This is a small, rocky island with one village. You can get to it by excursion boat from Patmos.
Upon arrival you will find a large, rather unfriendly, notice attached to the harbour fence saying "Nudism is forbidden on our island".
The Captain has nonetheless had some reports. One commentator rated the naturist possibilities there unimpressive. The other noted that guidebooks report a couple of beaches as suitable for the unclad. The majority of beaches are 100% textile. There are a couple of small quiet beaches on the north coast to the north of the town but they have a lot of litter on them.
Lendou beach
A short walk west of the only village and is probably only a nudist beach well out of season and even then it is in the very very uncertain category. We did not find it possible. Plati Gialos beach is 1 hour's walk along a wide new road to the north and is a big disappointment. It sounded great, wide and sandy, but it was short and narrow and very textile and would always be so now with the new road.
Helena/Elena Beach
A lovely little pebbled cove west of Lipsi town. Very quiet. The beach is only capable of accommodating about 12 people with room to spare. Head out of Lipsi town past Lendou (the town beach) stay on the road that runs around the bay for 5-10 minutes. Fork off left onto the track behind Kambos beach and keep walking. You'll pass a chapel on the way (not a good guide on Lipsi because the island is covered in them). Some 15-20 minutes after Kambos you'll reach Helena, a small sand, pebble and rock beach with a couple of associated coves. Deserted when my contributors arrived in the morning. By lunchtime the cove next door had been filled with a large noisy Italian family who remained steadfastly clothed. My correspondent felt a little too conspicuous - though his partner had no such qualms. To sum up: OK sometimes but not to be relied upon. Most naturists choose the small, adjacent coves.
Monodendri (Lone Tree)
Lipsi's jewel and one of my contributor's favourite Greek beaches. It's a 40-45 minute walk from the village; one of the island's two taxis will take you as far as the road goes but refuses to go along the track. It'll take you about halfway. The climb up out of the village is the worst part, after that it is an easy walk through largely agricultural land.
Directions: Go along harbour front northwards past the cash machine. Turn left before The Galini BBQ and follow the road out past the moped hire and tourist shop. You will find signposts to Monodendri. Climb up the hill. You will want to make frequent stops to turn and admire the view (and not to regain your breath ready for the next few 100 yards - oh no!) At the top go across the cross roads by the church. The worst is over now!
Follow the road past what used to be a reservoir but which is now the new rubbish tip and take the right fork onto the dirt track. Follow this until you can go no further (passing through several gates). Go through the gate in front of you and follow the goat tracks down the hillside. The eponymous lone tree on its rock will soon become apparent.
The beach itself comprises a pebble spit connecting the "lone tree" rock to the island, several flat sloping rocks and assorted other coves. The water here is crystal clear with a predominantly rocky bottom so perfect for snorkelling. It's a small beach so it can be crowded out but in our 2 weeks here in Aug 2002 it was busy only once and on several days we had the entire area to ourselves. Not all visitors to the beach bared all. But those that didn't (they were there for the snorkelling) were no problem.
Monodendri consists of 3 beaches. The northerly and best known is a short shingle beach with the single tree on a small headland on the northern side and some shade on the southern end under a small cliff later in the day. Barefoot reporters had the place to themselves for the whole day. On their next visit in August they were joined by a nudist couple but later by about 10 textiles. They left after being stared at from a short distance by the man in one family group.
The central beach is in a small cove but has large cobbles. On my reporters' first visit there were two nude couples. On the second visit it was empty with a lot of litter.
The southerly beach is stony and about 30m long. On my correspondents' first visit there were about eight people on it both nude and textile. On the second visit there was a nude family but later in the day it was empty.
Kamares
Favoured by Barefooters who visited during 2006. It is accessible by turning left through a gate about 200m after the new church on the track going down to Mondendri. The track is good for about 600m but the last 200m down to the beach consists of a steep goat track with loose stones. The main beach is pebbly and about 100m long and backed by fir trees which give cover at the southern end. To the north there are two quiet small stony coves. To the south on the headland is a rocky inlet (no beach) but there a plenty of flat inclined rocks and easy access into the sea. On two visits in July there were no more than six people on the main beach and rocky cove, mostly nudist. On the second occasion my reporters were amazed as a 4x4 appeared on the beach and disgorged a complete family, but we and others stayed as we were, and there were no complaints. On the third occasion several Italian families turned up eventually settling under the trees as a group but despite being the only nudists on the beach there was no comment.
Elsewhere
There are other possible beaches. A local leaflet gives details of 8 walks to bays! We tried Katsadia but most coves were small and not suitable or textile on that day, but we eventually found a spot that did for a few hours. Katsadia is on the SE corner. Tourmomnima is on the east coast but it was a dull windy day so we did not stop. However it looked possible depending on who gets there first. Lipsi beaches involve a lot of walking, at least an hour, and then you might be disappointed. The village was very pleasant but there was a huge marina being built at the harbour. We noticed signs of Laskarina holidays.
