Elafonissos

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This is actually a peninsula (sometimes inaccurately described as an island - in fact it is joined to the main beach by rocks) which you can reach by wading across a shallow channel. Lovely pink sand, shallow warm water - it was one correspondent's favourite.

1999: Unfortunately, it seems the textile invasion has arrived. A correspondent from June saw countless coaches in the car park and reports that you can reach the beach by regular bus connection from Chania. It was completely overcrowded even on a a Tuesday. But another correspondent who waded across to the island found lots of places for nude swimming. The Captain visited in September. It is a great shame that this beautiful natural phenomenon - the sand bank between the mainland and the peninsula - has been ruined by huge numbers of umbrellas and sunbeds. It is an enormous commercial operation. However the island is well worth visiting. Sun parasols are banned there. There are some beautiful little beaches with pink sand and interesting wildfowl. Some people on the island - well away from the sandbank - were sunbathing and swimming naked, but there was a certain furtiveness about it. We grabbed the chance to skinny-dip on a particularly delightful little beach on the island in calm clear water. That was wonderful. But this place as a whole was crowded even in September and the chances of going nude here comfortably in peak season must be much slimmer. If you can get there early, by car, before the tour buses and boats arrive it may be an advantage.

2001: Correspondents who visited in May walked almost to the end of the sand dunes on the island and found a few naturists, so decided to join them. There are small pools there between the rocks, they look very shallow but in fact were up to 5ft deep so perfect for my contributor's wife who is a nervous swimmer. They stayed all afternoon and there were a few passers-by but really very few considering the numbers on the nearer part of the island, and absolutely no hassle, they felt quite relaxed there. There are other pleasant stories of contributors managing a day in the nude in this fascinating place, more like the West Indies than the Mediterranean. Early in the season may be an advantage.

Once on the peninsula there is a distinct path which takes you to the far end, an interesting and attractive walk taking about 30 minutes one way. After doing this walk you are near to the best beaches on the South side of peninsula. However, if you want to head straight for the beaches this is not a suitable route. It would be useful if your report stated that there are good beaches all along the South side, i.e. the left side as you approach, and none on the North side. You need to head off to the left rather than following the main path.

The more distant coves on the South side had small numbers of sunbathers, and almost all nude, and mostly couples. No need to be "reserved" about nudity here. We did not investigate the nearer beaches. There would be no problem getting a cove to yourself if you wish. Good views back towards the main island. Good sand. Good dunes to get lost in naked. Water especially clear, some rocks but not a problem. Maybe not so good for serious swimming, as rocks further out. Must be highly rated just because of its 'lost world' feel.

Some contributors walked along the E4 trail for 100m east of the jetty, and swam from a small stony beach. In this direction too the crowds were out of view and three other people swimming nearby were nude.

2003: A Report says if you go to the last three bays on the left side of the island (a couple on the right side), you can strip to the bone. Don't worry, nobody seems to take any notice.

2004 and 2005: Reports all comment on the crowds and the difficulty of finding a suitable spot. This extends out of season too: one day early in October 2005 there were still many hundreds - if not thousands - of textile visitors, and there were not many spaces left in any of the (quite sizeable) coach and car parks. Such a shame. Even so, right at the very end of the south side of the island - a good 30-minute walk from the mainland - there were two or three small coves where it was possible to join a handful of other naturists. This contributor felt it was worth it to have seen Elafonissos once but, sadly, certainly not worth all the trouble of repeating the experience.

2006: A Barefooter who visited in early July was impressed by the fantastic pink sand and clear water and would definitely visit again using the more distant coves further away from the tourists. Your very own tropical island!

2007: Barefooters who visited in June found Elafonissos the highlight of their holiday. They were able to walk out to Elafonissi Island, rather than wade through what would be shallow waters.. Crystal clear water, pink/white sand - The centre of the small Island is sand dunes and beautiful flowers (a protected nature reserve, the Captain understands) and the small sandy coves around the outside are perfect for naked sunbathing! While the majority of visitors were textile, there were perhaps a dozen or more naturists. My reporters are very determined naturists and are happy to start things off! There were no problems at all, with textiles and naturists side by side - well, almost! Tranquil, beautiful, a truly memorable place. However the mountain road from Fallasarna was very difficult (low cloud), so be sure to take the more inland road.

2008 September: In the small coves on the east side of the island there was a number of naturists. There was a steady stream of folk passing by walking out to the southern part of the island but no problems. This part of Elafonissi is so very different compared with the hordes of people on the mainland beach.

