Nudity is getting more creative. Not in an artistic sense — the naked human form has been a favorite subject of painters and sculptors for more than 2,000 years — but in the imaginative and sometimes offbeat ways that peo
ple are using to shed their clothes in public.
In January, the Norwegian Pearl completed an 11-day Caribbean cruise with 2,300 naturists onboard. Dubbed the “Big Nude Boat,” it was hailed as the first-ever clothing optional cruise on a large passenger ship. Bare Necessities, the Texas-based travel company that organized the voyage, is already booking two future nude cruises. On the other side of the Atlantic, you can play a round of golf completely unclothed on the six-hole course at La Jenny Naturist Village in France (which also offers naked tennis, ping pong, volleyball, archery, chess, and bocce).
In places like Jamaica, Indonesia, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, where public nudity is illegal, a growing number of private naturist resorts are the best way to get naked.
Despite all this clothing-optional innovation, nude beaches remain the primary means to achieve an overall tan. From rocky coastlines to talcum-powder fine sands and big city bays to secluded shores, there are now hundreds of beaches where it’s perfectly legal (or at least de facto legal) to frolic beside the sea in nothing more than your birthday suit.
“Soft, smooth sand, warm ocean breeze, gentle ocean waves and lots of other naturists makes for a great clothing-optional beach,” says Nicky Hoffman of The Naturist Society, who’s also the managing editor of Nude & Natural magazine and co-author of “The World’s Best Nude Beaches & Resorts.”
While clothing-optional beach destinations may seem like a modern invention, it’s actually quite an old idea, a product of the otherwise prudish Victorian era.
During the 1880s, American poet Walt Whitman extolled the virtues of the “Adamic air bath” — his nude walkabouts and swims along Timber Creek in New Jersey, writing of “the free exhilarating ecstasy of nakedness in Nature.”
Channeling that same vibe, the naturist movement took off in Europe and North America during the first half of the 20th century, with city parks, camp grounds and eventually beaches established for those who wanted to experience nature in their most natural state.
One of the spin-offs of the socially and sexually liberal 1960s was a “free beach” movement that saw a proliferation of nude beaches around the world.
And their popularity continues today, with more and more popping up each year. Here are 25 of the best nude beaches you can visit around the world:
0 Comments