THE DODECANESE ISLANDS      MAP Astypalaia, Kalymnos/Telendos, Karpathos, Kos, Nisyros, Patmos, Rhodes, Tilos       "Dodeca-" is a Greek-derived prefix meaning "having twelve," and Dodecanese literally means twelve islands. Actually, the Dodecanese are comprised of closer to two dozen populated islands, but about half those have very small populations of 500 or fewer people. Additionally, the complex of islands includes several uninhabited islands and numerous islets. Kastellorizo, just 2 kilometers from Turkey, is an outlier among the Dodecanese that is considerably farther east than the rest of the islands. Not counting Kastellorizo, the Dodecanese are contained within a north-south span of about 235 kilometers and an east-west span of about 185 kilometers. Counting Kastellorizo, the north-south span is the same but the east-west span increases to 300 kilometers. Rhodes is outsized among the island group, containing just over half the land area of the Dodecanese, about 58% of the population and the lion's share of the tourist industry. Kos, although a popular island, is a distant second to Rhodes. The most established nudist locations of the Dodecanese are in Rhodes and Kos.
Astypalaia     MAP     [ ↑ ]
	NUDE BEACHES       Astypalaia is the westernmost of the Dodecanese Islands, although it could just as easily be grouped with the Cyclades. The island has a peculiar shape that is often compared to a butterfly, with two land masses connected by an isthmus. The only significant population center on the island, called Astypalaia town or Chora, is perched above a small harbor, and it is a postcard-perfect village of boxy white houses that cascade down the hillside to the sea. Astypalaia covers almost 100 square kilometers, but it has small permanent population. The island's tourist industry is well developed yet small in scale. There are no large hotels, for example. There is no shortage of remote and hard-to-reach beaches with nudist potential, but the only firmly established nude beach of Astypalaia is Tzanaki Beach 36.5352N, 26.3431E  , a tiny beach that is among the more accessible beaches of the island, located just a few kilometers from Chora. In the middle of the island near the small airport, nudists are also sometimes present at Plakes Beach 36.5744N, 26.3764E  . However, nudity is not as firmly established there compared to Tzanaki.
Kalymnos/Telendos     MAP     [ ↑ ]
	NUDE BEACHES       The island of Kalymnos has long been famous for harvesting sea sponges, and since around the turn of the millennium it has become a mecca for hardcore rock climbers due to its challenging topography. Kalymnos has several remote and hard-to-reach beaches where nudity is possible because the beaches are likely to be deserted, but there are no beaches on the main body of the island where nudity occurs regularly. To get to the only established nude beach in Kalymnos, you have to leave Kalymnos… pardon the contradiction. The nude beach is located on a satellite island called Telendos, which is a very short boat ride away across the roughly one-kilometer-wide strait that separates the two islands. Telendos is basically a long mountain that covers 8 to 9 square kilometers, and no automobiles are allowed on the island. While it is possible to hike around Telendos, most visitors stick to the small village where the boat docks, which is the only settlement on the island. At a walking distance of just over a kilometer from the boat dock, Paradise Beach 37.0063N, 26.9239E   is the last in a chain of small beaches along the strait, looking out toward Kalymnos. Although is a tiny niche composed mostly of pebbles, chairs and umbrellas can be rented there, and most visitors go naked.
