The Captain has received various different reports about the name of this beach. In the end it really doesn't matter - just find your way there, strip off and enjoy it. If in doubt, it's the beach closest to the offshore islands.

It is one of three (I think) officially dedicated nudist beaches in Greece. A shame, then, that one hears that during the high season a large number of textiles use the beach.

A large painted sign declares that this is an official nudist beach. The Captain understands it was the first designated nudist beach in Greece, dating from 1969. There is a volleyball area; the water is warm and shallow. One hears it is sometimes possible to hire windsurfers, and that nude windsurfing in the shallow warm water is very enjoyable. Some people think it is the best beach in the whole of Paros and Antiparos.

The Official Nudist Beach is a piece of sandy land projecting into the channel between Antiparos island and Diplo island. It has an undulating water line and is about 75m long with a water line to beach top varying from 2m to 30m with dunes extending for at least 30m. The beach consists of gritty golden sand mixed with thousands of tiny shells at the water line. 50m to the east there is another nudist beach with similar sand type. This beach tends to get weed on the beach. There are no facilities on these beaches and no shade, but Antiparos town is a ten minute walk away. The beaches were litter free. Access to the water on the main beach is easy and is very shallow for some distance. There is little or no current between the two islands and the water is very safe, even for small children. Some good snorkelling can be found at the eastern and western ends of the beach. It is possible to wade most of the way to Diplo island, with only a short swim for the last 10m or, if you take the right route - curving slightly to the right as you face Diplo, then turning towards the left midway, you can wade all the way. Only goats inhabit this small island and wonderful nude walking is possible, but the Official Nudist Beach on Antiparos is superior for comfort and access to the water.

A recent report I have received sums up this beach by saying its character changes according to the time of summer and the time of day. When the students are on holiday, nudists can be in a minority.
The trick seems to be to have your holiday before the end of August, to try to dodge some of the Meltemi and the hordes of young Greeks who holiday in August. I could see the change happening while I was there. Antiparos Camping gets taken over by Greek kids in August.

There's a broad demographic of both ages and nationalities, which is nice, and even a few Greek nudists. It is absolutely perfect for nudist families and kids, and a great pleasure to see some of these running around. There's singles and couples of various descriptions, too.

It has to be one of the most friendly beaches anywhere. One nudist gave me his theory for why this is so - it goes like this: the Camping Beach is a convex beach, it curves outwards into the sea. This is quite rare - nearly all beaches are concave (curving inwards) beaches. Because of this shape and the smallness of the beach, people seem to be pushed together and keep bumping into one another. Because there's no for-rent deck chairs, people don't have to sit in the same spot and can move around quite a bit, so they can sit next to each other for a while and then move. People don't make new friends as much on big, anonymous, concave beaches.

Geologically, the beach is a bit of a mystery. Why should a neck of sand project out into the sea? I think the answer must be that this is the point where the currents that surround both the island of Diplo and Antiparos itself, meet, and it is here that they drop their sand and this is why the peninsula is building up and why the sand is so mixed. Has anyone any better explanation?

Besides litter, which is becoming a real problem all over Greece, the one issue is the Meltemi. The beach can be very windy too, but you can always find a nice spot out of the wind in the dunes behind the beach. However, it doesn't blow solidly all the time, and it keeps temperatures down. You can live with it.

1998: According to a correspondent who visited the island, the big problem with the Theologians beach is the north wind - the Meltemi, the perpetual problem of the Greek islands. The official beach is very exposed, and consequently it was found empty on several days in June. The beaches to the south of the town do not suffer these problems and are always swimmable when the official beach is not.

2003 August: A report describes a superb atmosphere much better than previous years though the beach was very crowded (approx 100 mid-afternoon of which 80% were nude). Regular visit of ice-cream van mid-afternoon (nude queuing de rigueur) very welcome. The walk across to the island of Diplo was popular and a nude stroll there undertaken by at least 20 people each day my contributors were there.

