Donoussa

Donoussa is the most remote of the Little Cyclades, but in the summer season has reasonable ferry connections - Blue Star and the little Express Skopelitis call several times each week. Virtually all the accommodation is at the port, Ag Stavros, where there is a good baker's, a souvenir shop, a couple of mini-markets, a few tavernas, and a couple of bars. There are no sunbeds/umbrellas on the island and very little shade. The beach at the port is obviously not nudist, but you can walk round the island in a day and there are other beaches. There is another beach (sand and shingle) north of the port, said to be suitable for naturism. You only have to follow the northern road from the port for about 15-20 min. My correspondents gave it a rating of 65% because there is no shade.
.
The harbour taverna (To Kyma) is the focal point of the island and if it is the only taverna open it is worth getting there before eight to get a table. You then help yourself to beer and wait until the food is ready. Then everything progresses in its own way. It was very good and very cheap. My contributor had worked out how to get to Donoussa on www.openseas.gr before leaving home. Accommodation could be difficult in high season but in June 2010 it was very good and cheap (25 euros per night for a studio for two people). This place is very untouristed and very Greek.

In order anticlockwise from the port (4 on S coast and 1 in NE)


Donoussa-Kendros.jpg

Kendros / Kedros

See on Google Maps

Having received various enthusiastic reports about this beach, the Captain finally made it here in June 2003, and liked it so much he was back a year later. It is a fantastic clothes-optional beach, with officially sanctioned free camping. The beach is mainly sand and the swimming seems safe. A new snackbar / taverna built behind the beach has not adversely affected the naturist possibilities here, despite the understandable concerns of some Kendros regulars (in fact it sells high quality and unusual snacks and drinks at very reasonable prices - dress to go to the snack bar). The bar is in any event largely screened from the beach itself by a stone wall. It also means that toilets are available to the many campers at Kendros which must be an asset.

The Captain thought this beach utterly wonderful - certainly in the top 5 naturist beaches in Greece, and rated it 95%.

kedrosjune01.jpg

If you want to check the beach out, it is 1 km east of the port, a 20 minute walk over a hill or a short bus ride from the port: a sandy medium-size bay. Past correspondents reported it 99% nude, and rated it 95%+. There were quite a number of wild campers there in May and they were not all nude all day. Even in August there are plenty of people nude. Follow the tarmac road east over the hill to the right of the church and at the sign veer right on the older bit of road before you can see the beach. Then follow the relatively new natural stone path down the hill to the beach.
Another correspondent describes the beach as very beautiful and purely for nudists. Everyone camps in tents and walks into town in the evening for meals at the tavernas.

Kendros_beach_May_2008.jpg

In June 2003 there were about 15 tents on the beach and some in the field behind the taverna. Some of the people sitting in their tents were (partly) dressed, but almost all of them were naked when they went for a swim. What my correspondent thought especially nice was the high percentage of young people of both sexes. The tents are from 2014 banned from the beach, the only "constructions" are some bamboo shades made by the campers from the fields behind the taverna, and this is only during high season. Without tents there is more room for sunbathers, naturists and others.

A Barefoot reporter who visited in August 2006 found it too crowded with tents, without any regulation, and the people in the tents were not always very respectful of the environment. We cannot say that the beach was "dirty", but near the stone wall there was a lot of rubbish left by those people (plastic bottles, plastic bags, etc. etc.). The Captain always encourages everyone to take their rubbish with them and leave only footprints in the sand. Littering of this kind can threaten the continued existence of beaches like this as naturist paradises.

After having sunbathed, walked and swum nude on the well-known Kendros beach, it is always a great pleasure to relax (dressed) in the inviting taverna, serving good food and fresh drinks with nice music (not too loud). Friendly and peaceful atmosphere, and not crowded at all (at least at the end of May, when my reporter visited).

Another contributor who visited in June 2010 endorsed the view expressed above - definitely a beach worth visiting. About 60% nude, not crowded, with a nice atmosphere and a real mixture of nationalities.