Karpathos     MAP     [ ↑ ]
	NUDE BEACHES       Situated between Rhodes and Crete, Karpathos is a long island that spans about 48 kilometers from its southern tip to its northern tip, plus another 8 kilometers if you include Saria, the uninhabited satellite island just north of Karpathos that is separated from the main body of the island by a mere 150 meters. East-west distances across Karpathos range from 3 to 12 kilometers, and the narrower northward part of the island is basically a long mountain ridge. There is an airport at the far southern end of the island, and there are two ferry ports, both on the east side of the island. The main port is in Karpathos town, better known locally as Pigadia, toward the southern end of the island. The secondary port is in Diafani near the northern end of the island. Although the as-the-crow-flies distance from the airport to Diafani is 37 kilometers, the driving distance is 62 kilometers along curvy roads that wind through the mountainous terrain of the island.       Karpathos and Rhodes are about the same distance from the mainland of Greece, both islands being roughly 400 kilometers from Athens. However, Rhodes has a population comparable to a small city (over 100,000), and it is a center of mass tourism on par the with most popular islands of the Cyclades. Karpathos, on the other hand, has the population of a small town (a little over 6,000) scattered among a dozen or so villages, and tourism exists on a much smaller scale. Most visitors opt to arrive by air due to limited ferry service. Furthermore, although both Rhodes and Karpathos are quite distant from the mainland of Greece, Rhodes is close to the mainland of Turkey, while Karpathos is far more isolated at sea. Due to this isolation, some cultural elements that most other islands have lost to modernity have been preserved in Karpathos, such as the quaint modes of dress of some of the older residents. Olympos, the multi-tiered village that cascades down a mountainside near the northern end of the island, retains more of the traditional culture than any other place on the island, and the culture is most vividly showcased on holidays and festival days.       There are a number of beaches scattered around Karpathos that get a low level of nudist attendance, but none of them draws the critical mass of bare bathers necessary to be considered the nude beach of the island. Nudity occurs in small clusters here and there but in large clusters nowhere, it seems. A bit south of Pigadia, Amopi is a popular area of scattered hotels and resorts that are all fairly small in scale. A few kilometers beyond the developed area, Pouliou Potami Beach 35.4815N, 27.2210E   is a small pebble beach that, surprisingly, has sunchairs and umbrellas available to rent. Nudity occurs sporadically at the beach. If it is too crowed with textiles, there is a hidden niche a very short walk away that is usually deserted or occupied by nudists.       Going north from Pigadia, there are three locations of interest to nudists between the villages of Aperi and Spoa. Nude bathing occurs frequently toward one end of Kato Lako Beach 35.5805N, 27.1857E  , and a unique feature of this beach is a grotto that is partially filled with sea water. You can wade or swim through it, sans swimwear if you avoid the time of day when a tour boat is docked at the beach. A bit farther north, Apella Beach is widely regarded as the most beautiful beach in Karpathos, and it consistently pops up on lists of the most beautiful beaches in Greece. The beach is composed of white sand mixed with tiny pebbles, and layers of mountains form a stunningly beautiful backdrop. While Apella is textile, nudity is possible at Micro Apella Beach 35.6019N, 27.1621E  , a smaller and more sheltered beach with limited attendance since the requisite hike from Apella Beach, although short, is quite steep. Farther north still, there is a stunning view of Apella Beach from Agios Ioannis Beach 35.6168N, 27.1505E  , a rather obscure beach accessed via a gravel road that clings to the mountainside. Agios Ioannis is quite small and often empty, so whoever shows up first may determine whether or not swimwear is worn. Agios Ioannis is downhill from Spoa. North of Spoa, Agnontia Beach 35.6677N, 27.1763E   has a wide-open feel compared to the three locations between Aperi and Spoa. Accessed by a rough gravel road, Agnontia is so lightly attended that there is generally plenty of space for nudists and textiles.       All the beaches listed thus far are on the east coast of Karpathos. There is one nudist location on the west coast. There are five sandy beaches in the immediate vicinity of a small resort area call Kato Lefkos, and Perdikas Potami Beach 35.5949N, 27.0663E   is both the longest and most remote of those beaches. Nude bathers are typically the majority along the entire length of Perdikas Potami, but there are typically a dozen or fewer nudist scattered along the entire beach. Even with such modest numbers, Perdikas Potami still usually has the largest concentration of bare bathers of any beach of Karpathos.
