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The town is on an isthmus about 1 mile long stretching south into the Mediterranean. It is backed up by mountains in a very beautiful area of Crete. The isthmus is about 600 yards wide in the middle. On the west is a famous long sandy beach about 3/4 mile long used for windsurfing in the season (apparently its official name is Limnaki). The beach is composed of that kind of powdery sand which is perfect for sandcastles but sticks to wet or sun-cream-treated skin. Nude swimming and sunbathing is practised on the last 300 yards at the north end of the beach (towards the far end as seen in the picture). There is a parking place behind the beach.
There is a taverna at the northern end, and the owner requires customers to dress before coming to be served. There is textile traffic along the beach as well as some textiles or topless in the naturist area, but everything is very relaxed. A nice beach, good sand, good bathing, easily accessible and very relaxed. Many people come back here year after year.
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2014: The Captain is delighted to report that notwithstanding the age of the rather old reports on this page, very little had changed and the beach is still popular with naturists. On one of those wonderful, calm days you occasionally encounter the sea is especially beautiful here. There are some flat rocks at the entry to the sea at some points, but it's easy to negotiate them or swim over them. Some beachgoers used swimming sandals, but the Captain did not think them necessary.
The signs near the taverna are in much politer language than in earlier years. One side pleads "No nudism beyond this point, please", while the other side says "Nudism beyond this point, please," as if it were a requirement. How could anyone refuse such a polite request?
Yet another correspondent thoroughly recommends Paleochora. He says the Western side was the only one they visited and the northern part of that was about 75% populated by nudists - mixed couples, families etc. There is a beach bar at the top of the beach but at least a G-string is required here.
In recent times signs have sprouted on the section approaching the taverna declaring "No nudism here, keep this beach clean" and another, "No nudism here ", as if the two ideas were somehow connected. When the Captain visited in September 1999 these signs were being roundly ignored with a large section of the western town beach remaining staunchly nudist. A very high percentage of people were nude. A report from June 2000 says 80% nudist within 100 metres of the sign; after all, how else would you know where to go? The stream of textiles walking past is more of a discouragement than the sign is. The water seems to be very clean. An excellent beach for bathing.
To the east of the town, a long pebble beach with here and there a little sand which, beyond the camp site and night club, is usually deserted. The few swimmers that do use this area are usually nude but it is steeply shelving and the pebbles are large and uncomfortable. However when the wind gets up on the sandy beach the discomfort of the stones is less than the discomfort of being sandblasted. In town at the end of sunbeds the pebble beach turns a slight corner and there seems to be no problem with being nude even 50 m beyond this point in low season.
However, the signs may have increased the distance between the northerly end of the nudist section and the taverna, and might make nudism more difficult in peak season. In 2002 worrying reports have started to creep in that Paleochora is now textile except for a small enclave of 20 or so umbrellas at the northern end and a few bits behind the rocks. Other reports say nudism is still practised on the town beach and that the signs are there only to deter nudity close to the bar. People both clothed and not were walking up and down and no-one seemed too worried. If you are going there this summer please report back!
The beach can be windswept. Sunbeds and umbrellas are available for hire even on the nudist section and even a shower is available.
2001: The Captain has received a July report from a couple who are regular visitors to Paleochora. The two guys running the beach umbrellas, Fotis and Giorgos, continue to conspire to make naturism possible. As long as one observes the natural boundaries at either end of the nudist stretch, there is no problem. However, Giorgos was summoned to a meeting in Chania with the port police, the tourist police and the community police, following a complaint. There have apparently been articles in the local press. Now that there are houses overlooking the beach, people have got a bit jumpy. A swoop from the police was promised but never happened. Fotis and Giorgos know which side their bread is buttered. A large number of the nudists are independent travellers, keen to put money into the local economy rather than into multi-million travel companies. They do well out of us and are keen to keep it that way. The sign that was erected in the middle of the nudist stretch a few years ago has gone and my contributor suspects that any future ones will also disappear. You do get such strong winds in Paleochora …
In my contributors' third week they hit the beginning of the Greek holidays so inevitably there were people - we suspect from the north of Crete - wandering round tutting and humphing. There was also a woman with a video camera. Everyone ignored them. For several years we have worried that our lovely bit of beach will go textile. It's still very much OK! And a report from September 2006 speaks of a naturist couple who went into the sea near the shop and were shouted at by a Greek woman who sat outside the beach shop on guard. The couple were scared to come out of the water.
Regular submissions of up to date information on Paleochora beach are welcome. The situation is clearly changing all the time.
2003: Reports suggest that it is still possible to swim and sunbathe without clothes at the northern end of the western beach between the outcrops of rocks, not going near the cantina. The Captain made it back here in September and can confirm that at that time the nudist section was active and busy.
2004, 2005 and 2006 - Reports are generally still very favourable, several commenting on the welcoming atmosphere. Contrary to some earlier reports, the general attitude seems to be very tolerant. One correspondent noted the presence of more women than men! Another noted that most were families and couples; there were about 50 nudists on the beach that day. Sun umbrellas have made an appearance, at 5.50 euros per day. There is some building by the road overlooking the beach. Nudist use varied a lot, occasionally none at all, rising to 80%+ more commonly. The sandy beach could be unpleasant if the wind was strong; but although there was nudism practised on the pebbly East beach, the large pebbles made walking and approaching the sea uncomfortable.
