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.
Most of the beaches where you can bare it all 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:
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
Plakias
a long beach with
a naturist section
Filaki beach
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
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
Further on, East Crete does not seem to offer much for naturists.
The North coast of Crete does not offer many opportunities either, 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.
Beside the listed beaches there are of course plenty of tiny coves everywhere for you to discover
There are a number of naturist sites with mentions of Crete, below are some of the better sources
Various naturist links in Crete at http://www.creteisland.gr/naturism/inks.html
Cap'n Barefoots Naturist Guide to the Greek islands is a very extensive site about naturism. You will find up-to-date information about naturism in Greece, South-west Crete, South Crete, East Crete and North Crete .
An article about nudity in ancient Greece
Nudism in Crete at http://www.explorecrete.com/nudism.html also mentions some beaches and how to get to them.