Ikaria's Secluded Nude Beach

Leave your bathing suit in the sand on this beach and dive right in!

For some travelers, solitude and a chance to swim in the morning with nothing more than the wet sensation of the sea against skin is a timeless experience. In the new edition of our guidebook, we highlight with a map where a secluded nude beach on Ikaria allows for this unique experience.

It takes a little walk to get there…but wouldn’t you prefer it that way?

Swimming nude is just an option. Discovering this beach is the ultimate reward.

Bring snorkeling gear too if you want to see some colorful tiny fish.

Ikaria's neighbor Fourni (Fournoi) - the shipwreck capital

This is another reason why we included Fournoi in the Second Edition of our Guidebook. The neighboring archipelago to Ikaria is a wealth of nature and history, both above sea level and below! The walking route we mapped out gives the best views over Fournoi’s dazzling seas and its surrounding islands and islets.

(You may also see archaeologists diving again this summer to find and explore more shipwrecks!)

Read this full article here: https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2018/07/the-underwater-archaeology-of-fourni-greece-s-shipwreck-capital-of-the-world.

Fournoi Islands Walk - Don't Miss these incredible Greek Island Views!

In the second edition of our Guidebook, we present a special hiking route on Fournoi (Fourni) Islands together with a map. This route was one of our greatest discoveries of 2018. A side trip to Fournoi from Ikaria is a special treat and just a 1-hour ferry ride away. Experiencing this trail may turn out to be one of the highlights of your whole trip.

Multiple mornings I found myself consumed by an obsession to connect with Fournoi’s nature. I was overwhelmed by the expansive views across the main village and over the whole archipelago.

View of Fournoi (Fourni) village from hiking route

The velvety blue seas surrounding Fournoi and the nearby islands and islets create a dreamy, bird swooping landscape that is truly unique to the Greek island hopping experience.

While crowds in the summer flock to Santorini to do the Fira - Oia ridge line hike (which is gorgeous, but often overcrowded), those who have the chance to find this walking route on Fourni will be rewarded with a unique, serene and contemplative journey. It still keeps an off-the-beaten-trail sensation of ultimate discovery. Bird watchers will be very pleased that they made it here too.

View from the first church visited on the hiking route (Fournoi. Fourni)

The walk we highlight in our Guidebook is without a doubt one of the best walks of the Greek islands. We were lucky to discover it and we are happy to share it with you. On Fournoi’s remote and dazzling landscape, walks and other travel along its high roads will also offer you breathtaking views.

View across the Fournoi (Fourni) archipelago

September on Ikaria

I came to walk the monopatia (footpath) in the village of Kastanies that leads to a watermill. It is September and the island is bursting with chestnuts. Chestnuts hang like spiked balled earrings under the Chestnut trees' wide leaves. Many fall and split open, over the pine-needled path around the watermill. I used to collect the chestnuts around here, walk home along the mountain road and roast them over a crackling fire in winter. The village name - Kastanies - means chestnut.

Start of the footpath to the Watermill

Reaching the watermill, I take my time to look around. Usually the seasonal river deposits puddles in between big rocks to the west of the mill, making rooms for rare species of fresh water crabs and other little creatures. But this September, due to low winter rains, the whole rocky area is dry.

I watch a lizard, amazed at how closely its camouflaging skin resembles the surrounding rocks. He belongs here. He senses me inching closer and retreats into a crevice.

I continue onward, past Agia Triada church and along the rising footpath. The view opens up to the deep valley and northern sea coast. It is one of my favorite views on the island and always causes me to stop, catch my breath, and think about where I am. Ikaria's folding terrain, narrow terraces, stone walls, green forests and swooping shadows color the wide expanse.

Footpath area towards some small farms

The footpath then continues past some small farms, and connects to the village road. This time of the year, the village road turns into a garden of Eden. Apples, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, peaches, pumpkins and raspberries tempt me along the way. I give in and indulge in the red flesh of figs, dig into the juicy insides of grapes and bite into the skin of a red apple.

And I think about how it is very quiet on Ikaria now. The large summer tourist crowds are gone. The cars tinkering by are mostly local ones, slow, full of mountain dust and very old. 

Life as usual has returned to Ikaria. 

Some may think this is not enough -- too few people, too few shops, and too few noises. Yet, this is what the real Ikaria is about. It is Ikaria's raw energy drawn from the sun, the water, and the earth. Hard working nature is sharing with us her tastes of longevity. 

Life on a small mountain farm

On the way home, I stop in Raches village. It is Sunday today. The center is also quiet, with a few scattered tables occupied. But there is an atmosphere of openness: everyone has a place to sit down, to relax, to sip a coffee. 

A kitten walks out of a shop, purrs around my leg and asks me for some attention. I scoop her up for a picture; she is very camera shy.