2006: A June Report confirms that the sandy beach at the northern end remains naturist. Lovely pure sand and very relaxed atmosphere, with parasols and sunshades available to rent. The signs referred to above (no nudism etc) are right next to the beach bar, rather than in middle of naturist section. Barefoot reporters visited the bar for a fresh orange juice, having donned bottoms. The girl at the bar politely asked the female partner to cover her top as well, necessitating a walk back to their parasol for her bikini top. There were some passing textiles on the beach but this caused no problem. A report from late July and early August says that the sunbed owner is unfazed by dealing with nude people and says "Have a nice time" to each customer. The atmosphere seems very friendly and relaxed in spite of some dressed people walking up and down and the appearance of a public car park just above the beach. There are also more buildings on the other side of the road overlooking the beach but this does not seem to cause a problem either.
2007: A Report confirms that the beach still attracts lots of nudists, although its character was really "clothes-optional". The beach was nice and beautiful and the sand was clean.
But the beach can be very windy, Grameno is better then.
In Paleochora you can rent a bicycle for 5 euro a day including helmet and lock, and you can go to Grameno beach or Anidri.
2010: A report from May says that the end of the beach was predominantly naturist. From the rocky outcrop about ¾ away along the beach until you reach the rocks at the end it was 100% most days. At weekend this did reduce at the borders of the textile/naturist section. There were plenty of sun beds & umbrellas in the naturist section but still plenty of room for people wanting to make their own pitch. The taverna had not opened at this time but was being prepared (the taverna was open in July). As mentioned signs around the taverna state “NO NUDISM HERE” - this is for customers and people leaving the beach. I always say when in GREECE treat the locals with respect: we are their guests. The beach was very clean and had just been prepared by the local authority moving sand back over exposed rocks after the winter storms. A very relaxed beach highly recommended.
2011: In late May and early June the naturist part of the beach was busy with most of the 16 parasols and pairs of sunbeds in use and a good scattering of people not using sunbeds. The concession owner says that he will put out more. One young lady was nonchalantly relaxing nude on the beach well outside the normal naturist zone about half way back to the town centre. No-one seemed to be paying her much attention. Perhaps she forgot her bikini and just thought what the hell.
2013 July: the sunbeds and parasols on the town beach stretched round the corner making this section a little too busy with textile sunbathers for comfortable naturism
2015: July. A sign has appeared at the Western end of the naturist section requesting that there should be no nudism after that point so that the area round the beach bar is textile. One of the parasol-renters has not appeared this year meaning that availability in the one remaining concession can be a bit tight. Nice about this beach that it is next to the village, from your room in Paleochora you can walk to the beach in a few minutes for a nude swim any time you like.
2016 June: Still as relaxed and friendly as mentioned above. People start arriving to claim loungers and umbrellas by around 8:30. Another report on the forum - The price for 1 sunbed and an umbrella: 4 euro. The price for 2 sunbeds and an umbrella: 6 euro. The same nice chap from last year wishing everyone a nice day. He gives an ashtray to smokers, so it's obvious that he tries to keep the beach clean. July: Wonderfully friendly and relaxed and not too busy despite being close to town. Possibly an additional row of sunbeds planned for this summer as they arrived before we left although there were always beds available during our stay. Does get very windy some days though.
2019: exceptional winter rains brought a lot of river sand and small stones down onto the stony beach stretching for hundreds of metres. The stones, previously so hard to walk on, have been replaced with a surface that children can run along but another winter could change the situation again. There seems to have been an increase in topless sunbathing on textile parts of the beaches in the area compared with 2017. It's up from a very low base and nowhere near as popular as it was in the 1980's but it could be the start of a rising trend.
2020 September: End of the season, not busy. Nice showers. Because it is next to the village you don’t need a car when you are staying there. A contributor said "The last three times over a period of some years I have not seen any nude people on the eastern beach". As ever use judgement when stripping off. In this region the West end of the Paleochora sandy beach, the East end of Gialiskiari (Anidri) beach and the East end of Sougia beach are very well established naturist venues where you are unlikely to feel out of place even when clothed people are around.
2021 July: Just look for the "FKK-strand" on google maps (https://goo.gl/maps/422aTuJfSNYJvNsD9) - i.e. to the west of the town. Several naturists, couples and single males, very nice place indeed with a few parasols available, no showers though. Easy parking next to the beach.
2023: Visited the sandy beach at Paleochora in October. The far North West of the beach (the last set of parasols/sunbeds) is 100% nude. Before you get to the snack bar at the end of the beach there is a sign "no nudism after this point" which is fair enough. You can park where "Sunset View" is shown on Google Maps or further along the road, shown as "Parking".
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alanrp42
This is an old favourite. Nudity has been well established for decades at the far end of the beach in the picture at the top of the article. Still good on our last visit in 2024. Two sunbeds and a parasol cost €10 for the day but there’s plenty of room to do your own thing. Quite a lot of clothed people walk by but I’ve never had a feeling of being gawked at. The sunbeds and parasols are run by the nearby Limnaki beach bar, but the guy collecting the money in 2024 wasn’t as cheerful as some of his predecessors. The bar is worth a visit but you have to be dressed. A sign indicates the limit of the nude zone.