Kos     MAP     [ ↑ ]
	NUDE BEACHES       The elongated island of Kos stretches east to west, but at a tilt. Most of the long north coast of the island has a slightly westward orientation, and most of the long south coast has a slightly eastward orientation. The main ferry port is located at the far east end of the island in Kos town, the island's principal town. Across the island, Kefalos is near the far west end of Kos. The driving distance from Kos town to Kefalos is about 40 kilometers, and along the way you will pass the airport, roughly in the middle of the island. Kos has mountains, particularly toward the eastern half of the southern coastline and on the western notch of the island around Kefalos, but much of the north side of the island is flat and agricultural. Kos is among the top ten most visited Greek islands, and it is the second most touristed of the Dodecanese islands after Rhodes (but it is a very distant second since Rhodes is in a league of its own). A big part of the appeal of the island is the abundance of sandy beaches. With several well-established nude beaches, Kos offers the best selection of well-attended naturist locations of any island of the Dodecanese.       On the north coast of Kos, Tigaki Beach 36.8901N, 27.1698E   in the village of Tigaki is a segment of a very long beach, and nude bathing occurs on the part of the beach that is backed a lagoon, with low dunes separating the beach and the lagoon. Tigaki is the closest nude beach to Kos town (about 20 minutes away by car), and it tends to have more nudists than any other beach on the island, but it doesn't necessarily feel that way since the nude area is over a kilometer long and nudists are quite dispersed. Many visitors bring umbrellas since there is no shade, and from the beach there are fantastic views of Pserimos, a mountainous island that is just 4 kilometers away. Farther west on the north coast, Mastichari Beach 36.8438N, 27.0711E   stretches for more than a kilometer near the village of Mastichari. The village beach is at one end of the sandy expanse and a resort beach is at the other, and a few nudists are often present on the less populated central part of the beach. However, nudist attendance at Mastichari is just a fraction of that of Tigaki.       On the south coast of Kos, there are a couple of nude beaches where sunchairs and umbrellas can be rented. The coastal village of Kardamena is not far from the airport, and quite a bit of hotel and resort development sprawls westward along the coastline from the village. Tropical Beach 36.7650N, 27.1222E  , which is a name given to a small segment of a continuous beach, is tucked away along an undeveloped stretch between two large resorts. It has the feel of a hidden beach despite the proximity of the resorts. The concessionaire that runs Tropical Beach promotes it as a nude beach, and its centerpiece is a thatch-roofed snack stand that can be patronized in the buff. There are usually no more than a few dozen visitors even during peak season, and virtually everyone goes naked. Farther west toward Kefalos, there is a very long beach that has a number of names associated with it, each name corresponding to a sector of the beach that offers various amenities. One of those sectors is Polemi Beach 36.7672N, 27.0324E  , and Polemi is farther subdivided into two clusters of sunchairs that are about 200 meters apart. The longer cluster is for textiles, while the shorter cluster is available to nudists, and the two sections of Polemi are alternately known as Magic Beach (textile) and Exotic Beach (nudist). Backed by lush dunes and large hills, Polemi is generally considered the best nude beach of Kos. There are usually a few dozen or so sunchairs in the nudist area, then just beyond there is a wild expanse of the beach where nudity is possible for the better part of a kilometer.       At the western end of Kos, the island tapers into a distinctively shaped peninsular land mass called Kefalos, which extends southward from the village of the same name. As you pass through the village and go deeper into the peninsula, the terrain becomes more rugged and the roads rougher. Near the southern tip of the peninsula, Kavo Paradiso Beach 36.6843N, 26.9488E   is a west-facing beach against an exceptionally beautiful backdrop of rugged cliffs. Oddly, although "FKK" signs en route to Kavo Paradiso signify that it is a nude beach, the most accessible part of the beach where the sunchairs are set up is taken over by textiles during peak season, so when the beach is busy nudists have two options: be content with being a small minority, or hike to the far end of the beach to find more seclusion.
Nisyros     MAP     [ ↑ ]
	NUDE BEACHES       Nisyros is a small island that is roughly circular, with a diameter of 7 to 8 kilometers. The entire island is a volcanic mountain with an enormous caldera at its center. There are just a handful of beaches, one of which is Pachia Ammos Beach 36.5893N, 27.2083E   on the island's east side. The beach is hidden and takes a bit of effort to reach, and thus it is popular with nude bathers. Few travelers spend an entire holiday in Nisyros, which can only be reached by ferry. It is typically visited as an excursion from Kos, the nearest highly developed island. While day-tripping is possible, you will probably want to spend at least one night in order to have sufficient time to explore the caldera (the touristic highlight of Nisyros) and visit the nude beach.
Patmos     MAP     [ ↑ ]
	NUDE BEACHES       Patmos is at the northeast end of the collection of islands that comprise the Dodecanese, and it lies in the part of the Aegean that is the meeting point of three clusters of islands—the Dodecanese, the Northeast Aegean and the Cyclades. Patmos is a small seahorse-shaped island that holds a special Christian religious significance since the biblical Book of Revelation was composed there in the 1st century (A.D. or C.E.) by a John of disputed identity. (No longer thought by most scholars to be the same as John the Apostle, the John who authored the Book of Revelation is variously known as John of Patmos, John the Theologian, John the Divine and John the Revelator.) Because of the island's religious conservatism, nudity and even topless bathing for women is taboo, but there is one location where nudity occurs in spite of general disapproval: Psili Ammos Beach 37.2780N, 26.5450E   at the southwestern extreme of the island. Thickly coated in golden sand, Psili Ammos is widely regarded as the most beautiful beach in Patmos, but attendance is kept in check by the requisite hike of over a kilometer along a rocky path with no shade. The beach is mostly textile, but nudity occurs regularly at one end. Patmos is accessible only by ferry, with most ferry trips to the island originating in Kos or in Pireaus on the mainland.
