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The naturist beach of Dermatos in the south of Crete
The beach of Dermatos is situated in the south of Crete along the route from Tsoutsouros to Keratokampos. The beach is a few hundred meters long, with pebbles and sand. At one side of the beach next to a hill there are beautiful rocks in the sea. While we were there in 2007 there was only one small house and we swum around without our bathing outfits - so at that moment it was our own nudist beach. It's pretty quiet, but sometimes people that see the beach from the road will come and take a look. There is a small path that leads down from the road to the beach. It is a bit difficult to get into the sea because of the pebbles at the beginning of the water.
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FALASSARNA NATURIST BEACH IN CRETE
Falassarna, 20 km west of Kisamos, is a quiet village, with some small hotels, apartments and taverna's. It's the place of a spectaculair big sand beach, with beautiful rocks in the sea, making it look like something out of a fairy tale. It looks like a landscape of dunes, with fine sand. Falassarna is also the site of an ancient Hellenistic port, which was surrounded by walls and connected to the sea by a canal. 10 Minutes north by foot some of the walls, the defensive towers and a temple can still be seen.
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The naturist beach and the village of Ferma, southeast Crete.
Ferma is a small village on the southeast coast of Crete, in between Ierapetra and Makrigialos, with a couple of hotels and taverna's.
The beach is large and with sand and pebbles. On one side there is a small taverna with just a few umbrellas and sunbeds, on the other side there is nothing but the beach. This side is also used by the naturists - us in this case because there was nobody else on the beach besides two people near the taverna- but we were told that this is the naturist part of the beach. The sea is cristal clear and it has a bit of pebbles when you get into the water.
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Gialiskari naturist beach near Paleochora on Crete
The beach of Gialiskari is a rather large pebble beach just outside the village of Paleochora, in southwest Crete. The beach is situated on the eastside of the village and can be reached over a dirttrack (2007) with some bumps in in. On the way to the beach - actua;;y there are two - you will see other beaches along the way. On Gialiskari beach there are umbrellas and sunbeds for rent and there is a taverna. Parts of this beach and of the beaches on the rout to it are also used as naturistbeaches. The beach of Gialiskari is a pebble beach with quite large pebbles.
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ITANOS AND ITANOS NATURIST BEACH IN CRETE
A short drive north of Vai (in the nort east of Crete) you find the relatively isolated bays and beaches of Itanos (also including a nudist beach). As an extra bonus there is a Minoan city at the entrance of the main beach. Itanos was one of the most influential places in the east of Crete. It florished from early Minoan to early Byzantian times. There are traces of a basilic and of Greek walls, and a lot of fallen apart traces on the hill.
Itanos was particularly powerful during the Greek era and it was flourishing by the seventh century B.C. Itanos was continuously at war with its neighbours, originally with Praisos, and when Ierapytna destroyed Praisos, Itanos was at war with Ierapytna. An important reason for the conflict was dispute over the control of the Temple of Zeus in Palaikastro. The site covers an area of more than 16,000 square meters, and most of it is still not escavated.
If after you've seen the nearby palmbeach of Vai you think that that is too commercial and too cultivated, than these beaches are closeby and a good option. In the area there are more quiet places to be found. Up north the road suddenly ends. Well: you are not allowed to drive any farther for one reason or another.
There are no tavernas, restaurants or anything at all at the site, so you must bring your own supplies. I think that because a lot of the site has not been escevated yet, it is not allowed to build houses any longer (we saw one). If you want a nice beach in the area with restaurants and hotels than Kouremenos (close to Palekastro) would be a good choice.
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KALI LIMENES NATURIST BEACH IN CRETE
Kali Limenes is a coastal village 77km southwest of Iraklion. You can reach it from a side street in Mires (which is a good road) or by a steep and scary dirt road which leads you along a monastery first (we did this...). Either way the trip is really worth it.
Kali Limenes has a lovely long whitecoloured beach with relatively unspoilt scenery and clear water. There are a couple of rocks in the sea in front of the beach and a small island with some oil storage tanks. While we were there it was as good as deserted. We didn't see any hotels except for one, but this one appeared to have been closed years ago.