I endorse the above - a great beach, lovely sand, a short walk from Stavros, so well worth visiting especially if there are no boat or bus trips to other beaches. Good taverna - we probably spent as much time in the taverna (dressed) as we did on the beach (undressed) as it was hot but with gusting wind . On 11 June at 4pm there were less than 20 naturists on the beach (18?) and less than 5 (3?) clothed people. Went back on 12 June and spent the day there - we took our own beach umbrella for shade, but it was so windy one of us had to hold on to it all the time, while the other swam.

Late June 2015: On our visit 60% nudist. Nudist/Clothing-Optional seemed mixed along the (very windy) beach.
Late June 2016: Last year there were lots of naturists, sadly this year it was maybe 50/50. But still a great beach for naturism.

End of August 2018: at least 70% textile when we went through the beach (on three occasions, mid-day, end of August) seemed to improve (from a naturism point of view) a bit on september 1st… Mixing of textiles and naturists not an issue.
Free campers are now a bit behind the beach but too many makeshift shelters do not make for a really pleasant view (in my opinion)

May 2019: Simply the best place for nudism on the island. The beach is nice and there's plenty of space for everyone. We visited on three different occasions: there were always some textiles, but the majority were full nudists. Average of 30 people on the beach each time, and still doesn't feel crowded. There's the wreckage of a German destroyer named Orion just 40 metres out on the far side of the beach (you can easily spot it, it's the dark linear zone in the water), and if you're hungry you can simply chill and eat terrifically in the organic farm/taverna next to the beach.
A further report from Drosso in late July 2019 says: A mixed beach. With about 20 % totally nude. All the beach is nudist, not only one part.

Second week of September 2021: Simular experience as the report of may 2019. Real naturist beach. Around noon around 50-60 people. In the afternoon 60-70 people. Quite a lot but not crowded. At least 80% nude. A mix of young Greeks (couples but also 2 families and 6 single nudist ladies) and older North-European couples. Of the textiles most women are topless. This year more claimed places near the stone seawall according to a regular visitor.

Mid-May 2023: Excellent true naturist beach. Max circa 20 people, but often far fewer. Mostly nude but some textiles, however all very relaxed. Many couples. Superb swimming, plus snorkelling to the wreck and along the rocky coastline. Gorgeous food at the Taverna as well.
Second week of June 2023: Same experience. Throughout the day 20 to 40 people. Always majority of 1/2 to 2/3 naturist.


Limenari / Vathy Limenari

See on Google Maps

End of August 2018: not really a very comfortable beach (pebbles, small to rather large) but nice scenery and water, and very quiet (the marked trail from Kedros to Livadi passes at the back of the beach but there are not many hikers). Quite suitable for naturism, 50% to 100% naturist at the time.


Livadis

See on Google Maps

You can take a taxi from Ag Stavros to Mersini (€7 single). On return, buy a drink at Tzi Tzi taverna and the proprietor will phone for a taxi for you. From by the church where the taxi drops you off, walk down the concrete path through the village until you come to the solar panels. Walk on the path right of the panels until the path divides into two. Then you take the right path and in 15 minutes you reach the beach. There was no boat to the beaches when my contributor visited in June 2010, but maybe you could ask some fishermen to take you? According to the book Walking the Aegean Islands this beach is often deserted. The day my contributor visited in June 2010 there were several free campers and some other day visitors. Beautiful sandy, gently shelving beach with shade from a couple of tamarisk trees but no facilities, so take food and water and perhaps shade. Around 14 people (mainly Italian), 2 topless girls (free campers), the rest naked. Because of its tranquility and relative remoteness, my contributor rated this even above Kendros.

July 2012: Spent 4 days on Livadi Beach and camped there like most of the other 20 or so people. Some day visitors. I did see the boat arrive once or twice. Gorgeous beach with clean clear slowly-shelving water. Enough shade under the trees; just be happy to share with others who won't mind. Very easy-going pleasant people, mostly young Greeks and some other Europeans. Like most beaches that Greeks like to go to, there were more women than men. 80% nude minimum. Visit the spring just below the village. As someone who camps a lot, Livadi Beach is now one of my top two favourite beaches in all of the Greek Islands. Tzi Tzi Taverna is very nice with great view but note that there are no other shops in Mersini. Would recommend to people wanting to camp to stock up on supplies near the port and get the taxi to the village. Many people drink the water from the spring as did I.