June The Captain's experience is not as wholly positive as that of some of my contributors. I do have some memories of very agreeable days there. But the last time I was there the beach was crowded and noisy, with a higher proportion of textiles than you would expect on an official nudist beach (a group of bikini-clad girls planted themselves within literally a couple of metres of our beach shelter and chatted noisily, commenting among other things that they were on the wrong beach). We gave up and went for an ice cream in the town.

Part of the beach is becoming overgrown with coarse grass. There is also evidence of a litter problem (can't smokers take their fag-ends with them?). That reduces the rating I would give to the beach but it is still 90%.

A correspondent who visited at about the same time as me described the beach as dirty and very littered, and not a pleasant place to sunbathe even though 90%+ were nude. Well, there's room for more than one opinion about that.

2006/7: Contrary to earlier reports, the campsite only a few hundred metres away from the beach is now said to be very good with perfectly clean ("immaculate" in one contributor's word) toilets and showers. They also have a nice mini-market and a taverna with pretty good food, so there is no need to go down to the village for lunch.

A report from August 2006 - high season, of course - says that sadly, this beach is not what it once was. There are a small number of diehards from the old days who still hang out here every year, but the reality is the numbers of nudists are now quite small. There are no 100% nudist families there anymore - always at least one member is textile. Also, all the beaches on the island are becoming dirty indeed - there is an alarming amount of plastic debris and cigarette butts on Camping beach. Yet another report from September 2006 said it was 100% nudist most days.

In July 2007 it was 80% nudist, but there was a much higher proportion of men than women.

Others, mainly during peak season, have reported similarly disappointing experiences. One contributor reports being greatly outnumbered by textiles during August 2007, including irritating sniggering teenagers.

An ice-cream and refreshments van (a Kantina) arrived regularly at about 3.45 pm. People queued up without bothering to dress.

2009:

We have been visiting Antiparos once or twice a year for about 10 years. We sometimes stay for up to 4 weeks. Our visit in August 2009 will be our last. The signs for the official naturist beach had been removed and along with maybe 10 naturists we felt very uncomfortable. It was 99% clothed. Local businessmen that I know all said they no longer wanted a naturist beach.

As you continue walking west and you go to the little sandy cove behind the rocks, it's a matter of who sets the trend. Sometimes it was 100% naturists but for 3 days in a row when I went there at about 12 noon or 2 pm, it was 100% textile, mainly with Greek students or families. And they were not locals. It's a shame that people don't respect the fact that these are nudist beaches and they make naturists feel uncomfortable.

The van selling water and soft drinks is there from early morning to about sunset.

If the wind is blowing try walking across the rocks to the right, where there are said to be more sheltered areas.
Names are confusing - an apartment/taverna complex called "Theologos Beach" fronts onto Aghios Spiridon Beach - the naturist beach is about 10 min. walk from the back of those apartments. Follow signs for "Camping Antiparos" & then turn right after you've passed the main gate.

Well worth a visit despite the smallness of the beach. Some 15 min. walk from the town centre.

2012: Over the winter, the path that used to lead to the beach along the seashore has been washed away. It is now necessary to walk through the dunes just behind the beach and come down through the volleyball court. The remains of the former nudist sign still sprawled defiantly on the rocks. However a new sign has appeared on the beach itself proclaiming that it is an official nudist beach. Furthermore the municipal rubbish bin placed at the entrance has also been labelled nudist. When we were there it was virtually 100% nudist. Indeed one textile family who came down to the beach cowered unhappily at the far end. I would say that all those wearing clothes on the beach were nudists either leaving or covering up because of the sun. There was a very happy atmosphere on the beach. One Italian lady told me that she came here from the south of the island because it was so calm and peaceful.

June: The 'Official Nudist Beach' sign is still there, freshly repainted. All parts of the beach are very exposed to the northerly winds however so pick a calm day to visit!

