The loveliest and most agricultural of the Little Cyclades, cattle, goats, sheep and crops. Hilly but easy walking.
The Chora contains the bulk of the island's accommodation, along with a few mini markets and tavernas and a very good bakers (which also sells sun cream, parasols and fruit). There's also the office selling Blue Star ferry tickets (which doubles up as the Post Office) and a seperate place selling Express Skopelitis tickets.
There are official No Camping and No Nuddism (sic) signs at Psili Ammos, Campos and Livadi beaches, There could be similar official looking signs else where on the island. However, in June 2010 there were relatively few visitors, making nudism perfectly possible on several beaches.
Gerolimionas
A small deserted beach at the north-west coast of the island. The beach is small - 20 metres long - but very wide. It has the best sand on the island and is within a huge inlet well-sheltered from the wind - swimming is like swimming on a lake. When my contributors visited it in June 2010 they spent five minutes on arrival clearing up the rubbish and then had a lovely day. They were the only couple there all day except for a Greek guy who came for quick swim in mid-afternoon and then immediately left. It is a bit difficult to access, though - you get to the end of a track, climb over a wall and walk down without a real path to the beach.
The beach has no signs, is used by nudists but has some rubbish from the sea.. It is sandy and in the corner of a very sheltered fjord rather than a bay. It is absolutely delightful - sandy and gently shelving. The swimming was marvellous but beware, there are sea urchins on the rocks on the right hand side.
It is really difficult to find so do take these directions with you. Leave the Chora on the Messaria road, after about 1 km there is a rougher track going up to the left but you should continue on the road as it swings right towards Messaria. Cross a small section of concrete road and at the junction at the bottom there is a Messaria sign and a sign towards Psili Amos. Turn left here away from Messaria and follow this road towards the brow of the hill. After passing two new buildings on your right turn left onto a much rougher track Follow this track until it ends with stone wall across it. A piece of wire fencing acts as a gate just before the stone wall. Go through the small doorway in front of you and almost immediately go left through a hole in the wall. Follow the top of the ridge down towards the sea, going left as you near the beach will take you to the easiest way through the last wall. When picking you way down it is advisable to stay close to the wall most of the way. In June 2010, the walk from Chora took my correspondents about 40 minutes.
There are other small beaches all around the island, many of them completely empty of people as the island is small with not many tourists. Lio Liou beach is a no-no - recently built accommodation, and anyway it can be very exposed to the wind.
A copy of a good, large scale printed map of the island is available. My contributers were given a copy by the Hotel Iliovasilemas, where they stayed. That map shows the only beach marked as FKK as being on Fidou Islet, just to the south of Schinoussa - and completely inaccessible without a boat!
