This beach in southern Crete can be reached by water or by hiking about 25 minutes from Matala. The access is up over a fairly steep hillside which requires scrambling over one small area of rocks. At the top there is a goat fence with a gate; go through this and begin the descent to Red Beach.
In high summer there are sunbed and umbrella rentals, but most of the time you'll be relying on your own towel or sarong to keep something between you and the sand. There is no food or drink available, so bring enough with you. The whole beach is reliably nudist-friendly, but the most naked bodies are at the north side of the beach near the rocks which were carved into intriguing ancient Minoan and Egyptian shapes by a Belgian man named Gerard a few years ago.
Reader I.P. and a companion visited this beach near Matala on Crete in July 2004. Though at this point in their journey they had visited a number of bare beaches, this was the first time both of them felt comfortable enough to go completely bare. The intense natural beauty of the spot plays a role. But in the cool spring of 2006, full nudity was the exception rather than the rule, and there were plenty of visitors in bathing suits.
