Limanakia - Gay nudist beach in Athens: How to get there & extra tips from a local.
PULSE Fun Stuff |Bangkok City Guide by Dr.Deyn
Limanakia - Gay nudist beach in Athens: How to get there & extra tips from a local
Gay holidays in Greece are "like a Greek god," sunny, salty, and hot- no wonder why the phrase came into existence. If you find yourself in Athens, apart from the three top gay bars that you must visit, there is a gay hotspot that you will particularly love - we are talking about the gay nudist beach Limanakia. If you are looking for a gay beach in Athens, you shouldn't look any further, as this is the most popular gay beach in the area.
Limanakia B nudist beach (in Vouliagmeni) is the most popular homosexual beach near Athens, both locally and internationally. The beach, like much of the adjacent coast, is rather rocky, but as a result, you will get great clear waters to swim in, which may be refreshing after spending time in the hot city!
I can recommend this is one of the nicest places in the region, with clean water and adequate facilities you should, however, exercise caution and refrain from littering. To avoid crowds, arrive early in the morning.
The gay beach in Athens isn’t really a beach at all, but a sort of rocky cliff — a gay cliff. Typical. Gays always pick the hardest spot. The best time to go is in the afternoon. That’s when the action’s peaking. In the summer, it can get quite hot between one and four, so go after four or you’ll die of sunstroke because there’s not one square meter of shade.
Limanakia is a rocky beach with crystal clear waters, just a 30-minute drive from the city center, and it is considered the daytime gay summer hot spot for both locals and tourists. Limanakia is separated into Limanakia A' and Limanakia B'. Limanakia A' is visited mainly by straight, younger people, while all the action takes place at Limanakia B', which is a gay nudist beach, where most people are naked and only a few are dressed, depending on the cove that you choose.
The beach includes 3 big coves,all of which are nudist-friendly, but with greatly different cruising happening at each one.
1. The first section (37.801092, 23.792118) is a mix of nudists and clothed people, it's mainly preferred by couples, and it is the busiest section of all.
2. The second cove (37.8004691506235, 23.79395275849926) is where the fun begins and there is some action going on, mainly where the trees are slightly above the main rock.
3. The third cove (37.79997027554471, 23.795968655148897) is where the real cruising happens, which is for what most people are actually there. In general, you will notice that in Limanakia B' men are in a more relaxed and "flirty" mood.
The blue marks the first section, the green the second one, and the red the third one. The black spot represents one of the entrances to the coves.
Liminakia gay beach is a 30-minute drive from the city centre or you get public transport or an Uber. It known for being hot, busy and naughty during the summer.
If you are going to take public transport, you need to get the local metro (M2) to Elliniko station (red line) and upon exiting the station take a 30 minute bus (bus number 122) – keep an eye on your route using google maps to be sure where to get off the bus – the stop you want is stop ‘B Limanakia’. from here follow the road directly to the beach.
The beach is marked on Google Maps as ‘Limanakia Nudist Beach’.
The beach of Limanakia is about a 30-45-minute drive from the city center, between Vouliagmeni and Varkiza. After passing the traffic lights by the Vouliagmeni Lake, you will find the beach about 1.8 km away, driving along the Posidonos Avenue. Keep an eye on the big parking space on your right hand, and you are almost there. Spot the rocky side of the beach around the parking and begin your adventure. In case you don't have a car, use the E22 bus that starts from Syntagma Square. You should get off at the bus stop B Limanakia.
To get there, take a car, or even better, a boat. You can also take the bus from Athens in the direction of Vari and get off at bus stop ‘B Limanakia,’ the second stop after Vouliagmeni, the posh suburb where the old-money Athenians live. If you just say, ‘Limanakia,’ everybody knows where it is: where the Attica Mountains lunge toward the Saronic Gulf. It’s the only stretch of the Athenian coast that is totally undeveloped and uninhabited. There’s no sign, no waving rainbow flag—no nothing. But it’s unofficially super gay, and you know you’re there because the cruising starts just off the highway, in the parking lot. Look for the small cantine, like a little hut, where a guy sells tiro pitta spanakopita, bottled water, and café freddo (unless he’s disappeared down one of the paths with a basket of ham and cheese sandwiches).