2013 May: The last bay/cove on the east/left side of the island was 100% nude (3 couples) swimming and sunbathing on the beach. The next couple of coves closer to the mainland had a few couples nude sunbathing in the sand dunes (50% nude/textile). Overall a very relaxing and pleasant day in the sun and no problems with nude walking along the water to about half way along the island.

2015 August: amazing sea and views. Reached what I think is the "cove on the left" by 10AM and stayed until 4PM. The cove was not busy and I sat between two naturist couples. Many textiles around, especially walking to and fro to visit the island. No-one really minded but not the most comfortable place to stay naked on a Sunday in August. More people without swimsuit appeared mid-afternoon. October: We were advised to 'get there early and leave early (1100 hrs)' by our Greek host. That apparently is when the coaches arrive. We arrived at 0900 and went, as advised, to the left hand side of the island where there was just a couple of topless women. We had a quiet spot to ourselves until 1055 when large groups of people arrived all 100% textile. Feeling very much out of place we left a little later observing that there were 10 large coaches in the car park. It's a beautiful beach but as the Captain says it's been ruined through commercialisation.

2016 June/July: Taking the advice of the update preceding, arrived by 8:30. Walked along the left side of the island and set up in the third cove soon to be joined by another naturist couple. It was paradise until around 10:00 when it started to get busy with people walking by. By 11:00 it was like sitting on a motorway and the other couple and ourselves felt uncomfortable and covered up. By midday it was way too crowded and we packed up and left. The car park was packed, there were at least 12 coaches plus the boat from Paleochora. It's a stunning location and worth a visit, but try and arrive early or, as we were later advised, after 18:30 when most of the crowds have left. July – The second to last bay had a some nudists and no textiles. The very last bay was empty, and we stayed at it for around four hours with only few by-passers. Altogether I estimate around ten nude people on the far part of the island that day. September Arrived mid-afternoon. Still very busy and no naturists even in the furthest bay. Had we stayed until about 18.00 hours it may have become quieter but it was hazy day so left very disappointed.

2017 July: the area was a factory farm for beach goers with huge numbers of people sitting under uncountable parasols. It was quieter in the parts of the island/peninsula furthest from the access and one couple was sunbathing naked. At busy times like this it would be almost as easy and much nicer to walk to Kethrodassos.

2018 September: In Elafonissi the last small bays towards the (western) end of the peninsula are suitable for naturism (50% - 70%). October: We visited in the middle of the month, just a couple of weeks earlier than our last visit two years ago. Unlike then all of the umbrellas and sunbeds were still on the beach which greatly detracts from the beauty of the place and many tour coaches were operating. The dirt track leading to the beach has been greatly improved so it is no longer difficult for small cars which no doubt contributes to how full the car park was this time.

On our previous visit there were a few naturists in the smaller coves to the east of the main beach and we spent an enjoyable afternoon there but this time the main beach and all those coves were packed with textiles and it was not comfortable to be naked anywhere! Does a week or two make so much difference or has Elafonissi now been completly lost to the textiles? Further reports would be helpful particularly in respect of opportunities for naturists on the other, western side of Elafonissi.

Local advice is that over the last ten years the number of tourists visiting Elafonissi beach has massively increased. It is suggested that as the coaches generally leave by 4pm it is best to visit the beach after then as it is much quieter. Alternatively, early in the morning before the masses arrive might be an option.

We moved on to neighbouring Kedrodasos beach to the east. Road access to Kedrodasos is not as good so we decided, although not as quick as driving, to take the European E4 path that runs from Elafonissi to Kedrodasos. It is fairly level and not a difficult walk although it does entail clambering over some rocks. The path is well marked, just follow the yellow and black paint marks and poles. It took us about an hour but younger, fitter people could no doubt do it in half the time. Along this route there are a number of small coves where being nude would be OK. However, they are mostly pebble beaches and any sand is certainly not as good as Elafonissi or Kedrodasos beaches. There are some great views along the route. The last part of the route through the juniper trees and sand dunes of Kedrodasos is particularly scenic and is used by campers some of whom are naturists.

 

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  • alanrp42

    A bit of a victim of its own success with coachloads of people descending onto the ranks of sunbeds. The off shore part varies between a peninsular and an island depending as sand is pushed around by the currents. The sea is usually shallow so that you can wade across. It’s quieter on the island/ peninsular and pretty to look at. Although you might not see many naked people its probably OK to strip off anyway where the crowds are less intense

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