Heraklion is a short drive away from Malia on good roads and is a centre for shopping, café culture, heritage landmarks and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, world-famous for its stunning collection of finds from the 4,000-year old Minoan Palace of Knossos, located a few kilometres from the city and well worth a trip.

For a fun family day out, Star Beach Water Resort lies just 10 minutes’ drive from Malia. Here, you’ll find slides, pools, a beach offering scuba-diving, parasailing, waterskiing, a lazy river, music bars featuring foam parties and guest DJs, and a choice of eateries. There’s also an exclusive spa offering multiple treatments for those who feel they need half a day’s pampering.

Malia’s series of large and small beaches spread along a two-kilometre stretch, with the larger strands equipped with beach bars, umbrellas and sunbeds for hire, banana boats and outlets for jet-skiing, bungee-jumping and waterskiing. Backed by hotels with pools, the beaches are quiet before lunchtime, as most revellers are sleeping off the night before.

Malia Old Town is well worth a wander for its traditional vibes, pretty houses decked with flowering bougainvilleas and little tavernas serving traditional Cretan food accompanied by live Greek music. The narrow streets come alive at night, with tables on the cobbles and Greek dancing when the mood takes diners and drinkers. It’s a million miles from the revellery common in the New Town.

Agios Nicolaos is an attractive city set to the east of Malia in a hilly location which is accessed either by road or scenic boat trip. Its fine promenade runs along the beaches and its deep Lake Voulismeni was legendarily the place where the goddess Athena bathed. Tavernas surround its pretty port and the narrow streets of the old quarter are as charming as only Greek streets can be.

A day out in Heraklion has to include a visit to the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, home to a plethora of artefacts excavated from Crete’s Minoan sites.

The powerful civilisation was incredibly wealthy until it was destroyed by the effects of the massive eruption on Santorini, and the museum’s displays include magnificent gold jewellery, statues and 4,000-year old frescos.

The Fortress of Koules was built in the 16th century to guard Venetian Heraklion and is a famous landmark for its massively thick walls and Venetian Lion plaques above its gates. The fortress sits on a jutting promontory, is in excellent condition and is now used for art exhibitions and musical events. Check out the Old Town’s Venetian walls as well.

Just outside Malia are the ruins of the third-largest Minoan palace on Crete, easily accessible via a pleasant walk along the beach from the town. Unlike Knossos, the Malia palace was rebuilt after the Santorini earthquake, and today’s visitors can explore various areas of the site. The great central courtyard has steps leading to a maze of small rooms, and huge ceramic jars for storing olive oil, grain and water are still in place. 

Malia’s Old Town has several Greek Orthodox churches with spectacular interiors, with the central Agios Nektarios one of the loveliest with its ornate gilded carvings and giant chandelier. Every inch of the walls is covered with colourful frescos depicting religious scenes. Agios Dimitrios nestles in a charming square and tiny, quaint Panagia Galatiani is Malia’s oldest church, built in the traditional manner with mud bricks.

Malia is divided into two areas, the new town nightlife hub backing the beaches and the more Cretan and quieter Old Town with its Cretan bars and tavernas. The riotous resort area is now rivalling Ibiza for its dance clubs and all-night watering holes selling high-octane alcoholic mixes, and is seen by young adults as the ultimate party hub.

The all-night action takes place along a 1,500m stretch of road linking the national road with the beach. It is crammed with nightclubs, amusement arcades, bars and fast food joints. The frenzied nightlife here kicks off at around 23:00 and goes on until late or even sunrise, depending on demand. Over 30 bars and pubs along with more than 30 nightclubs pump out DJ and live music at an incredible decibel level.

The Candy Club is one of the hottest venues and funky WKD Bar encourages ravers to arrive in costume. If you’re a karaoke fan, the Premier Bar has more than 1,000 songs to choose from and Apollo Nightclub closes later than the rest. Safari Club Malia is famous for its extra-strong drinks and Help Bar is infamous for its huge ’fish bowl’ cocktail containing a powerful mix of spices and strong spirits.

In contrast, the Old City area of Malia offers traditional tavernas and smaller, less frenetic bars for those who’re looking for a different style of evening entertainment.

Traditional Cretan food is served in the majority of eateries and the music tends more towards live Greek than electronic. The area has pretty squares which are perfect for people watching in the cool evening air. 

Malia has a choice of many different cuisines, with international options varying from fast foods through Italian, Spanish, British pub grub, Chinese, Thai and Mexican. For foodies in love with Greek food, however, it’s best to stay away from the nightlife district and instead head for the Old Town’s tavernas. Several dozen tavernas can be found here, with most featuring outside seating, good food and music, and plate-smashing and Greek dances most nights. Full English breakfast and other similar culinary extravaganzas are found in the resort area.

Cretan cuisine is highly regarded for its health-giving use of the island’s flavourful olive oil, fresh salads topped with local myzithra cheese and delicious seafood and lamb main courses. The meze starters, tiny plates with a variety of dips, olives, pickles and more, are the traditional entrees, and typical Cretan dishes include rabbit with a yoghurt sauce (kouneli me yiaourti) and snails prepared in various ways. A favourite is grilled, fresh fish drizzled with a simple dressing of lemon juice and olive oil. The sweet, high-calorie Cretan pastries owe everything to melt-in-the-mouth filo pastry, chopped nuts and lashings of honey.

The tavernas around Malia’s Church Port and New Port are good places to dine with a view of the two ports and the sunset, although they tend to be crowded in the high season. Malia Port Fish Taverna gets good reviews and the San Giorgio Restaurant is family-friendly, serves traditional local cuisine and holds a fun Greek Night every Friday. Another good spot is the Socrates Restaurant, typically Cretan and well recommended.