September: Someone has put up a number of canopies which provide shade. They are simple cotton sheets on bamboo poles but pleasing to look at and rest under. I am unaware of anyone doing this for bathers at a textile beach and just goes to show how much camaraderie there is for nude sunbathing on this official beach. We found it clean and pleasant to be on the beach. Mainly couples but a few individuals.

2013 September: 100% nudist again.
June: The beach was almost 100% nudist with a fantastic naturist atmosphere. There were about 60 individuals on this beach; there were many families, some couples and a few single male and female bathers. Occasionally, an aged nudist hippie sells hand-made trinkets on the beach and although we didn’t experience it on this visit, in the past you could have a colourful wrap put in your hair by a dreadlocked nude man. This beach does not have the facilities of some other beaches but for some contributors this beach is the epitome of naturism. Everyone co-existing in harmony with each other and the environment, children playing happily without a care for stuffy convention, parents able to relax, safe in the knowledge that their kids are in no danger. My contributors score this beach 100%.

Famous for 1.5 Minutes

Early reports said that every day at about 15.30 the sightseeing boat, run by local fishermen, which circles the island, went past full of tourists. Of course some gawped and photographed. However, most were nonchalant. This has never happened when the Captain was present and I do not know if it is still an issue. (But it remains a mystery why so many textiles seem to need to go to a naturist beach in order to find out what naked people look like). September the sightseeing boat is still there, now at 16.10.

2014: A report lifted from the Barefoot Forum:

I visited Antiparos from 20th to 25th August. Most of the time I went to the Official Nudist Beach which most people refer to as the Camping Beach. At the beginning it was very crowded with fewer naturists than I have ever seen. However, over those few days the number of people reduced and the number of nudists increased. There are various signs indicating it is an official nudist beach. It is possible once again to walk along the shoreline from where people leave their cars. The sand here has been washed away in some years. However, I never go that way as it is possible to leave the track to the campsite on a little path to the right and walk down through the dunes. The canteen van still visits. There are no longer any rubbish bins provided by the municipality: there is a sign asking people to take rubbish to the campsite.

September: Official beach as described - now with 4 or 5 signs to this effect. Mostly naturists, or mixed groups. Deeper water for swimming is to the right of the sand spit, facing Diplo. The sight-seeing boat came past (although I notice that working boats also come fairly close to the beach, so this may be where the channel is). The sight-seeing boat then anchored about a quarter of a mile off to give its passengers a chance to swim in their costumes.

2016: In late June the painted sign with "Official nudist beach" is present, and there is a large majority of fully naked people on the beach. A nice mix of singles of both sexes, and couples of all ages. There are some guests who are fully or partly clothed, but everybody enjoys the beach and the atmosphere is great. The beach is very clean and beautiful!

2017: I am pleased to say that nothing has changed to spoil the beach. There is now quite a community of people who seem to meet on the beach every year from all over Europe.

2018 June: The beach is superb. 90% nudist mostly old people and 2-3 families. Seems that most people know each other and come year after year. No signs of development which is good too. The sea was wonderful. In our second visit it was kinda windy but that's OK.

2019 May: The beach is still nudist for 80%, mostly couples, the younger ones are the dressed ones. A prevalence of French and Italian. Superb to walk through the low crystalline water to the island in front of the beach.

2022 September: Superb beach a short walk from the town via the dunes or a longer attractive walk around the headland from either direction. Visited early morning for swims mainly on a deserted beach as the sun rose over Paros - beautiful. Also late morning and late afternoon when there were plenty of nudists but also quite a few textiles and topless youngsters. But all got on fine together. The sand is rather gritty and the seabed can be stony underfoot at some points. Lovely swims (and wades) over to Diplo. The next bay along to the east has better sand and beautiful clear shallow water. More textiles here but was usually fine to swim. A good spot for families.

2023 End August / Beginning September: There are still plenty of nudists at the beach - many of whom we meet here every year. (We have been going to Antiparos for over 30 years). The beach is overwhelmingly nude, but there are perhaps around 20% textiles. Once the Italian youth has left (last weekend in August) things tend to quieten down. It's still the case that the younger people are the textiles.