The 9 Best Nude Beaches in the World

Sometimes clothing can feel so restricting, you know? That’s why sometimes you just want to let it all hang out, and be surrounded by other folks who are also naked. There’s no better place to wear your birthday suit than on a nude beach.

It can be freeing to strip down and hang out totally naked in a public place. It can also be fun to see other people’s naked bodies, and not even necessarily for the “horny” aspect, but because it’s liberating.

Often, we are the harshest critics of our own bodies—but when we see other people’s bodies, it allows us to feel more comfortable about ourselves. We realize that we all have blemishes, and no one is flawless.

In fact, most nude beaches are very de-sexualized spaces. It’s not about sex at all, but about appreciating the human body in all its glorious forms.

With the COVID vaccine on the way, here’s to hoping that come summer, we’ll all be able to lay out with our buns out. But where can you find one of these magical clothes-free places?

We’ve made a list of 9 of our favourite nude beaches across the globe. Some of these nude beaches are a little less public, in case you’re feeling a little shy.

Some are part of larger sex resorts. All of them give you an opportunity to see and be seen while completely nude.

Get your passports ready! And do forget to pack a swimsuit.

1. Mpenjati Beach, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

1. Buhne 16, Sylt, Germany

“Grin and bare it” might well be the motto for nudists on this North Sea island, where the average water temperature in summer is a chilly 17°C (63°F).

Technically all of the beaches on Sylt are clothing optional, but Buhne 16 was the first and is still the foremost location for nude sunbathing along the German shore. It’s a place where beachgoers can chill in the famous blue and white striped wicker beach chairs or let it all hang out at summer beach parties.

1. Red Beach, Crete, Greece

1. Lady Bay Beach, Sydney, Australia

1. Anse de Grande Saline, St. Barts

1. Little Beach, Maui, Hawaii

Flanked by ancient lava flows and backed by a volcanic cinder cone, Little Beach would be super-cool even if you couldn’t take your clothes off.

Part of Makena State Park on the island’s southeast coast, it overlooks a national marine sanctuary renowned for its sea turtles, dolphins, whales and tropical fish.

Gnarled trees behind the sand provide a modicum of shade and the cove is well protected for swimming. Additionally, a drum circle and fire dancers entertain the crowd during Sunday sunsets.

Little Beach, Makena State Park, Makena Rd, Kihei, HI 96753, USA

1. Cap d’Agde beach, France

Sometimes called the “Naked City,” Cap d’Agde Naturist Village is the world’s largest clothing-optional beach resort, attracting as many as 40,000 guests on any given day during high season.

Visitors are free to be naked wherever they want — restaurants and stores, post offices or banks, sailing their boat or lounging on the long public beach (where nudity is obligatory, even for those not staying at the resort).

Non residents can stay overnight at the naturist hotel, camp ground or rental units.

Cap d’Agde Naturist Village, Rond-Point du Bagnas, 34300 Agde, France; +33 4 67 26 00 26

1. Neve Midbar, North Dead Sea, Israel

Set at the northern end of the Dead Sea, Neve Midbar is a small, private resort with a section of the shoreline set aside for bare beachgoers.

In addition to being the only place where you can get your photo snapped while floating nude in the ultra-buoyant lake and smear the Dead Sea’s soothing black mud over your entire body, this may be the only place in the Middle East where any kind of public nudity is lawful.

Neve Midbar, North Dead Sea, Israel

1. Praia Massarandupió, Bahia, Brazil

The string bikinis on Copacabana may expose an awful lot of Brazilian flesh, but not nearly as much as this naturist beach along the Bahia coast.