A report from 2014 (lifted from the Forum) says: Livadi Beach is another sandy beach further away. It is an hour's strenuous walk beyond Kendros but can also be reached by the boat from the port (when it is not windy), or by bus and then climbing a long way down a path to the beach. This beach is mainly nudist even in August with free-campers camping behind and there are no facilities. There are some trees at the back of the beach but they are occupied by the campers.

Visited this beach in early June 2015. It is fabulous - even better than Kedros except for the long walk down to it. Loved the sea and the sand. Took our own beach umbrella, and had to hold on to it due to wind. There were maybe 12 people on the beach, all naturist. The walk up was much easier than the walk down, in my opinion. The Tzi Tzi tavern at the top was great. The 5.15pm bus back to Stavros was overfull. But a great day out all round. It was too windy for any boat trips.
Late June 2015: We took the boat from Stavros at 11am. Suggest wearing swimming or bikini bottoms to get on/off the boat or your shorts or skirt will get soaked as you get off the boat some 20 feet from the beach. On our visit, majority nudist. Nudist/Clothing-Optional mixed along the beach. Boat picked up at about 4.45pm.

We only saw this beach from the beach boat in June 2016, and everyone seemed to be clothed when the boat was dropping people off and picking up, but I suspect there was still naturism when boat not there.

End of August 2018: did not check closely, but from some distance textiles seemed to be the clear majority and lots of makeshift shelters did not encourage us going there…

May 2019: Not a soul on the beach. So take your kit off and relax.

First weekend of September 2021: Amazing beach. Not too crowded. Space enough for everybody. Apart from the 10-15 camping people about 15-20 other people. Nice atmosphere. Mainly naturist but I noticed that there are also some first timers; people (hikers) start textile but when they see the dress code (actually undress code) they strip also.
The camping people put their clothes on when the ferryboat comes in. They help with the mooringline and help people off and on the ferry and in return the skipper brings groceries. One campinglady told me that the agreement with the skipper is that they do this dressed.
N.B.:The Tzi Tzi taverna on the top was closed.

Mid-May 2023: Lovely hike to this isolated beach. Fantastic setting. Max 4 folks present, 75% naked. Superb swimming. Some shade under the tamarisk trees. No facilities.
Second week of June 2023: Same experience. Hike down and up can be tough. Throughout the day 10 to 16 people. Only 4 free campers. 100% naturist after 2 straight Italian couples left (the men were topless).


Fikio_beach_May_2008,jpg

Fikio

See on Google Maps

This is the little beach you reach when you start going down to Livadi beach (the latter being still outstanding) and you remain on the left side when the path divides into two. Some seaweed (not cumbersome) and litter (I still do not understand how people are able to bring full (heavy) plastic bottles with them and not able to take them back (light and crushed…). Some shade under the big stones. My intrepid Barefoot reporter had the beach to himself all day.

May 2019: There was no-one there apart from us all day. The weather was a bit windy and overcast, but the bay was nicely sheltered. The caves provide some nice shelter too for when the sun does come out. The beach is kelp with some pebbles and rocks, but the water has a sandy bottom (hehe) so it's easy to walk without water shoes. No litter, but quite some washed-ashore sea plastics.

July 2021: Very small secluded bay with natural shade and very thin white sand. Perfect for snorkelling. It can host up to 10 people max comfortably. We went there twice. The 1st day was 100% naturist. The 2nd day an older straight couple kept their clothes on during the whole day.


Tripiti (Kalotaritissa)

See on Google Maps

The Captain understands that a caique leaves the port each morning and goes to Livadi beach and, if the wind is favourable and enough people want to go, it goes all the way to Kalotaritissa at the north-east corner of the island. Here there is a small, very isolated, village and there are 3 small beaches. You have to find out about the caique by word of mouth - there is no information about it displayed anywhere. It was not running in June 2010.

