The beach itself is a mixture of sand and large pebbles/rocks. It isn't very big but is quite attractive and offers good snorkelling. Unfortunately, the beach is much used by (illegal?) campers, many of them not naturists. This has resulted in most of the beach being divided up into a number of rock-surrounded enclosures which are considered private property by their occupants (even when they are not there!). The campers also seem to be responsible for the large amounts of rubbish which detract from the beauty of the site. Overall, my correspondents were rather disappointed with this beach although it has potential.

The beach is posted on all the town maps as being nudist, and has been so since the 1970s. The beach was not crowded at all, but we heard from a local that in July and August it is VERY crowded. That Greek guy has been spending all his summer days there for the last 15 years and is very easy going. There is a small cave, offering protection from the sun, but it is where that guy spends his days and is too small for acomodating many people. Nudity was 95%, the beach is sand and rocks, the water is clean and the landscape beautifull. There was some litter on the beach.

Another correspondent who visited in May 1997 reports that there was hardly space to put down a beach towel in May, so what chance July or August?

Correspondents who visited in September 1999 report this beach as being their favourite. They spent two nights there. The locals were friendly, water was calm and perfect for swimming. It was easy to find. They just took a van for "Camping Two Hearts" from the main port town of Ermoupolis. Walking from the civilized camp towards the beach it is easy to find the main street with textile Galissas beach to the right. They took the easy path up the hill past the church and down to Armeos Beach. The wild camping was great, plenty of tent space. By walking inland up the path past the old foundations of buildings, there is a wall on the right near where there is a natural spring with safe drinking water. The beach, though small, was ideal. 100% naturist of course. This was truly a "dream come true" sort of place.

The great thing about this beach is the scenery, the landscape. The bay at Galissas has the form of a y (flipped horizontally). Armeos is at the end of the short beam, Galissas at the end of the long beam. You can easily swim towards the junction with the long beam. When the water is quiet you can climb on the rocks here and enjoy the view. The only negative things about Armeos are the rocky surface and the pebbles. Sandy spots are scarce.

A contributor tells me that during the first week in June 2001 they stayed in the small village Galissas at Syros. We spent every day at the beach Armeos. The beach was almost 100% nude, it wasn't a great sandy beach but they liked it anyway. The water was clean and perfect for snorkelling.

A report from July 2001 says the beach was not at all crowded; 80% nude, good swimming and no trouble with the campers at all.

A report from May 2004 says the beach was still nudist and surprisingly busy. 

A report from July 2004 says most of the nudists were regular visitors of Galissa and Armeos, especially a group of Dutch people that visit Syros often. There were two or three nudist families, some gay men, couples, and single men but I wouldn't say that the majority were singles. The beach was quiet and clean although the illegal campers at the top of the beach produced some litter around their rock enclosures. The water was crystal clear and you could watch plenty of fish while snorkelling. A negative point is that some people brought their dogs with them that they left wandering about which can be a bit annoying for some.

In September 2005 this beach was still almost 100% nude - 2 out of around 30 people were textile at end of August. All age groups represented, though there were about 70/30 split male/female. The all male group (about 5) seemed more interested in themselves than in couples. A couple of lone females were there and appeared unharrassed. The footpath from Galissas is not too arduous until the descent to the beach where it it becoming quite worn and in places slippery. Beach was very clean. Pebbles all the way along. Sandy entrance to the sea at both ends of the beach. Still no facilities so 'bring your own'.

In August 2006 there ere 30 people there in the afternoon.  Bearing in mind the 80m length this felt crowded.

Delfini

Delfini beach can be reached by car or moped from the north side of Kini town. The route is adequately signposted and the road, although narrow and bumpy, is not too bad. A footpath also leads around the headland from Kini, about a 15-20 min walk.

When entering Kini, there is a signpost for Delfini which brings you along a bypass to the road leading to Delfini.  Follow the rough road for about 2km. Access to the beach is very easy with the road ending right at the middle of the beach with ample parking, and only a short walk of about 15m to 20m to the nudist part.

Delfini beach is about 300m long of which 100m to the left hand side is nudist. At the nudist end of the beach it consists of fine golden sand from the waterline for 5m then pebble for 10m to the top of the beach. There is a single taverna at the textile end of the beach. There is also a beach toilet cubicle. There is no shade at all. There was no litter. Access to the water is easy; it shelves gradually and is safe for children. When it is windy, unpleasant sandblasting is experienced, this can be somewhat reduced by sunning on the pebbles at the top of the beach.

