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Nas is a small "end of the road" place on the North Coast of Ikaria, a few miles west of Armenistis. The village beach is small but naturist friendly. Just follow the main track down past Astra Taverna and you'll find the path down to the beach. While we were there (early July 2006) even at its busiest there were no more than 30 people there of whom a good half were naturist. On other days we almost had the beach to ourselves.
The beach itself varies from fine grit through to pebbles. If the wind is in the wrong direction then the rocky cove can get too rough for swimming, but the locals have installed a safety rope to help any who get into difficulties.
18°C
My correspondents visited in July 2006. All in all a very pleasant and easy beach in a delightful friendly little village. They travelled there with Laskarina and despite the sniggers of the rep when describing the naturist nature of the beach, half the people at the meeting (four) were naked on the beach later that day.
Earlier reports described Nas as a small bay and tourist resort for "alternative" young people. It has always been a nudist beach since the beginning of tourism on the island in the late '70s. It is also a neglected archaeological site with the ruins of an ancient temple either of Artemis or Naiades. Though the beach is not large, the stream Halari creates a clear lagoon next to the ancient ruins. If the sea is too rough for swimming, young people escape into the spectacular canyon of Halari and they enjoy the river-pools and the small waterfalls.
Some years ago there were quite a lot of drugs around, but this has stopped more or less. It is a pity that camping is not officially allowed, however there is a lot of tolerance about sleeping on the beach or in the canyon (provided that there is no camp fire - locals are rightly very afraid of forest fires!)
Lots of Germans and Greeks, much live music in the tavernas on the hill over the bay and a great place for making friends. Nudism is not allowed (of course) but almost everybody down in the bay or up in the canyon follows the Naiades ancient tradition. Some uptight locals sometimes protest but they are not taken seriously, nor the police ever messes around, because a lot of people make a living out of this lifestyle. My correspondent rates this 75%.
The most amazing things were the little lakes along the river. A place you must visit.
Don't worry about the "no nudists" signs . Nobody cares! But be careful of the high waves if there is a north wind.
2005 May/June: Barefooters who visited described Nas beach as very small with large pebbles and very little sand. There were between 2 and 10 nude people, some couples, some single. It was quiet most of time.
2012: A lot of camping in the canyon including me and some people at the back of the beach. In August the beach was very busy and 99% textile, just a few of us not being bothered by all the material. Its past reputation has probably caught up with Nas and now it is very touristy. Best in early morning or around sunset. I liked the place but the water can be rough, a little dirty and gets deep quickly. There is a little mini-market near the tavernas.
2013: The local authority has put up new "No nudists" signs on the beaches around Arministis including the middle of Nas beach. The signs went up at the beginning of July and have reduced the number of people nude on the beach. There is no sign of anyone enforcing the order; however one Greek couple were shouting at 3 nudists, one male and two female, for being naked in front of their six-year-old daughter and pointing to the signs in justification. It will be interesting to see if the signs are still there at the end of the season.
2015: We visited Nas. The small beach was nice with 2/3 of the people nude.
2018 June: No signs anymore. We visited twice. On both occasions around 10 to 15 people on the beach, 90% naturist. But above the beach are quite a few tavernas and rooms, so not sure about late July and August.
2018 July: As above, but with quite a few teenagers appearing once July hit, naturally too insecure to be stripping off in front of their mates at that age. No problem being nude here, even when it is busy.
2024 June: Very few nude people until around 3 pm, increasing the number afterwards. Textiles seem to be the majority from the center to the east end of the beach. Nobody seems to have a problem though with the nude people from the middle to the western end. The former beautiful lakes are just a memory after the big storm in 2017 maybe 2018, don’t know exactly. The lakes that are left have only green stagnant water - I wouldn’t dare to swim there! I you haven’t got a tan yet, bring a parasol or some sun shelter!
2024 July: The beach had an even mix of nudists and people wearing swimsuits. Most of the women were topless, but everyone was comfortable and accepting of whatever choice others made.
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