Tripiti is the third (last) beach of Kalotaritissa village and the nicest! Now that the asphalt road goes to Kalotaritissa, you can reach it after a 90 - 100 minutes walk starting from Kendros. You can still reach it too by taking the unpaved central road (there is a detailed map of the island near Stavros bakery and the new cash-delivery machine) which climbs to the vicinity of Donoussa's highest point and then transforms to a donkey path to go down to Kalotaritissa (also about 90 - 120 minutes). But you will not regret the length of the trip! As you drop down to the sea you will find the very welcoming Taverna at which it is sensible to call before taking the path to the beach, which is easy to follow except for the first bit (head for the break in the old stone wall with the cross painted on it). White sandy beach, nearly unspoiled, crystal-clear turquoise water!!! No shade, no food (maybe in Kalotaritissa, but not in May), no water, so bring anything you need (and leave nothing behind you). (Note that the black spots in the water in the picture are not tar but urchins).
My reporter was alone for the entire afternoon there.

Tripiti_beach_May_2008.jpg

In June 2013 there were three couples when we visited, two of them we would call "professionals" i.e. much better tans than ours!

There is now a bus service to Kalotaritissa so it is possible to walk over the mountain, lunch in the taverna, spend the afternoon on Tripiti and catch an evening bus back to Stavros, I think the last bus being about 9pm so if you wished you could revisit the taverna before catching the bus back.

The boat trip round the island also called in at Kalotaritissa for about three hours, so plenty of time to visit Tripiti or either of the other two beaches, at least one of which was naturist.

A 2014 report lifted from the Forum says: If you take the bus to the end of the route at Kalotaritisa and then walk about 10 minutes further there is a small sandy beach called Tripiti where it is possible to be nudist. There are never many people here and there is usually a handful of tents on the beach. But another report deriving from July says that in Kalotaritisa, probably due to the new bus connection, only dressed people on the beach (and no topless at all).

On 15 June 2015 there was a round the island boat trip, after many days of too much wind for a trip. We spent about 3 hours in Kalotaritissa and went to Tripiti beach, which was all naturist, and not busy despite boat trippers and bus trippers in the village! On 21 June we took the bus from Stavros to Kalotaritisa and walked the 5 minutes to the third Tripiti Beach. There were 17 people on the beach most of whom were naturist. The bus operates in June 4 times a day and increases to 5 in July. The bus trip can be quite an experience particularly as it is [c]rammed on the return journey.

We came back by boat in late June 2016 - there were 2 groups of naturists on Tripiti (sitting under umbrella or well back from shore), but a large group of textiles on the beach also.
September 2016 Went to Donussa for my first trip to have a look at the island & Kendra's it a basic island but very quiet & Loved it so much I rebooked 4 days next year Aug. 29—31. Lots of nudist people and I had a great time. Looking forward to livardi

GREAT PLACE FOR NUDIST HOLIDAYS VERY COOL PLACE INDEED.

End of August 2018: 100% textile when we went there (once only), and signs on other Kalotaritissa beaches stating "No nudism" (as well as No camping)

Beginning of September 2019: South east and south west beaches. With the exception of the harbour beach, naturism is possible and widely practised (60-70%) everywhere. Beaches north of the island, Kalotaritissa bay. The first beach, which takes its name from the bay (also called Mesa Ammos), made of pebbles with small moorings for fishing boats, is about twenty metres from the terminal bus stop. Fully textile. In ten minutes heading east, a very evident path that runs a few metres from the water leads to the sandy beach of Tripiti, small, isolated and quite deep with a good entrance into the water. Mostly naturist. Still in the bay of Kaloritissa is Sapoumochoma, a third pebble beach with shade in the afternoon, very evident when arriving by bus because it is close to the road. Textile.

July 2021: mixed crowd textile and naturist, no issues. No facilities or natural shade. Great place for snorkelling.

Mid-May 2023: Great west facing beach a short distance from the hamlet. No others present. Good nude bathing possibilities. No shade. Lovely walk over the hills from Stavros. Grab a lunch at the Taverna and then wander to this beach to relax.


capnthmb.gif
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License