2.5 miles (4km) south-southwest of Lixouri are three beaches, connected to each other, with the western one called Xi beach. Xi beach is NOT a naturist beach, it is a very busy tourist beach but, to the west, within walking distance or a short drive, there are several other beaches where it is possible to go naturist.

The first time my contributors visited they drove north from Argostoli round the coast, about an hour; the 2nd time they took the car on the ferry (crossing 25 minutes) to the peninsula from Argostoli to Lixouri, runs hourly, and then it was only a 10 minutes drive to Xi.

Xi beach

Xi beach

5:29 am, May 16, 2025

18°C

broken clouds

Humidity: 49 %

Pressure: 1005 mb

Wind: 11 mph

Wind Gust: 12 mph

Clouds: 84%

Visibility: 10 km

Sunrise: 6:26 am

Sunset: 8:42 pm

Weather from OpenWeatherMap

The hotel is right on the beach and there is a collection of loungers, sea scooter hire centre, taverna, etc, and hundreds of people. Going east along the orange sand (they got that detail right) the crowds thin out but you can see the next sun lounger, boat hire, taverna, etc with a steady procession of people walking up and down the foreshore.

The beach is backed by low grey clay cliffs and is, basically, a popular featureless long stretch of sand. It shelves gently with slippery flat rock offshore and limited snorkelling possibilities. It is a beach for families who like socialising on the sand. It is no place for idyllic or secluded nude sunbathing and swimming. Going nude is possible but hardly enjoyable.

2003 October: One contributor who visited said they "felt a bit like a tourist attraction for textiles when we stripped off" on the east end of Xi.

2004 July: A couple who visited found it quite relaxed in a clothing-optional area of the beach. Take the right hand fork signed to Xi (so is the left!) and park at the end of the road by the taverna (see on Streetview). Walk to the right past the sunloungers, after a few hundred yards there is an area below tall cliffs; these are unstable, and there are many recent rockfalls, so walk past here to the area where the cliffs are lower. This is a pleasant stretch of sand, where there were three naturist groups. About mid-afternoon, the naturists were joined by about half a dozen textiles, none of whom showed any sign of objection. There are a few pebbles at the edge of the sea, which is very shallow for quite a long way out. Very pleasant: if you rub the red sand all over your body, it is supposed to make you 20 years younger!