On the beach there's one small taveerne. The beach is a nudist beach :). This is one of the nicest beaches I found on Crete so far.
Kali Limenes is the site of an ancient city called Lassea, which was a good harbour city during Greco-Roman times. No excavations have been done here yet. It is said that the apostle Paul was shipwrecked here. On the other side of the anchorage you will find another nice and quiet beach. The village of Kali Limenes itself consists of just a few houses and a few fishing kaiks in the water and on the beach. The voice of tranquillity is in the air...loved it.
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The village and the beaches of Kalo Nero on Crete
Kalo Nero is a small village a little east of Makrigialos, in southeast Crete. This part of the island is very quiet. Near Kalo Nero ars several beaches, amongst which are a large natursit beach and this small beach in my pictures. Kalo Nero means "good water". In the sea in front of this little beach are a couple of beautiful rocks. The whole area of southeast Crete is very pretty and quiet. A bit outside of Kalo Nero you will find a monastery, a gorge and several other beaches.
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The village and the naturist beach of Kastri in the south of Crete
The village and the beach of Kastri are situated in the south of Crete on the route Tsoutsouros - Keratokampos. There is a village beach and outside of the village it is endless sand with every here and there beautiful rocks in the water or on the beach itself. It is a very quiet spot. Because it is so large and so quiet the beach outside of the village is also used as a naturist beach.
The village of Kastri itself is small and yet there are a few hotels (family hotel size - only small ones) and pensions, and there are some apartments for rent. At the seafront there are a few taverna's. At first glance a lovely village with a very beautiful beach / naturist beach.
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The beach at Kommos.
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Kommos Naturist Beach
Kommos is located 71km from southwest of Heraklion on the sea, just north of Matala.
Leaving Matala, you go round a curve and after the campgrounds on the hill and before the village of Pitsidia, there are left turns to the area of Kommos. These are dirt tracks you can walk in 15 minutes or you can drive down from the main road.
Kommos has a very big and beautiful sandy beach east of Matala. The beach is quite spectacular and surprisingly undeveloped, probably due to the archaeological site and restrictions on private enterprise in the area. It's much more quiet than the Matala beach, and there's room for nudists.
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LENDAS NATURIST BEACH IN CRETE
The small coastal village of Lendas is 73km southeast of Iraklion, in the south
of Crete. The name Lendas derives from the word lion (liondas), because from
high up the peninsula looks shaped like a lion. Lendas is an ancient Greek and
Roman site, and has Byzantine churches and some escavations that you can visit.
It's a cosy little village filled with flowers and bougainville, friendly
people, and there are plenty of taverna's and a supermarket.
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MICRO AMOUDI BEACH IN CRETE
Micro Amoudi is a small nudist beach close to Plakias in the south of Crete. The location is next to Damnoni on the rocky road, practically between Amoudi and Damnoni beach.
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PALEOCHORA VILLAGE IN CRETE
Paleochora is situated on a small peninsula in the south west of Crete, 77 kilometers from Chania. It's 'crowned' with a Venetian castle that has for the most part fallen apart. In 1278 the Venetian general Marinos Gradengos had the castle of Selino built. The pirate Barbarosa destroyed the fort in a raid in 1539 but the outside of the fortress is still well-preserved. The village of Paleochora itself is build on the ancient town of Kalamidis.
On both sides of the peninsula you can find beaches. On one side there is a long pebble beach (and I really mean pebble...no sand) which is used mainly by nudists. On this side you also find the harbour with boats departing to the islands of Gavdos and Elafonisi, and to several other villages that lie along the south west coast of Crete, like Sougia, Loutro and Chora Sfakion. Actually this is the most attractive part of the village.
There is a long boulevard with houses, hotels, rooms for rent and shops. On the other side you will find the long sand beach of Paleochora. The beach may be better, but the atmospere is less cosy here.
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Plakias Beach, picture by József Pataki
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THE VILLAGE AND THE BEACH OF PLAKIAS IN CRETE
The large, stretched out bay of Plakias, that is surrounded by steep hilltops,
is an attractive looking village in the south of Crete. The original village
with its harbour is on the west side of a very large beach that is sheltered by
tamarisk trees. Around the harbour the beach is often pebbly, but if you walk
farther the beach becomes better and less crowded. Plakias beach has also places that are used as naturist beaches.
