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Throughout Greece, naturism is only allowed in a few licensed areas but it is tolerated in a number of places. Most of these places are quiet, remote beaches or coves. The situation might change suddenly (often when a beach canteen is built a "No nudism" sign will appear) or seasonally (for example at weekends and in July and August when many Greek families go to the beach) so do use your common sense. Remember that you are a guest in this country and avoid deliberately shocking your hosts. Crete is still a deeply traditional place and being nude on a beach may embarrass the locals. Topless sunbathing is fine almost everywhere, unless the beach is situated right in a village.

My personal top three of favourite nudist beaches would be Agios Pavlos Beach (quiet, sandy, such clear waters), the naturist beaches at Tersta (for the same reasons) and the private beaches in the small coves of Xerokampos (if you can find a small free beach to yourself here it's heavenly: sandy when you get into the water, secluded and crystal clear waters, beautiful scenery). We also like to make a stop at Ferma beach where at the end of the stretch of pebbles it gets sandy (the whole beach is quiet) and it is easy to get into the water. In the north we love our small private beach at Tholos or we take a dip into the sea at deserted long stretched sandy Episkopi Beach. In the north the choice in naturist beaches is limited. These are just a few of the naturist beaches on Crete that I have been to, but off course I haven't seen them all...yet!!

Most of the beaches where you can bathe without your textiles on are on the South coast of Crete. Apart from our beach at Filaki these are NOT official naturist beaches so be considerate. These are, anticlockwise from the South-West of the island (but remember sometimes situations change):

Paleohora - A part of the long sandy beach is used by naturists. To the East there is also the beach of Anidri.
Sougia - The eastern end of the beach is a nudist beach.
Agia Roumeli - Away from the main beach, go eastwards and cross the Samaria river.
Agios Pavlos - Situated an hour's walk east of Agia Roumeli. A long and almost deserted beach.
Sweet water beach (Glykanera) - A spectacular beach located about halfway between Loutro and Hora Sfakion.
Filaki- This is the beach used by the hotel Vritomartis, a hotel special for naturists.
Plakias - A long beach with a naturist section.
Damnoni, Preveli - The situation there is changing all the time
Further to the East there is a very long beach stretching all the way to Agios Pavlos (not the same as the one mentioned above). Plenty of scope for naturism.
Komos beach or Kommos Beach - To the North of Matala, probably one of the best naturist beaches on Crete. Komos is a nesting site for sea turtles and great care should be taken not to disturb them.
Lentas - Also offers plenty of opportunities for nudism, there is a large naturist beach just outside the village.
Further on, in the southeast of Crete there are plenty of opportunities naturists to find a beach if you look around (see below).
The North coast of Crete offers less opportunities, apart from tiny coves here and there. One exception (but for how long?) is Giorgioupoli beach, between Hania and Rethimnon. The sandy beach is 9 km long and in the eastern part it is possible to be nude.
Besides the listed beaches there are of course plenty of tiny coves everywhere for you to discover.

Agios Pavlos is a delightful small coastal village close to Agia Galini in the south of Crete. It can be reached if you take a turn at the village of Akoumia. Compared to some of the other villages in the south Agios Pavlos is relatively quiet. There's a nice beach in the village and two super-super beaches just outside the village. They can be reached by descending a very (!) steep sand dune. But once you are there it's a big reward. The beach is stunning and it's a delight to swim in the sea (in the nude, because nudism is allowed here). A lot of people don't want to go down afraid they won't make it, or even worse: not make it back up the hill again. It's not a place where you will run into families with little children. For us this is just the perfect place. definitely in my top three of Cretan beaches.

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.

Directly down the the valley where Episkopi is situated, on 2 kilometers distance from the village, is the start of Episkopi Beach, which stretches all the way to Georgioupolis. It is a sandy and wide beach that is 10 kilometers long. At the beginnig of the beach on the east side there is an opportunity for naturism, and then a few 100 meters further down the beach there is the first taverna with sunbeds and umbrellas. There is also a small supermarket. On the quiet part of Episkopi Beach you can sometimes see a special kind of bird that is looking for food. There can be some sea weeds on the beach but not really much. The beach is quite clean and it is quiet.

Update 2018: sunbeds have arrived and naturism is over.

Falassarna, 20 km west of Kisamos, is a quiet village, with some small hotels, apartments and taverns. It's the place of a spectacular 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.

Ferma is a small village on the southeast coast of Crete, in between Ierapetra and Makrigialos, with a couple of hotels and taverns. 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 crystal clear and it has a bit of pebbles when you get into the water. The best part of this naturist beach is actually at the end where the unfinished church is (also good for some shade) and there are some larger rocks in the water, protecting it from the waves. Here it is sandy and shallow and very easy to get in and out of the water. Since the beach at Ferma is pretty large it would be wise to bring your own water if you plan to lie down at the naturist part of it. There are several tavernas in the village and also a good supermarket. In the meantime the beach of Ferma has become one of our favourites for a lazy afternoon in the sand. It is always nice and quiet and it is easy to get into the sea at the end of the naturist beach.

Orthi Ammos beach is a sandy beach near Frangokastello. You can reach it by taking the road just before reaching Frangokastello (coming from Plakias) where it says "Fata Morgana". Above the beach is a tavern, where you can park the car. When you arrive on the beach go left and the end there is (as often) a naturist part. Surrounded by cliffs and sand dunes it is a heavenly place. The sea is shallow and the beach is sandy also when you go into the water.

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.

At the edge of the village of Goudouras, just over the rocks, there is a pebble beach where it is usually very quiet, and that is out of sight of the houses in the village. At this place naturists could see if they can go into the sea without any swimwear. There is not a lot of shade here but nearby there is a bench that sits in the shade of a large tree. Here you can also find the rare white beach lily.

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 excavated.

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.

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 taverna. 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.

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.

Update 2018: naturism on the village beach seems to be over.

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 (Listis Beach). It is a very quiet spot. Because it is so large and so quiet the beach outside of the village is also sometimes 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.

Update 2018: naturism here appears to be over, but you can still try the end of the long beach just outside the village near the large church (Skouros beach).

Kommos beach 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.

At the edge of the village of Analipsi / Makrigialos (in the south of the Lassithi district) in a place called Lagada you can find Green beach, called so because of the many green pebbles and stones. The first 150 meters is nudism friendly. This is one of our favourite beaches on the island of 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. Just outside Lendas there is a large naturist beach.

Livari is a nice unknown, unspoilt and clean beach in southern eastern Crete. You can reach the beach as you drive from Goudouras to Xerokampos. Just after the exit to the Atherinolakos power station (recognized by the two high white-red striped pipes) you will see a narrow road on the left, which goes down. This road is still asphalt in the beginning but soon it becomes a dirt road. If you have a good car you could drive all the way to the beach. We parked our car at the place where the asphalt road turned into the dirt road. The walk to the beach takes about twenty minutes down and thirty minutes up the hill.