Hersonisos Nude Beach
15.8.08
A report reaches me of a tiny enclave near Hersonisos, tucked in at the east side of the curve of the bay from the Knossos Royal Village Hotel. From the northern end of Hersonisos town you take the road which goes past the medical centre, turn left at the next crossroads, pass in front of the Creta Maris Hotel, continue on to the Creta Maris diving centre and then turn and head north along the road which skirts the beach for about one kilometre. Park just beyond the Restaurant Saradari (the former Oasis Cafe-Bar) and then follow the sign "to the beach". You can look down on the beach from this point (which is useful to check where you are) and indeed many do but no-one seems to bother. The cliff closest to the beach is very steep and potentially dangerous. It is easier to go to the beach at the Oasis Cafe-bar and walk around the bend.
There is sand as well as rock and is fine for swimming and snorkelling. It is possible to go beyond this point but the beach does become much smaller as you do so. When my contributor visited (several times in early August 2000) most people were nude but the mixed couples and families tended to be Germans and Dutch and of course we English. The men were, as far as we could tell, Greek.
The beach itself is in 2 sections, most of which is overlooked by the road some 20 meters above. This was not a problem as people invariably looked over and moved on. The far section is much smaller and holds 8 -10 persons comfortably. It is divided only by a large boulder from the main section which can comfortably hold 30 people. Although it seems quite private, shielded in the curve of the bluff, the bathers are quite visible to anyone looking down from the road above. The beach can also be clearly seen from the coast on the east side of the KRV, but the distance is such one cannot distinguish the textiles from the naturists without binoculars. Despite its shortcomings, the spot is quite pleasant, and since the water is usually calm in the bay, quite good for swimming.
Good news and bad news about this beach. A report from June 2001 says the tiny enclave near Hersonisos is a thriving nudist beach - which sounds like good news indeed! Upon my contributor's arrival at 9:00 AM there were a male-male couple and a single male already at the beach. Over the next three hours the beach was populated with four male-female couples, another male-male couple, four more single males, a family of four (with swimsuits), another nude family of four, and another nude family of 6. It was a refreshing morning at the beach and my contributor was glad to see so many nude people relaxing in the sun. Some 28 of the 32 people at the beach were nude.
In an area notably short of nudist beaches Hersonisos gets a higher rating than it might elsewhere (one correspondent gave it 60%, a later one 88%).
Now the bad news. A report from September suggests the beach becoming overcrowded and in the afternoon turning into gawper season. The rear of the beach has items of rubbish discarded there and the beach itself which is of grey shingle, is dirty and covered by fag butts. My contributor took 5 minutes removing chewing gum from the sole of his foot at one stage. His comment: this beach needs a good clean up and needs to be vetted for pervs.
A report from June 2004 confirms that this beach does tend to have a high male: female ratio, which some women might find slightly intimidating. Most of the single males appear to be Greek, and quite a few of these are older, and seem focussed on genuine naturism and catching octopuses! Moreover, they were very friendly and helpful when my contributors' 7 year old started crying after getting suntan lotion in his eyes. Generally speaking, as you progress up to the more remote bays, I would guess that many of the males are of a gay persuasion, and sometimes this is quite open - though we witnessed no lewd behaviour.
Another report from 2004 says that the directions on this web site were very good but (and a big but) once my contributors had found it there didn't seem to be any way down apart from an almost vertical climb down the cliff face which while carrying bags isn't the easiest thing to do.
There were already 4 couples and a 4 or 5 single local males , however one of the locals had seen our attempts to skydive off the cliff and showed us another way onto the beach via the adjoining beach it's quite narrow in one spot but is so much easier than "skydiving" off the cliff. The Captain, and no doubt my readers, would welcome further information.
Having found a nice spot on the shingle my contributors stretched out for the day. Nobody bothered them and there was a good mix of Germans, Russians, locals and two Brits, the water was extremely warm and clear ideal for swimming and snorkelling , ice creams and drinks were available on the next beach even if it did mean slipping the trunks on, just a small amount of litter under the cliff but on the whole a clean and tidy beach well worth a visit.
Some contributors who visited in August 2003 suggest I have been insufficiently enthusiastic about this beach. Well, I'm not sure. It gets pretty mixed reports.
Here's the enthusiastic version. The beach was great, it is much bigger than your report suggested. It now has signs saying "NUDE ONLY" and "FKK ONLY ".
My contributors visited the beach 5 times in two weeks and had a ball, we met French, German and Italian couples as well as a Greek man called Dimitri who seemed to be running the whole show: he stopped textiles on the beach and asked them to strip or leave as the beach was nude only, everyone supported him and I have to say that most people just agreed and went nude.
Barefooters who visited in October 2005 met these Greek men. Dimitri is the talkative one and the older man really worships the sun. They shared food and had a raki or two with these friendly Greek naturists.
The beach is a bit tricky to find but all the locals know it and you can be pointed in the right direction easily.
There were several families on the beach as well and many groups and couples, it was very much a party mood. My contributors are considering going back next year just for this beach as they both feel that it really made their holiday.
Now here's the less enthusiastic version, based on a report from May 2004. "I was at this beach last weekend and it was terrible. People were staring down at the beach all the time. At one point about five 15-16 year old boys got right up to the edge of the cliff and started throwing pebbles on one of the ladies. The ratio of single Greeks to couples is about 50-50." That contributor gave it a rating of just 10%.
A similarly depressing report from a 2005 reporter. OK, so it is the only nude-beach in walking distance of the place where most package tours go to. But my reporter had never seen so many cigarette stubs on a beach before. Also, the beach was very crowded and the people on it made us feel we were not really welcome at "their" beach. About 50% gay and my reporters thought the rest was more there for the swinging lifestyle than for nude sunbathing. In the afternoon you felt like a monkey in the zoo when the locals come to the edge of the cliff to watch the nudes. Even for tourists this now is a nice destination to drive the rental-scooter to for "a look over the bay ....."
And one from June 2006 says the afternoons were busier than the mornings. There was a high number of couples plus often two women and one group of four women. Yes, the single men were either older Greeks or young guys working for the summer. Barefoot reporeters spoke to one Italian guy in his late twenties who would be there until late September. He often sat next to them and they shared drink/food, as they did with a German couple they met last year on the same beach.
Find the best information for NUDE BEACH, NUDIST BEACHES, and NUDE BEACHES here.
Labels: BEACH PHOTOS, BEACH PICS, BEACH PICTURES, BEACH SEX, Greece, NATURIST BEACHES, NUDE BEACH, NUDE BEACHES, NUDIST BEACHES, ORIENT BEACH, PICTURES OF BEACHES, TOPLESS BEACH
posted by Tattoo Artist @ 7:40 AM,