A report from June 2003 says that the proportion of nudist to textile varied greatly. At first it was 75% nudist. Ourselves, a male nude and his female companion wearing a bikini, then a textile Greek family arrived altering the ratio to about 20% nude. The following day it was 100% nude. That was 2 couples and a single male. The thing is, all coexisted happily and without fuss. Although the beach could accommodate many more people, on the two days we were there, the beach was sparsely populated. This beach lacked any real atmosphere, so I score this beach 75%, but if it had more nudists, it would score 80% to 90%.

A short easy walk to the west of the beach (right) leads to rocks which are used by some people to sunbathe nude (100% nude. About six people). Access to the water is very tricky and caution must be exercised when entering the water. Snorkelling here is good.

My contributors scored this 60% because of the close proximity of the facilities at nearby Delfini beach.

Earlier reports said the beach is no longer very quiet and considerable building is going on behind it. It is a long attractive beach with sandy sections at both ends separated by a very rocky part in the middle. The northern end is the most popular and there is a taverna there. The southern end is quieter and used by naturists. It is not by any means exclusive to naturists but there seems to be an acceptance that this is the tradition. Naturists were seldom in the majority but other beach users showed no surprise or offence and intermingled easily with them. My correspondents preferred this beach to Armeos. It was cleaner, less crowded and access (with children) was much easier - of course we were lucky to have the use of a car!

However one report from August 2006 says that a new road has been built, signs have been put up, and umbrellas are now for rent on the textile part of the beach - so those who are not eager to pay go and sit at what was the nudist part, destroying what was a quiet atmosphere. 

Yet other Barefooters who visited in August and September 2006 found Delfini beach to be the most suitable for being naked. In August it was 80% nude at the southern end, on average.  There has been some building (including the new road) behind the beach but nowhere near enough to bother about. My reporters spent most days there and found it to be wonderful. The nudist side (to the left as you look at the sea) has the best sand and access to the water.
 

Kokkina beach

This page used to include a tabulated, photo-illustrated route which had been submitted to show the way to this beach.  It seems to be inaccurate, bearing no relation to Kokkina Beach on Syros, and has been removed.  The Captain can only apologise to those who have been misled by it.

Kokkina Beach is about 100 yards from Kokkina Beach Hotel and seems to be the obvious beach for them to use.  Not an obvious choice for naturism, therefore, despite earlier reports.

A report from June 2003 said no one was using this beach at all. It seems unlikely that it would be used by nudist as a car park overlooks it. It is not a very attractive beach, with lots of smelly weed and difficult access to the water and sea urchins a-plenty. My contributor would not recommend it to anyone (not even to a textile). Score 10%. 

Another contributor followed this Guide and went to this beach. They found it disgusting. The beach was not clean.  And you have to be an experienced rock-climber to get there.

A contributor points out that this is not just one beach but three. From the incoming path on your right you can see the already described as "smelly" beach.  Following the short road (only a few metres long) on your left you come across the other two beaches which are separated by rocks. In the secluded small one you can indeed enjoy swimming and sunbathing nude but you are easily visible from its neighbour beach that's frequented by textiles. I would say that this beach could be considered as nudist during off season only .

Going over the rocks, you could get to two small additional beaches, perhaps 15 yards and 5 yards long (one is visible in the photograph below the end of the white wall). The car park overlooks the main beach, but you might get away with nudity on one of these beaches. The "smelly" beach is possibly a shingle beach (15 yards long) on the other side of the car park which could probably be reached over the rocks without much difficulty, but it is totally unattractive.
 

Aetos, Lia and Grammata beaches, accessible only by boat or footpath, are recommended by a local map as being suitable for nudism. All these beaches are on the nortwestern part, North of Kini. The whole west coast seems to be mostly deserted, according to the map, with very few tracks. 

There are a number of other beaches on the north-west and north-east coast. My correspondents visited three and other visitors told them about more. Most are pretty inaccessible. Lia beach seems to be fairly typical. It is a 30 min walk downhill and is an attractive pebbly beach with some shade. Few others cared to make the journey and those that did didn't bother with swimsuits. The big disadvantage was the long hot climb back to the car (200+ m above)! The 30 min walk to Lia is shorter than many others! Grammata, Varvoussa and some others are less secluded because they are more popular with boats of various types. None are really practical as regular holiday beaches unless one has use of a boat. If walking to see the old ruins at Kastri, a swim at Klysoura is recommended as a short detour.

Katergaki

According to anonymous report received by the Captain, easy access about 9km from Ermoypolis is the village of Vari.  Next to the beach is a small hill.  The opposite side is Katergaki, a Lesbian and gay friendly place with big rocks and very clean water for swimming.  The easy way is from the small road after Fabrikas beach