Frangokastello (Φραγγοκαστελο)
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The old fort of Frangokastelli lies on the south coast of Crete, not far from the towns of Chora Sfakion and Plakias. In this part of Crete, the coast is mostly an abrupt boundary for the mountains, but for several miles east of Chora Sfakion there is a gently undulating strip of land anything up to 2 miles wide between the sea and the bases of the mountains (and the ravines and gorges which slice into them). Frangokastelli stands on a slight promontory of this strip, and is visible from miles away. The beaches directly below the fort are textile, but about a mile to the east is a fair-sized naturist beach.
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This is a lovely beach, with gently shelving fine sand. There seemed to be no significant currents. Unfortunately, the curve of the 25m sand cliff behind the beach, and the rocky cliffs at either end, block off all views of the mountains and coast - unlike spectacular Plakias some 15km east. Directly above the hazy boundary between textile and naturist areas is the Fata Morgana development. If you miss either the Sunrise or Villa Notos turns, you can drive through the Fata Morgana development to the Fata Morgana taverna and turn left to the steps as mentioned above.
Interestingly, Simply Greece wax lyrical about the beach but don't mention that about half of it is naturist. Also, their brochure and Website show the sand as white, when it is a lovely pale gold. GPS waypoints in WGS-84: Turn off for Sunrise taverna N35 11' 02" E24 14' 28" Sunrise Taverna N35 10' 56" E24 14' 30" Naturist beach N35 10' 59" E24 14' 47".
The beach below the castle had sprouted umbrellas since our last visit three years ago but otherwise had not changed much. The undeveloped beach some 500m further east had changed in that it appeared to have lost a large amount of its sand at the Western end.
The last 200m or so is narrow and sandy with excellent swimming and is completely naked. Although some of the sand in the first 100m seems to have disappeared - don't be disheartened - and keep walking as the beach is worth it. This beach seems to offer good sunbathing and safe swimming even when it is blowing a gale on the rest of the South Coast.
2000 June: A report confirms that it is still all nudist. This beach is named Orthi Ammos on the Explore Crete and Naturism in Crete web sites and was almost deserted. As on the main Frangokastello beach, you need to wade out a long distance to get enough water to swim in. 75% nudist. Contributors who visited in high season said that the beach was "mixed" near the Fata Morgana taverna but almost entirely nudist near the cliffs. They thought this one of the best locations in Greece and rated it 90%.
2001 July: A report confirms that this is indeed an excellent beach with naturist and textile coexistence, although it must have been nicer still before the development along the cliff top. The sand is perhaps mobile as we did have water deep enough to swim close to the shore. Also, you can see the magnificent hills just by swimming out a little way!
The road to this beach from Plakias is well made and winds through the mountains. The journey is worthwhile for the scenery alone! The castle at Frangokastello is worth a visit although the beach there is textile. There has been a great deal of development here recently. In May the beach was said to be entirely clothed for the first few hundred metres under the sand cliffs, but then became entirely nudist for the last 200 metres or so.
Some who visit the beach go to the rocks at the end where is a waterfall along the stones. You can find clay stones there and use those to paint your and your partner's body grey!
Some Barefooters have noted that the beach can be prone to sandblasting on a windy day. This is true, but depending on the wind direction it can be more sheltered here than at Plakias or Amoudi, for example.
2004 September: The Captain paid a return visit (and again in 2006) and thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this delightful clothes-optional beach. For me the rating goes up to 95%. Other visitors in 2004 and 2005 agree: it’s lovely, and not crowded even in late July and even on Sundays. The feeling of space was wonderful, and it was good to walk there nude; the water was warm, and the percentage of nudists was always very high. The only criticism was that it could be a bit windswept, and lacks natural shade.
Interestingly, an official-looking sign at one of the paths down to the beach states various rules; among other things, it is forbidden to “Make nudism, apart from the end of the beach”. As the prohibition on “making nudism” specifically does not extend to “the end of the beach”, it follows that that must be an area where “making nudism” is specifically allowed! Do we now really have an officially recognised nudist beach in Crete? The title of this entry previously included "E3 8,1", the significance of which is unclear
2005 September: The nudist area was 100% nudist on several visits.
2006 September: Twice as many people were using the nude part as any other section. (One contributor wonders if one day we might see a reversal, with nude beaches being the norm. In which case we might need a "Captain Textile" web site. Er, no, I don't think so!)
2007 August: One visitor was surprised to find no nudism at all at this beach, and left disappointed.
2010 September: A correspondent found this a very nice beach. There were about 20 people, 90% nude.
2012 June: Beautiful beach. Only the far eastern end was nudist, but with only 8 people on the beach. Getting on a bit now so the lack of sunbeds was a bit of a pain, but a lovely stop after seeing the castle. The road through Rodakino is very exciting! A new bridge is being built over the gorge and the road down to the old bridge and up from it is now really just a rough track. No idea how long the building will take, particularly with the current economic crisis.
2014 July: Lovely friendly beach, very flat and shelves gently into the clear water. The official part was very busy so we and a few others set up on the main beach with no problems. My favourite beach around here.
October: Wonderful beach, not crowded. My wife and I swam/waded 250m to other coves. Real Robinson Crusoe type experience.
2016 October: We returned to Orthi Ammos for a one stay week at Paradisos Apartments (Next to Fata Morgana). On occasions nudists were evident as far west as the beach below the Paradisos/Fata Morgana Taverna and it didn't seem to bother anyone. We felt more comfortable at the eastern end where it is almost entirely nudist and very friendly. A little busier than our previous visit in April but far from overcrowded and a very friendly mix of all ages (couples, families, singles) and various nationalities.
August: Eastern part of the beach down the sand dunes (not the one at the kastello!) still in use of nudists, western part (250m apart) crowded by textiles! Very relaxed place, very few people (couples, families, singles) even in August, fine sand, clear water, really good place! Bring your own parasol, there is no shade during the mid day!
April: Discovered Orthi Ammos close to the end of our two week holiday. Amazing beach which we virtually had to ourselves. The sea is a little cooler at this time of the year but warm enough for a swim. Definitely the best time of year to visit Crete and will be coming back to Orthi Ammos again.
2018 September: The sandy beach just east of Frangokastelo (Orthi Ammos) under the Argilos tavern, where there is a small parking lot and a path that goes down to the beach, is naturist (100%). Even the next two, eastbound, are naturist. On Google Maps they are referred to as Kritama Beaches. For them it is necessary to identify a land passage to descend the cliff, partly of sand, about 20-30 m high.
2020 August: There is a sign Feel free to go nude beyond this point, which makes it clear, but the area is now shorter than it was before. But still quite long.
2023 September: The sign Feel free to go nude beyond this point has disappeared, but the nudist area is still there and quite nice.
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