Last
updated 27 May 2007
Donoussa
Donoussa is the most remote of the Little Cyclades
and is best reached from Naxos or Amorgos. On the 26th of May 2000 a room
was easy to find but only one of the three tavernas was open. There are two
other tavernas and one reasonable shop which was open. Bread and fruit only
come in when there is a boat and that is not every day. A new (and quite
expensive) cocktail bar overlooking the harbour opened in 2003. It is essential to know when there
is going to be a boat to get you off the island before you arrive because
although there is a boat ticket office it was never open and did not even
have notices outside of arrivals and departures. Also have a stock of essential
sun creams before arriving early in the season.
Kendros beach
The Captain had received various enthusiastic reports about this beach
and finally made it here in June 2003, and liked so much he was back a
year later. It is a fantastic
clothes-optional beach, with officially sanctioned free camping.
The beach is mainly sand and the swimming seems safe. A new
snack/bar - taverna built behind the beach has not adversely
affected the naturist possibilities here, despite the understandable
concerns of some Kendros regulars (in fact it sells high quality and
unusual snacks and drinks at very reasonable prices - dress to go to the
snack bar). The bar is in any event largely screened from the beach
itself by a stone wall. It also means that toilets are available to
the many campers at Kendros which must be an asset.
The Captain thought this beach utterly wonderful - certainly in the top
5 naturist beaches in Greece, and rated it 95%.
If you want to check the beach out, it is 1 km. east of
the port, a sandy medium size bay. Past correspondents reported it 99%
nude, and rated it 95%+. There were quite a number of wild campers there
in May and they were not all nude all day. The quickest route is to follow
the dirt road east over the hill to the right of the church and to veer
right on the older bit of road before you can see the beach. Then follow
the donkey track down the hill. The easiest way is to continue on the road
to the bottom of the hill and at the corner leave the road but do not head
straight for the beach, instead follow a path diagonally across to the
right hand side of the bay. Another correspondent describes the beach as
very beautiful and purely for nudists. Everyone camps in tents and walks
into town in the evening for meals at the tavernas.
In June 2003 there
were about 15 tents on the beach and some in the field behind the taverna. Some of the people sitting in their tents were
(partly) dressed, but almost all of them were naked when they went for a
swim. What my correspondent thought especially nice was the high percentage
of young people of both sexes.
A Barefoot reporter who visited in August 2006 found it too crowded with
tents, without any regulation, and the people in the tents were not always very
respectful of the environment.
We cannot say that the beach was "dirty", but near the stone wall there was a
lot of rubbish left by those people (plastic bottles, plastic bags, etc. etc.).
The Captain always encourages everyone to take their rubbish with them and leave
only footprints in the sand. Littering of this kind can threaten the
continued existence of beaches like this as naturist paradises.
Livadi
You can walk to this beach from Mersini,
a little village some km east of Stavros. Walk down the concrete path through
the village until you come to the solar panels. Walk on the path right
of the panels until the paths divide into two (right after the lower row
of solar panels). Then you take the right path and in 15 minutes you reach
the beach. There was no boat to the beaches when my contributor visited, but
maybe you could ask some fishermen to take you? According to the book
Walking the Aegean Islands this beach is often deserted. When my contributor
arrived there were around 10 people, 2 topless girls, the rest naked. There
were 2 tents behind the beach.
You can walk round the island in a
day and there are other beaches. There is another beach (sand and shingle)
north of the port, said to be suitable for naturism. You only have to follow
the northern road from the port for about 15-20 min. My correspondents gave
it a rating of 65% because there is no shade.
The harbour taverna is the focal point
of the island and if it is the only taverna open it is worth getting there
before eight to get a table. You then help yourself to beer and wait until
the food is ready. Then everything progresses in its own way. It was very
good and very cheap. My contributor had worked out how to get to Donoussa
on www.gtpnet.com before leaving home
and found he knew more about getting there than the ticket agents on Paros.
Accommodation could be difficult in high season but in May it was very good
and cheap. This place is very untouristed and very Greek. There is
a boat each day which takes people to other beaches round the island.
Very quiet and very laid back and a very good beach just 1km. away. What more
do you need?
The Captain understand
that a caique leaves the port each morning and goes
to Livadi beach and, if the wind is favourable and enough people want to
go, it goes all the way to Kalotaritissa at the north-east corner of the island.
Here there is a small, very isolated, village and there are 3 small beaches
- at the farthest one from the village (the best one) the few people there
were nude. You have to find out about the caique by word of mouth - there
is no information about it displayed anywhere.
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