Rhodes     MAP     [ ↑ ]
	NUDE BEACHES       Less than 20 kilometers from Turkey but a little over 400 kilometers southeast of Athens, Rhodes is the farthest from the Greek mainland of any Greek island except Kastellorizo and its associated islets (which form a minor outlying archipelago over 100 kilometers farther east). Rhodes is the fourth largest island in Greece, and it is the largest of the Dodecanese islands—by a lot. With about 120,000 residents, Rhodes is also the most populated of the Dodecanese islands—by a lot. It is also the most visited of the Dodecanese islands—by a lot. Despite its distance from the Greek mainland, Rhodes is among the top tourist destinations in Greece, and its airport is the fourth busiest in Greece. Although Rhodes is quite mountainous, most of the coastline is easily accessible. A complete driving loop around Rhodes along the roads that hew closest to the coastline is a trip of about 200 kilometers. The principal town of the island, also called Rhodes, lies at its northern tip of Rhodes. The famous Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and comparable in scale to New York's Statue of Liberty, stood in the harbor of Rhodes town for just 54 years during ancient times, being both constructed and destroyed by an earthquake in the third century B.C.E. The fortified old town of Rhodes, with walls dating to the 14th century, is among the largest and best-preserved medieval sites in Europe. Although steeped in history, most visitors to Rhodes are drawn by its beaches, resorts and abundance of sunny weather, and Rhodes is a major market for affordable package tourism.       About 15 kilometers south of Rhodes town on the east side of the island, the resort town of Faliraki is infamous as a collegiate party town, but it actually seems to have achieved the pinnacle of bacchanalianism in the years surrounding the turn of the millennium. While it remains plenty popular with the revelrous set, in recent years there have been local efforts to reign in the excess and broaden the town's appeal. Toward the south end of Faliraki, Mandomata Beach 36.3293N, 28.2117E   is the premier nude beach of the Dodecanese islands, and it is one of the most popular nude beaches in Greece. Mandomata is among just a few locations in Greece where nudists predominate along the entire beach, with a large majority of visitors opting for nudity, and it is a rare beach where nude bathers do not have to leave the nudist zone to utilize the amenities of the beach, which include sunchairs, umbrellas, restrooms, showers and a taverna. A bit south of Faliraki near Kolympia and Archangelos, Tsambika Beach 36.2239N, 28.1465E   is a long and very beautiful sandy beach that is mostly textile, but there is a small nudist presence at one end of the beach.       The busiest part of Rhodes is the northern half of the east coast, stretching from Rhodes town to Lindos, and both Mandomata Beach and Tsambika Beach are located along that corridor. The rest of the island offers a number of long beaches with deserted stretches that afford plenty of nudist potential. However, there is no single location among those possibilities that seems to be a particular magnet for naturists, which seems a bit surprising. Despite the size of Rhodes, the list of established nude beaches ends at two. LODGING      Viva Tourismo Resort    36.3963N, 28.0535E            Paradisi
Tilos     MAP     [ ↑ ]
	NUDE BEACHES       About the size of Manhattan in land area with a mostly mountainous terrain, Tilos has fewer than 1,000 residents. It lies about halfway between Rhodes and Kos, and it is typically accessed by ferry from one of those two islands since there is no airport. Quite the antithesis of its popular neighbors, Tilos is a very quiet island with limited tourism. Still, the island has three beaches where nudity is possible. Starting at the ferry port in Livadia, a hike that takes the better part of an hour brings you to Lethra Beach 36.4375N, 27.3880E  , an often deserted beach that has plenty of space for nudists and textiles. Nudity is a bit better established at two beaches farther from the ferry port that are easily accesible by car. South of the village of Megalo Chorio, nudity occurs regularly toward one end of expansive Eristos Beach 36.4326N, 27.3518E  , and there is a also a small hidden beach just beyond Eristos that is typically deserted or occupied by a few nudists. Eristos tends to have the most nude bathers of any location on the the island. At the northwestern extreme of Tilos, a small number of nudists are often found at one end of Plaka Beach 36.4664N, 27.3038E  .