Malia is a beautiful town 34Km easter of Heraklion and one of the oldest tourist destinations of Crete with the pretiest sandy beach of the Cretan sea. Southerly of the traditional settlement of Malia town erects the mountainous volume of “Lasisthi mountain or Dikti” the birthplace of Zeus, that is crossed by unique, beautiful paths across the hinterland of Crete
Malia is famous for its night life due to the many bars, Discos and Pubs, which attract holiday makers of all ages, because they combine natural and cosmopolitan life style, the enjoyment of relaxing with amusement, swimming with sea sport, strolling with exploration, offering continuously a pleasant surprise. It is not accidental that Minos, the king of Knossos , had selected Malia for his summer palace.

The beach of Malia is a more than 6 kilometres long beach, one of the most extented beaches of the prefecture and, although affected by the northern winds it is very popylar. The beach is very well organised, offering  good accommodation in several hotels and rooms to let and food and drink in taverns, restaurants and cafes; facilities for swimming and and sunbathing (sunbeds, umbrellas ) and sea sports are also available. Being close to to Heraklion and to Limenas, it gets crowded in summer. And, if you feel like wandering around, the beach of Stalida at the West, the quiet beach of  Potamos and the beaches of Lasithi at the East, are some of the choices you have

As for accommodation, there are hundreds of hotels, both large and small, and are mainly contracted to the many tour operators that include Malia in their itineraries. If you want to be able to sleep at night, then try to ensure that your hotel is not located near the centre of town. As for eating, there is fierce competition to get your custom, so prices are kept to a reasonable level, and overall the quality is good. The speciality of the town seems at times to be the full English breakfast, but look past all the fast food places and you can still find the odd, good Greek restaurant. The town of Malia has become the tourist mecca of Crete, and is packed out with mainly young British tourists, who are not looking for peace and quiet, and don't really care if they are in Crete or not, as long as they are having a good time. So if you are looking for some peace and quiet during your stay, and have some interest in experiencing the 'real' Crete, then Malia is best avoided.