Just a short drive from nearby Montpellier, this 3.5-mile nude beach is part of a fully functioning, clothing-optional village with up to 40,000 residents (in peak season). Visitors can pop into the naturalist-friendly post office, launderette, bank, and restaurants between sun-bathing sessions on this Mediterranean beach, just five short hours by TGV from Paris.
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Founded on Bastille Day in 1991, this short stretch of waterfront park in Miami is “America’s Riviera.” Water temperatures average above 80 degrees from April to October, and an array of amenities, from concession stands to beach-chair rentals (bring the Purell!) await. In 2004, a group of committed naturalists called the South Florida Free Beaches beat back an effort from the local school board to build on the land, ensuring no schoolchildren will disrupt this naturalist paradise for years to come.
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Try not to look up at the big looming Christ statue when you strip down at the original Copacabana, named after the Virgen de Copacabana, the patron saint of Bolivia. There probably aren’t too many virgins on this 2.5-mile stretch of sparkling sand, a mecca for South American surfers and Brazilian babes strolling around in their trademark teeny bikinis. Copacabana is also the official venue of the FIFA (clothed) Beach Soccer World Cup.
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Dodging the roving masseurs can take some of the relaxation out of a trip to Bali’s most beautiful clothing-optional beach. But it’s worth it for the cheap surf lessons (clothing recommended) and the proximity to scores of restaurants and low-cost hotels. Indonesia may be the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, but nudists flock to this mile-long stretch for the breathtaking sunsets and relaxed local vibe.
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Brigitte Bardot loved this French Riviera hot spot, on the north side of the 3.5-mile Pampelonne Beach, just south of Saint-Tropez, where the bikini first found a following in the 1950s and, not long after, the first topless bathers came out in the sun. With its golden sands and laissez-faire attitude, Plage de Tahiti teems with jet-setters strolling along its wide promenades wearing little or nothing at all.
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This aptly named patch of white sand on the southern coast of Mykonos is a nonstop party, full of naked Euro hard-bodies dancing on tables 24/7. Bring a thong and head on over to the Tropicana Beach Bar or bare all at the Full Moon Party, which rages all night. And don’t worry about driving to catch your flight in the morning. Vans ferry boozy travelers straight to the airport from the beach.
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Unless you’re arriving by yacht, it’s best to put on clothes for the short hike over rocky terrain to this clothing-optional slice of heaven. Nudity is technically banned on St. Barthélemy, part of the French West Indies, but that doesn’t stop celebrities and royals from stripping down on Saline’s sugar-white beach, a relatively paparazzi-free spot on the southern face of the island.
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Few visitors actually brave the bracing waters at this nudist haven at the northwestern tip of South Africa’s Cape Peninsula, but the beach is great for sunbathing. The bright white sand is silky smooth, and visitors are protected from the southeasterly winds that ravage nearby waterfront areas. Many visitors bring a picnic dinner to watch the brilliant sunsets—and from June to September, lucky naturalists can catch whales mating and calving right off the coast.
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One of Australia’s loveliest beaches, this mile-long strip of golden sand along the northern coast was named not for the endowment of its visitors but for the gentlemanly reception aborigines gave Captain Arthur Phillip when he landed there—clothed, presumably—in 1788. Swing by on a sunny day and enjoy the three-hour hike from Manly Cove to nearby Spit Bridge.
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Vancouver might not be the first place you would think to cavort around naked, but this five-mile long promontory under 200-foot-high cliffs draws half a million visitors each year. Wade carefully into the chilly water, a meeting of the Fraser River with the Strait of Georgia and English Bay, or stay on land and check out the naked joggers and volleyball players, the full-body paint wearers (a Wreck Beach tradition!), and the handsome great blue herons that soar overhead.
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The swimming and snorkeling are top-notch at this pristine inlet on Maui, but the main draw is nude sunbathing. Protected by piles of lava rock and inaccessible by car, this tiny 430-foot-long arch of amber-colored sand known locally as Pu’u Ola’i is adjacent to the far larger (and clothing-mandatory) Big Beach. Little Beach may be small, but there’s something for everyone: Gay visitors congregate at the north end and straight folks head to the south.
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