Active / Adventure: Getting Naked on the Way

Growing from a health and fitness movement in the early part of the 20th century, naturism, or nudism as it is called in some parts of the world, has grown to become a worldwide movement of like-minded people who find a lifestyle without clothing a benefit to mind and body alike. The International Naturist Federation (INF-FNI), which co-ordinates a group of some 30 national federations, has now over 2.5 million card carrying members. However, added to that is the greater number of people who fo...

A quiz: the Netherlands (41,543 km2) has 160 of them, while the state of Florida (151,670 km2) in the USA has only one. What could that be? The answer isn’t windmills or tulip farms; it’s designated clothing-optional beaches, where you can swim or sunbathe au naturel. (At least officially and publicly: Florida has a few remote, unsanctioned beaches naturists use, and dozens of private nudist resorts.) It may seem odd to most Europeans that in the “Sunshine State” of th...

Many people tend to make the connection between public nudity and the nudist beach. This is understandable, yet the beach is not the only place where one can find nudists. Indeed, there has been quite a stir in the Swiss Alps recently ever since the Swiss police caught a nude hiker last autumn in the small canton of Appenzell. The immediate reaction, in accordance with the conservative attitudes of many Alpine village areas, was to take action against this person, until the police realised th...

Naturist vacations, while once seen as a narrow travel niche for the over 50’s, has now grown into a $400 million dollar industry with a new trend of young professionals now taking part and enjoying this ever growing market.   Naturist options run from rustic camping retreats to upscale resorts offering the very best in fine dining, spa services and guest accommodation. Most resorts are family friendly, some offering specialised kids programs. You’ll also find naturist cruises,...