Put on some good shoes before you head down. No Gucci espadrilles—those won’t cut it. It’s quite a hike, and you have to be in pretty good shape to survive the steep descent. This trip’s not recommended for the elderly, but because it’s been this iconic gay meeting place since the seventies, you get a handful of silver foxes who risk it for some dick. Down the trail, you see guys kissing, picnicking amongst the wild sage, rosemary and oregano—oregano grows everywhere in Greece, doesn’t it? It’s like The Cycladic Shrub. There are lizards too, and depending on the season, you might spot butterfly or two fluttering around the pinkish-white (and edible) flowers of the caper bushes that dot the landscape.
Once you’re all the way down, you realize it’s like ninety percent nudist and one hundred-and-fifty percent gay. Guys are splashing about and chit-chatting in small groups, or just lying solo in the sun. It’s not like they’re all there for sex—it’s as faggy as it is cruisy—although it’s no problem to slip away from your buddies and make a few new friends in one of the tiny coves. There’s no sandy beach to speak of, but you can dive off the rocks and go for a swim when the heat becomes too much. The water’s as clean as it gets in Athens, which is not bad, not bad at all.
The best thing about the secluded gay bay of Limanakia is you’ll never see a couple of bickering parents with screaming kids in tow. You also won’t see any houses or buildings, so you feel like you’re really away from it all. Oh, and if you’re expecting a booty call or want to login to Grindr, forget it. There’s no reception.
Tips from a Local Gay Man:
To get to Limanakia, you must pass through a quite steep path, so make sure you wear running shoes to climb down. Wear your flip-flops after you reach the bottom rocks.
There are a few spots by the rocks where you might findslight shade but make sure to bring your sunscreen and hat, as the rocks reflect the light from the sun. You are also going to need protection if you are planning to take a "tour" of the area.
Theonly shop/canteen/cafe in the area can be found at Limanakia A', which is a 10-minute walk from Limanakia B'. Getting there, however, means that you will need to pass through the steep, rocky path again, walk by the central road, and all that, under the hot sun. So, water and snacks are essential to spend the day there.
However, if your supplies fall short in the end, there is a guy passing through and shouting, so that you notice him, with beers, water, etc. However, we wouldn't count on him, as it's not certain if he will be there or not.
Most of the cruising happens during the afternoon-evening hours, although, at the 3rd cove, it happens all day long. On the opposite side of the road, right behind the bus station where you take the bus to go back to Athens, there is a cruising spot behind the trees. But be careful as there are some gypsies in the area that might try to steal from you.
Be careful of the beach, as going in and out of the sea is not very simple. There are a few minutes every couple of hours that the sea is quite turbulent, so refrain from going in during this time.
Saturdays and Sundays are quite busy, as people don't work. This creates huge traffic during the afternoon hours, so we highly recommend not leaving the beach between 5-7, as the road that leads to Athens is super busy during this time. To top it off, the Greek buses usually have no AC and going back to the city in a crowded bus, stuck in traffic, and with no AC is a nightmare.
Just before Limanakia B beach, you will pass Vouliagmeni beach. This is also considered very gay-friendly but if you have traveled all the way from Athens and are looking for the most popular gay beach near Athena, you might as well carry on (less than 10 minutes) to Limanakia B nudist beach.
Alykes Drosia Beach (Gay Friendly)
We met a local gay couple during our stay in Athens who took us out for the day to Alykes Drosia Beach (aka Bora Bora Beach specifically) which was an hour's drive north of Athens in Chalcis.
This was not a gay beach per se, but we personally found it to be very gay-friendly, we were clearly a group of gay guys all in our little speedos (take a look at our top ten gay swimwear brands!) and did not feel self-conscious at all.
We wanted to include this as a recommendation as the beach and water were lovely, there were hardly (if any tourists) and as a result it had a great local feel and prices of food/drinks sunbeds etc was reflective of this fact – another great escape from the city!
If you want to know more about this iconic city, including where to stay and where to find the gay bars, check out our Full Gay Travel Guide to Athens
For our shortlist of the best gay beaches around Europe, click below:
