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Nakations: Nude Travel is Big Business


How likely are you to go to a nude beach or clothes optional one, and strip?

For a country settled by humorless and uptight Puritans, a surprising 49% of Americans said they would do it.

Another 19%  were undecided, and 32%  gave an unqualified "no" to  the idea of beaching "au natural"

Courtesy of TripAdvisor's Nude Beach Survey Results, we also learn our  European cousins are, not surprisingly, more willing to go nude.

Fifty-five percent said "Oui" or " Si" to the idea, and only 19% said no


The truth is, Nude Travel or “clothes-free vacations” is big business.

The American Association for Nude Recreation’ s 60,000 members spend more than 400 million bucks on nude travel, and there are 270 clubs and resorts in the United States, Canada, Mexico offering all kinds of “Nakations.”

But who does this kind of thing?

A spokesperson for the association, say that they draw folks from all walks of life: “ We have doctors, lawyers, people who drive buses and everything in between….but you can’t know the difference when you’re all nude.”

And what do people do on a Nude or Clothes-optional holiday?

We assume they don’t horse back ride, but the association says  they sail, swim, build sand castles. “Whatever people do on their vacations, we do too.”

Of course first-timers inevitably feel awkward, but one nude vacationer wrote us saying, “ Everyone was nude and comfortable, so it was not hard to join in. We brought our snacks to share, our towel, the people were friendly…and the water felt good without a suit on.”

Best place to find a list of nude or clothes-optional beaches is at the association’s web site. Each beach is thoroughly explained and vetted by the group.

TripAdvisor’s selections are a bit more exotic:

• Praia do Pinho, Santa Catarina, Brazil, where the saying is “ clothing is not an option.”

• Wreck Beach ,Vancouver, BC, Canada, where, more modestly, they say, “Just be cool, drop your clothes and you’ll have a great time.”

• San Gregorio Private Beach, San Mateo, County, CA. Here the rule is, “No photographs or face ejection.”

• Smith Point County Park , Fire Island , New York . Don’t be surprised if you find many families nude here, says one observer.

Regardless, as the American Association for Nude Recreation likes to point out, “Nude travelers tell us that when they take off their clothes, they put on a smile.”