Last updated 27 May 2007

The Captain has received several reports of frequent police visits to all the beaches on Anafi, and also of local intolerance. Some reports say that free camping is no longer tolerated, and nudism even less.  Yet other, more recent, reports indicate a high frequency of naturism on the main beaches, with perhaps 75% of visitors being bare bathers.  So nudity cannot be that much of a shock.

Klisidi

This is the beach closest to the inhabited part of the island (harbour and Hora), preferred by locals and the people who stay in rented rooms, since it's only a few minutes walk from either locations. Nice beach, but not the ideal place for naturism. The island used to have a reputation for being tolerant of free camping. However the Captain hears that in 2002 this has been prohibited following press interest. Nude bathing is prohibited and enforced by the local police. This beach is sandy, with clean waters. It is too long to be crowded even in high season.

But the Captain hears that by walking for 10 minutes over the cliff in the opposite direction from the port one can find a small beach that is 100% nude - or at least used to be. It is a good solution for people who want to be near the facilities of Klisidi and the port.

To get to the small beach beyond, the path leaves from the taverna at Klissidi, not from the far end of the beach - it takes about ten minutes.  This beach is of nice soft golden sand, and is mostly nude. It is not very wide and people tended to occupy the two ends - if I remember rightly this was because getting into the sea is not possible everywhere. There is no shade on the beach, but there are trees behind, amongst which people camp.

Following the coastal path, there is another beach which is difficult to access as you have to wade through the water and my contributor saw very few people on it. From here there is a driveway rising from a boathouse. If you follow this you eventually realise you are walking through someone's private grounds - there is a very difficult path that goes around the private grounds, but obviously the original path has disappeared here. Eventually you come down to ...

Exo Roukounas. This is a thin strip of beach with hardly any people and a few people camping in the trees behind. You can swim naked here. 

Half way to Roukounas 1.5 Km from Chora, you will find a road sign indicating Exo Roukounas.  Go down the track and turn right onto the next track , or you will end up at the gate of a villa. Follow this track right up to where it culminates and then follow the path along the ravine towards the beach.  It is a small, sandy and intimate beach about 80 metres long, where nude bathers easily outnumber the clothed ones.

For more privacy one can walk in the water at chest deep water, towards the left end of the beach, go past the rocks, walk over the jetty, and keep walking in the water until you reach the next beach, below the cliff and which should be almost deserted.
Note: Do not forget to bring some water with you.

Continuing, the next small beach is, the Captain undetrstands, called Mikro Roukounas. There is a private house here owned by some Americans. In 2003 you were able to walk through a hole in the rocks on to Roukounas beach but in 2004 you couldn't do this without a very difficult wade through the sea, so now you have to walk over another headland to get onto Roukounas beach.

Roukounas
This is a long beach and the main destination for nudists on the island. There are lots of people camping here, with or without tents, under the trees at the back of the beach. Barefoot reporters tell me that in 2004 the tents and nudists stretched all along the beach whereas lin 2003 there was a portion of beach near the prohibition signs that was textile only and with trees available for people who came for the day. Apart from the campers, not many other people come so the beach is not busy as the campers spend a lot of time under the trees or in the taverna (which is behind the beach).

From Chora take the road that goes to the coasts eastwards. Three kilometres down the road there is a road sign indicating the beach as well as another sign for a tavern. Go down the track park behind the tavern and then walk 50 metres down to the beach. During the summer months the beach is constantly inhabited by neo-hippies who camp further back from the waterfront under the trees.

A 300 metres long sandy beach where nude bathers (including the neo-hippies) outnumber the clothed ones even at the busiest period of the high season.

Walk westward by the waterfront in the shallow water by the rock squeeze through the hole in the rock and find yourself in another small sandy beach.

At the tavern you can eat some home-made dishes and have coffee and refreshments.

It is possible to get to Roukounas on the bus from Chora (4 times a day - 1 euro), with connections from the port. If you walked all the way from the port via the beaches as described above without stopping to swim at any it would probably take about one hour.

Yet the Captain also hears from 2004 of reports of frequent appearances by the police at Roukounas, and also many families with children disturb what was a tranquil place.

An earlier correspondent described Megalos Roukounas as one of the best beaches in the Cyclades. It ranged from 70-90% naturist, limited shade if you arrive after mid-July (all the good spots are taken) taverna 5 mins walk ("Papadia"), garbage barrels emptied every 2-3 days by the community. Either walk 60-90 mins from the harbour (depending on load and time of day) or take the bus service which runs from the Chora to Roukounas and other beaches 4 times a day (1 euro in 2003).  There is no longer a boat service.

Reports from 2003 suggest a police clampdown on free camping here, although it does not seem to have discouraged 2004 campers.  A new road links Roukonas to the Chora, which makes it easier to stay in rented rooms but also means more non-naturists on the beach.

I am very grateful to Meskalito for the photograph on this page.

Monastiri
The 9Km eastward road from Chora on which Roukounas and Exo Roukounas are, ends at Monastiri, literary a monastery, below which there is a sandy beach with a few trees providing some shade. You should find a mixed crowd, but it very rarely gets crowded, mainly because of its size. 

Although traffic on the road is scarce, some might find uncomfortable the fact that the beach can be seen from above. Having said that, about 75% of the tourists in Anafi are bare bathers, so very few will be shocked by nudity.