Plakias has become quite
populair in recent years (lots of Germans), and hotels and other buildings are
rising everywhere in the village. Allthough it is a very pretty village I
seemed to be missing some kind of atmosphere. The new part of the town with the
boulevard was not my cup of tea. I was missing original buildings, houses that
are falling apart, I was even missing goats :).
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PREVELI PALM BEACH NATURIST BEACH IN CRETE
Preveli Beach or Palm Beach is one of the most spectaculair beaches in Crete. You can reach it in two ways. As you drive south you will see an old bridge on the left side of the road. On the left side of the river you will find the unpaved (but not impossible) road that will lead you directly to the beach. Once at your destination you will be at Preveli beach, but you will still have to climb a hill to get to the other side to "Palm Beach". At the beginning of this road they will tell you that the beach is 3 km away. Don't be fooled: the road is much longer that that! Only if you are a well trained walker you might want to try, but be reminded that you have to climb over mountains up and down, plus you have to walk back again. The other possibillity is to take the paved road on the right side. You will pass the abandoned Lower Preveli Monastery and a little bit farther down the road there is a sign pointing you to Palm Beach. At the end of this road there is PAID PARKING (1 euro 50). Don't think you are there yet, because after you have parked your car you still have a long way to go! There are many, many steps down on the old stairs (and up again!!!) if you want to reach the beach. The views are very rewarding though. And because of this don't think you are going to be alone on Palm Beach, because it's a busy beach. Palm Beach is a sandy cove with a river running through it, at the end of Kourtaliotiko Gorge. The area resembles a tropical lagoon with its palms, oleanders, waterfalls and stream which flows into the sea.
At the end of the beach (on the other side of te hill, away from the river) there is room for naturists to enjoy sunning and swimming without bathing suits, and it is sort of an unofficial naturist beach.
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CRETE NATURIST BEACHES - SOUGIA BEACH
The beach village of Sougia is situated 70 kilometers south from the old capitol Chania. You can reach it from Chania in a 2 hours drive through beautiful green mountains. The westbound boats from Hora Sfakia stop here as well on their way to Paleochora.
Sougia is a small village with not many houses on the beach. It will probably stay this way for much longer. Sougia is a historical site where a lot of escavations still have to take place. This is the reason why it is not allowed to build houses and no land is given out for sale, so an extra guarantee that it will not be exploited for mass tourism.
Allthough there is a sign opposite the taveerne on the corner of the main road saying that 'nudism is prohibited' Sougia is mainly a nudist beach. It is long stretched and beautiful with pebbles and sand, the atmosphere of the village is cosy, and the people very friendly. Sougia has some tourist services, such as small supermarkets, rooms to rent and small hotels and tavernas. Behind Sougia there is the start of a second gorge, a bit smaller than the one at Samaria, another opportunity for an interesting walk.
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THOLOS NATURIST BEACH IN CRETE - THE SECRET TREASURE OF THE NORTH.
Tholos :)...this is a secret treasure! I think this must be one of the most
gorgeous beaches of Crete. Halfway between Agios Nikolaos and Sitia lies the
village of Kavousi, and a road leading from this village will take you to this
hidden gem. It's quiet, the water is the most turquoise I've ever seen, there's
an island right in front of it: it's just absolutely stunning!! On the beach
there is a 2 square meter taverne, and one house where you can rent rooms.
Together with a small church and one more house this is about all the buildings
that you can find here. Kouremenos and Ithanos also very, very nice, but
this would be my number one tip for a beach in the north of Crete.
A little bit past the main beach is another smaller hidden beach that
is used by naturists (in this case: us, because it is usually empty). naturism and
beautiful nature go hand in hand here.
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Vatos village and beach in Crete
West of Ierapatra and about two kilometers west of Mirtos on the southeast / middle of Crete lies the tiny village of Vatos, with a small church, two or three houses and large beaches.
It is a quiet area and there is hardly anybody on the beaches around the village, so also suitable for naturists, and some parts of these beaches are in use as naturist beaches, even if it is just because nobody is there.
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 Hans Huisman 2007
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