Triopetra beach

Triopetra is on the south coast of Crete in Rethymno prefecture, about 52 km south of Rethymno town below the village of Akoumia, named after the three rocks that stand in the sea off the small headland between its two beaches. West of the headland is Small Triopetra, a sheltered sand-and-rock bay with a few tavernas renting umbrellas and loungers and the tiny harbour of Stomio. East of it the long beach, often called Akoumiani Gialia, runs towards the Akoumianos stream and the dunes of Agios Pavlos at Cape Melissa: an open sweep of sand and fine gravel with no sunbeds along most of its length. Nude bathing happens away from the tavernas, at the ends of the main beach and along the quieter undeveloped stretches; Cretan Beaches lists Akoumiani Gialia among Crete's naturist-friendly beaches, and other guides note that the bays are not official nude beaches but that many visitors use the space to go nude. The water is clean and deepens quickly, and the coast catches the wind, so it can be wavy. Outside the taverna bay the beach is rarely crowded, even in August.