to Malia to the beaches and the Church of St. Mary.

Holidays in Crete: planning your trip

Our trip began in Kyiv. We firmly decided that we were flying to Greece on vacation, but where it was not yet clear, since we did not know the country or the islands of Crete at all, and there was just barely enough time, a week for all decisions. To search for a tour, they used the almighty and omniscient Internet. All splendor available hotels with detailed descriptions, prices and what is included in each tour - all this can be found on the search sites of various sites. We searched for tours on several web resources, in particular, on otpusk.com (here is a convenient search form, user-friendly interface and a large selection).

Having written several A4 sheets with all sorts of options, after consulting with travel agents, the choice fell on the island of Crete. By the way, there were quite a lot of proposals for Crete, perhaps even more than for the Chalkidiki peninsula. More attached to the conditions of living in the hotel. chose a budget option: 2* IRO Hotel in Hersonissos (Northern coast of Crete). The hotel offered HB (half board) meals. For 2 adults for 10 nights they took about 900 euros. There were other options to go for 1070 euros to an all-inclusive 3 * hotel, but decided to save on the conditions, instead spending money on excursions and trips around the island. IRO is a typical city hotel in Hersonissos. The facade overlooks the roadway, to the sea - one block. But the town of Hersonissos itself is in full swing and lives around the clock. If you do not want privacy from everyone and everything in a village, then choose something like Hersonissos. Here there are also good beaches and plenty of entertainment.

Vacation in Crete has begun: Hersonissos, day one

Our plane arrived at night, so we settled in the hotel already in the dark and, going to the sea, did not see anything at all. But in the morning we were amazed by the beauty of the sea, mountains, nature. Vacation in Crete has begun.

The first day we rested on the beach, got acquainted with Hersonissos, walked along the seashore (thus we learned that there are many beaches in Hersonissos and they are all different). One day for adaptation was very helpful.

In order not to overload the story, the topic of rest in Hersonissos is detailed in a separate article on our website (read).

Day two - Malia

Even before the trip, we asked what sights there are in Crete, we already knew approximately where we wanted to go. On the second day of rest, we decided to enjoy a beach holiday again, and really good beaches (sandy, wide, picturesque) were nearby in the village of Malia.

(beautiful beaches of the village of Malia near Hersonissos, Crete)

To get there (at 8:30), we boarded a bus from Heraklion through Hersonissos in the morning and drove to Malia (for 1.40 euros per person, see the bus schedule in Crete in our materials).

In Malia, ask to stop at your first stop, and we recommend Dolphin Beach, although other beaches are good.

Immediately at the entrance to the beach, guys approached us who offered to rent sunbeds, umbrellas and other attributes beach holiday. However, don't rush into it. Walk along the shore, choose a place where you would like to swim, you can also lie down on sunbeds. They will come to you. But no one approached us during the day, i.e. so saved about 6 euros for two.

Being on the beach all day is hard, and it is fraught with burns. At lunchtime we decided to visit a local landmark marked on tourist maps, - Church of St. Mary. We walked for about an hour, i.e. distance was established empirically? From the entrance to Malia is about 5 km, so you can also take a bus.

Only ruins have survived from the church, for the most part it is the foundation. Entrance for one to the territory - about 3-4 euros. Closing at 15:00, so hurry up to get there in the afternoon.

We dined at a local tavern in Malia, already returning from church. 2 glasses of local draft beer, Greek salad and pizza cost us 17 euros. But I must say that the portions are large, enough to refresh.

(ruins of St. Mary's Church)

A few more hours until 6 pm we were swimming, already on another beach, and went back to Hersonissos. Underestimating the road, we decided to take a walk, because. the distance was 7 kilometers from Malia. Our goal was to walk along the coast, admire the sea and the curves of the coast. I must say that it is really beautiful, I came across on the way luxury hotels, on the territory of which it was also possible to freely walk and take pictures. But the whole road took us about two hours, part of which went through the sand. For a more comfortable stay, of course, take the bus.

In the next part, we will talk about a trip from Hersonissos to Heraklion with a visit to the Palace of Knossos, Venetian fortress and sightseeing of the "capital" of Crete (see part 2).

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Read more in the following articles:

• Holidays in Crete: trip report - Part 2 (Heraklion, Knossos)
• Holidays in Crete: trip report - Part 3 (Agios Nikolaos, island of Spinalonga)