Many nudists, including this author, have long held the belief that Greece is heaven on earth for nudists. This could be because of ancient Greeks, who reveled in their nakedness, practicing sports nude and even marching off into battle bare-bummed as the Spartans did. Well, modern Greeks aren’t so keen to shed their clothes, if you believe Dino Sarakatsanes, founder of Nudist Club Greece (NCG), an organization which represents nudists’ interests in that country.
Sarakatsanes, based in Thessaloniki, is 34 years old and has been a naturist since he was fifteen, thanks to his nudist parents. He valiantly explained to us in his limited English (better than our atrocious Greek), that while there are many hidden little bays, especially in the islands, where people practice nudism, only a few of them have any kind of facilities. The presence of facilities is what makes a beach officially nudist, Sarakatsanes says. One such beach he frequents is Falikari on the Aegean island of Rhodes (Rodos). The latter is only good for sunbathing, as swimming there is dangerous, he points-out. Other nudist strands with services are also all located on islands: Banana beach (Skiathos), Paradise beach (Thassos), Myrtiotissa (Corfu), Tsamadou (Samos), and Super Paradise (Mykonos). Crete has two organized beaches: Palaiohora and Filaki. Sarakatsanes’ site has details and photos for all eight beaches just mentioned, as well as scores of unorganized beaches. Best nude weather in Greece is from May to September, and a bit longer in the islands, which tend to be warmer.
As for nudist clubs, Sarakatsanes told us there are none, except if you consider the couple of so-called “nudist hotels” clubs. There are also chartered nude cruises in the Aegean sea, for which he offered no details.
Sarakatsanes says that while there are thousands of Greek nudists, they lack the places in which to practice naturism. He has hopes that things are changing, as many Greek nudists are buying villas in the islands, presumably to turn them into clubs. The NCG site, praised by the Greek tourism department, is the only official source of information for nudism in Greece according to Sarakatsanes. Among the NCG’s projects are plans to create the first nudist camping in the country.

Photo courtesy of NCG. Copyright NCG

• Nude Club Greece web site
• Beach map of Greece